The Android mobile operating system is very widespread around the world. Smartphones with this platform are fast and stable. However, quite often there are some problems. One of them is the question of why Android doesn’t connect to a WiFi network. In the platform itself, it’s almost impossible to configure anything, since it’s a mobile version and everything is already configured in it. This is done to simplify the use of the smartphone.

To connect to a WiFi network, you just need to turn on the module and select the desired network from the proposed list. If the connection is not password-protected, the connection will happen automatically. If the password is set, you’ll need to enter it. However, what to do if the WiFi adapter on the Android platform doesn’t turn on?

What are the possible causes of such an issue

If your Android can’t connect to Wi-Fi – for example, you see a gray button and an exclamation mark icon instead of an active Wi-Fi icon – it could be caused by:

• Incorrect Wi-Fi password.
• Setting an unsupported security type or wireless standard in the router settings.
• Problems with Android firmware.

The first thing to do is to understand which device is having problems. If only your phone doesn’t connect to the point, then the cause should be sought in its settings and firmware. If the wireless network is not found by any device, then you should check the settings of the router.

It’s worth noting that in most cases, the cause is hidden in the access point, which is incorrectly configured. Of course, sometimes there are still failures in Android, in order to fix them, you can try to reboot the device or perform a general reset to factory settings. In other cases, you’ll have to configure the access point.

Read Also:

• How to see saved Wi-Fi passwords on Android
• How to fix Android phone that keeps restarting
• How to check what kind of Android phone you have

What to do if there’s the message “Getting an IP address”

If a “Get IP address” message appears when you try to connect, but the connection is not established, it could be because the DHCP server is disabled in the router’s settings or there’s a problem with Android. A simple reboot of the router may help.

If the DHCP server fails, restarting the device will fix it. If the error persists:

• Open the router settings.
• Make sure that the DHCP server is enabled.

Depending on the router model, the procedure for enabling/disabling DHCP may vary, so you need to look up the manual for your device.

How to fix Authentication error while connecting to Wi-Fi

If connection authentication fails, the problem is most likely caused by an incorrect Wi-Fi password. To correct the error:

• Forget the wireless point on your phone/tablet.
• Reboot your router.

If restarting the hardware and re-detecting the access point doesn’t work, go to the router’s web interface. You’ll find the interface address and login information on the device.

• Change the password, using only Latin letters and numbers.
• Make sure that WPA2-PSK is selected for network authentication.

If your phone doesn’t support WPA2-PSK, select another mode – WPA, WPA2. It’s clear that you can’t do this in the subway or the mall, so you just have to accept it. However, at home or in a hotel, you can access the router and check your wireless network settings.

What should you do when the message says “Saved, WPAWPA2 protection”

If the connection is made without a password, there can be no authentication error. However, there’s another situation – the network is saved, but there’s no access to the Internet. Usually, it helps to reboot the router, however, sometimes you have to go quite deeply into the settings.

• Check if the Wi-Fi password is correct.
• Go to the router’s interface. Set the correct region (the one you are in).
• Choose a channel from 1 to 10 instead of Auto.
• Try a different mode of the router. If it’s “N” or “B“, set it to “Auto” or “B/G/N mixed“.
• Change the encryption type and password.
• Experiment with the channel width. Try “Auto” first, then “20 MHz“, and so on.

Also, look at the number of allowed devices. If it says “0”, then there’s no limitation.

Is checking wireless mode worth a try

Quiet often the answer to the question of why the Android doesn’t connect to the WiFi network is the mismatch of the access point mode. The fact is that today there are several standards of wi-fi communication:

• 802.11b.
• 802.11g.
• 802.11n.

They differ in frequency and bandwidth. This, in turn, affects the data transfer rate. In order for devices that support different wi-fi standards to connect to the router without problems, you should set a mixed mode. To do this, enter the settings of the router. Under “WiFi” open the item “Main settings”. Here we are interested in three items:

• Country (region).
• Channel setting.
• Wireless mode.

First of all, select the appropriate region (country). After that, set the channel setting to “Auto”. Next, in wireless mode, select the item “802.11 BGNMixed”. This is a mixed mode that is supported by any device with a WiFi module.

Read Also:

• How to fix “Can’t take the screenshot due to security policy” on an Android device
• How to check the battery health of your Android device

What other issues you can face with

As I wrote in the beginning, there can be many possible causes, and it’s important to catch specific inscriptions and notifications. So here I will throw out some more options, where you can look for troubleshooting:

• Low battery, economy enabled – will result in a bad signal and an error on the connection. Solution – connect to the network.
• Turn off Bluetooth – simply and just in case.
• In airplane mode – this mode, all networks disappear completely, don’t forget to turn them off.
• Did you do a firmware to your phone recently? Sometimes the MAC-address flies off, or the firmware itself has a bug. Try to roll back to an old version.
• Hardware problem – if your phone doesn’t see other networks, you reset it to defaults with the complete cleaning, but nothing helps – the problem is probably in the hardware. You should visit a service center.

These seem to be the main reasons. However, if Android suddenly doesn’t work properly, you already know where to look for your problem – in the comments with the most detailed description of your problem and pitfalls. If not us, then someone from future readers is sure to encounter this problem. Well, and if you were able to solve it – write about it, how, and through what you did.