Help Wifi networks become "disabled"

[eumei]

I've got a fairly new (~1mo) Droid MAXX that's pretty stock (Android 4.4.4, unrooted). It's been having some serious WiFi problems lately, similar but not quite identical to any I could find described in these forums.

The phone will, upon restart, usually successfully connect to wireless networks. But after a short time, the connection will drop, and at this point it's usually impossible to get the phone to re-connect.

At this point, I can see several full-strength networks that I'm authorized to connect to (I'm on a university campus) but I can't connect to any of them. When I tap on one of the networks, the phone appears to try to connect, the displayed signal strength drops to "Poor" (1/4) and the attempt to connect fails. After this, the network shows up in the list as "Disabled". Sometimes one of the networks is listed as "Saved", but the attempt to connect goes no better.

I've tried booting in Safe Mode, and the problem persists. I've even disabled "Avoid poor connections", but still the problem persists.

I am on a university campus, so I can't control the configuration of any of the wireless networks. But I know that it's something with the MAXX, as I didn't have any similar dropping problems when connected to any of the networks on my old phone.

Does this seem like a hardware or software issue? If the latter, any tips on how to fix it?

 

[Thom]

Welcome to Android Forums.

Go to Settings | Wi-Fi
Select the network you want to connect to.
If not connected ... select Connect.

It should then always select that connection.

I have two on my router and set the one I want to always use this way.

... Thom

 

[doogald]

I was going to suggest turning off "avoid poor connections", but I guess that wasn't the issue...

In advanced settings, is "Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep" set to "Always"?

Does changing "Wi-FI frequency band" to 2.4 GHz only help? (Or, if you use only 5 GHz, change to that...) How about turning off "WiFi optimization"?

If you go into settings/wifi, tap menu bottom right, then manage networks, can you drag the network that you want to use to the top of the list?

Do you use Bluetooth at all? If no, if you toggle off the BT radio, does that help?

 

[eumei]

Hi Thom, yes, I am aware of how to connect to a wireless network. This is not (as far as I can tell) a PEBKAC scenario - as I said in my post, the networks become "Disabled" or "Saved" - despite broadcasting! - after I try to connect to them.

Doogald:

1. "Keep WiFi on during sleep" is set to "Always". I'm reluctant to mess with this setting, however, as my phone spends the majority of the time in sleep and not charging.

2. The problem persists after hanging the band to 2.4 GHz only and rebooting (no networks at 5GHz). Disabling Wifi optimization also does not alleviate the problem.

3. The networks that I want to use (my university broadcasts 3, all of which suffer from the same "can't-connect"/"listed as disabled" problems) are all at the top of the WiFi network priority queue.

4. I do not use Bluetooth, and the BT radio is disabled.

 

[Thom]

It wasn't a problem a month ago. It is a problem now. Is there anyone else at the same location you are at? Are they having a similar problem at this time?

... Thom

 

[eumei]

Hi Thom,

Sorry for being unclear. I've only had the phone for about a month. It may have been a problem from the get-go, but I wasn't on the lookout initially.

 

[doogald]

Oh, I would definitely keep the setting at "Always". I just wanted to make sure it was there. The others were just to change settings that should hold the phone connected, and the BT question was because BT also uses the 2.4 GHz and there is a remote possibility of interference.

What is the security of these networks - none, or a WPA/WPA2 pre-shared key that you use to connect, or 802.1x EAP (extensible authentication protocol)? If it is a WPA, do you have to use a post-connect log in screen (i.e., does any web activity require that you enter a user name/password combo?)

I've had the Maxx for a long time now and have had no WiFi issues like that, unless I have the "avoid poor connections" turned on. I have three access points in my house, all with the same SSID and security, so the phone should roam when the signal gets bad - but for some reason if I move to a different part of the house the phone will try to hold the connection, even if it is poor, and the dumb setting "avoid poor connections" will disconnect me but not reconnect to a closer access point. The rest of my family does not have this problem with their iPhones.

But, that's a digression. I haven't been in a situation where I have connected to a campus network, so I'm wondering, if you do use a post-connection user/passphrase, if the access point times you out and requests a new user/password connection, but the Maxx isn't passing the request along, and simply disconnecting when it can no longer see the internet?

Just for a short-term solution, if you toggle WiFi off and on again does it allow you to reconnect without restarting the phone?

 

[Thom]

I'm still wondering if other people in your area at this time are experiencing the same problem.

... Thom

 

[eumei]

Hi doogald,

Sorry for the slow response. Toggling Wi-Fi on and off does not work.

I'll provide some more details on the network configurations.

There are three networks: one is "eduroam", an interuniversity network with 802.11x EAP (PEAP) security that I have to provide an identity/password to log in to. I have not been able to connect to this network on my MAXX. I can connect to this network on my laptop or on my old phone (also an Android).

The second network is the "visitor" network. I can occasionally connect to this network on my MAXX, and I can connect to it on either my laptop or my old phone. It's possible that I'm getting kicked off of this network periodically, but this isn't a problem I recall occurring with my old phone. I'll test this on my old phone, but I'm more interested in solving the "eduroam" problem.

The third network is the standard university wireless network, that you can only connect to if you've registered your device. I was able to register my laptop and old phone on this network, though I usually used eduroam. I have registered my MAXX on this network in the same fashion as before, but I am unable to connect to this network.

Thom, I appreciate your commitment to asking standard debugging questions. Given the above information, I think you'll understand why I'm pursuing options that are specific to my MAXX - I'm looking for the simplest possible explanation here, and I don't think that's either "I don't know how to connect to a wireless network" or "My university's wireless started to malfunction almost exactly when I got my new phone." Thanks for your help.

 

[doogald]

Hmm, I would try asking your institution's IT support staff to see if they can help. They may have the resources available to see what is happening when you try to use the network.

When you set up the WiFi account, I assume that you are setting 802.11x, with PEAP as the EAP method and MSCHAPV2 as the Phase 2 authentication method? From what I have seen published about Android and eduroam, that seems like the right settings. Otherwise, I'm not sure I can help - I've not used eduroam myself at all (which is why I suggested contacting IT help desk support...)

Good luck; I hope that you get it figured out.

 

[Thom]

.. and I still wonder if it is being induced from their side. That was the reason for talking to others to see if they had the similar problem.

... Thom

 

[eumei]

Hi doogald and Thom,

Thanks for the suggestion - it turns out it was a university-specific eduroam (it worked previously at other universities!) setting, and the MSCHAPV2 authentication suggestion was the missing piece. Thanks for your help!