I've tried everything I can think of (almost) and done some googling (which generally resulted in the same recommendations), to no avail. This is becoming a serious problem and I don't have time to go to the Genius Bar unless I absolutely have to, so I'm hoping someone else has encountered this and knows the problem/fix.

iPhone 12 Pro running iOS 15.1.1

Symptoms:

1) Will NOT connect to WiFi (tried multiple networks)

2) Safari, Find my iPhone, a couple of home banking apps, AirBNB, FlyDelta (of those I've tried randomly so far), will connect via cellular data, but many others that I've tried, including SpeedTest, Exxon/Mobil, Hertz... do not.

Fixes Tried:

1) Reset iPhone (no dice)

2) Reset Network Settings (equally useless)

Because of the WiFi issues, I'm assuming this is an iPhone and not a Verizon problem. The WiFi SSID shows and is marked as connected in the WiFi menu - everything appears normal, but LTE/5G is still showing in the status bar and if I toggle WiFi or Airplane mode on/off, the WiFi icon only appears very briefly and reverts to LTE or 5G.

What the hell is going on with my iPhone?

-Rob

Apple support can share your screen and get you resolved. I wouldn't go any further without talking to them, first.
Be nice
Be respectful
Show them how you appreciate their help and they will bend over backwards for you.

I’ve never heard of a Wi-Fi device that wouldn’t connect that wasn’t broke. Are you sure the Wi-Fi into the house isn’t down, but the router is still projecting a signal with no signal? It sounds like a hardware (phone itself) issue to me. Have you tried removing the SIM card and see if it connects to Wi-Fi when it has no other option for connectivity? Where did you get it? Direct from Apple? Carrier store? Mail in exchange program? You might start making phone calls and getting a replacement lined up.

Have you tried uninstalling the Wi-Fi connection and then reinstalling it?

Open the Wi-Fi connection and “forget this device” then reboot and re-enter the Wi-Fi password information.

I couldn’t be sure by your post, have you tried this with Wi-Fi outside of your own home just to make sure that it is not a home connection issue?

Well, after telling "Gurinder" everything I posted here, and after having him ask me to repeat every detail of it (clearly following a script instead of reading), he eventually told me to try.... restarting my phone.

Yep. After nearly 20 minutes of chat, his only suggestions was restarting my phone. And he had to do that by sharing a link to a support.apple.com page explaining how. Never mind the fact that I already told him (repeatedly) that I had.

Didn't want to discuss the cellular data connection issues. When the "restart the phone" suggestion didn't work, he immediately told me I need to go to BestBuy for repairs.

FML.

I'm thinking I'm going to go home, do a full backup, and try a factory reset. BestBuy can't take my phone until Saturday anyway and I can't really afford to be without it - at all. Absolutely ridiculous.

Maybe I can get Verizon to take it back without asking too many questions if I just upgrade to a 13 Pro.

-Rob

Suggestion - get away from the 3rd parties and go directly to an Apple Store/Genius Bar. Face to Face they'll either fix it or get you a replacement phone. Simple.

Andrew

quote:

Originally posted by El Cid 92:
Suggestion - get away from the 3rd parties and go directly to an Apple Store/Genius Bar. Face to Face they'll either fix it or get you a replacement phone. Simple.

Andrew

Yep.

100 x yep.

To add…depending on where you live, you may need an appointment.

Who is Gurinder?

Bob

I have a 12 Pro Max. Any issues I have had with iPhones through the years have been handled at the AT&T store or by AT&T Elite. On the few times I went through Apple, I had good results.

Try emailing these folks. ELITEcare@att.com

quote:

Originally posted by papaac:
I have a 12 Pro Max. Any issues I have had with iPhones through the years have been handled at the AT&T store or by AT&T Elite. On the few times I went through Apple, I had good results.

Try emailing these folks. ELITEcare@att.com

His carrier is Verizon, not AT&T.

Of all the Iphones I've used over the years, Iphone 12 seems to be the most problematic. Nothing that I wasn't able to resolve but seems more prevalent than previous versions. It's also the current one I'm using so I don't know if these issues have been resolved for the 13.

Anyway, as some others have already suggested, I'd go directly to an Apple store over going to a retail big box store, etc if possible.

quote:

ep. After nearly 20 minutes of chat, his only suggestions was restarting my phone. And he had to do that by sharing a link to a support.apple.com page explaining how. Never mind the fact that I already told him (repeatedly) that I had.

Didn't want to discuss the cellular data connection issues. When the "restart the phone" suggestion didn't work, he immediately told me I need to go to BestBuy for repairs.

^^^^^^^^^^
Same experience different problem. Apple store 100 miles away. Best Buy could not help and wasted my afternoon. SOLUTION: Bought new phone and problem solved. I determined wasting another 10 hours was not worth it.

quote:

Who is Gurinder?

^^^^^^^^^
The guy with a hair bun and spandex pants. He has a slight lisp.

Does your phone tell you your password is wrong? That’s what my iPhone 12 started doing a few weeks ago. I went as far as cutting and pasting the password from my WAP setup page to an email on another device and sending it to myself on the phone where I cut and pasted it to the password box in the phone’s wifi settings. Still didn’t work. I don’t remember how I fixed it.

quote:

Originally posted by BurtonRW:
I'm thinking I'm going to go home, do a full backup, and try a factory reset.

That's what I'd have done long ago.

If you have a VPN on the phone, turn it off, and update to IoS 15.2 which has fixes for WiFi connectivity problems.

quote:

Originally posted by Pyker:
If you have a VPN on the phone, turn it off, and update to IoS 15.2 which has fixes for WiFi connectivity problems.

Interesting...

So after talking to three different Apple reps on the phone and running their remote diagnostic suite, they determined that there was something wrong with the back glass that was affecting the motherboard. (It was a strange code that none of them had ever encountered before.)

But... as I was making noise about replacing it with whatever the latest Samsung has to offer, the tech I was talking to asked me to not just make sure NordVPN was turned off (which it had been for probably a couple of weeks - long before the problem developed this morning), but to DELETE it entirely and do a forced restart.

Glad I did, because voila! Problem seems to be solved.

No explanation why deleting NordVPN altogether (which I've used for years and on this phone for almost 2 without difficulty) fixed the problem or why the error code about the back glass and MB popped up, but there you have it.

I did update to iOS 15.2, which didn't fix the problem (at least not on its own) and I suspect that the new "Private Relay" feature has something to do with it that they'd really rather not talk about. That came up several times and I think they were taking more notes than they were sharing information when they would ask about it.

Whatever. It works for now. But it makes me nervous that I've had an iPhone since 3GS (including 5S, 7S, and Xs before this 12 Pro) and this is the first time I've had any kind of trouble that has actually affected the functionality of the phone.

-Rob

quote:

Originally posted by SW_Sig:

quote:

Originally posted by papaac:
I have a 12 Pro Max. Any issues I have had with iPhones through the years have been handled at the AT&T store or by AT&T Elite. On the few times I went through Apple, I had good results.

Try emailing these folks. ELITEcare@att.com

His carrier is Verizon, not AT&T.

I knew that but I went brain dead for a minute. i forgot to mention in my post that my friends who use Verizon have had good luck with their dealer.

quote:

Whatever. It works for now. But it makes me nervous that I've had an iPhone since 3GS (including 5S, 7S, and Xs before this 12 Pro) and this is the first time I've had any kind of trouble that has actually affected the functionality of the phone.

I have (had) 'Privacy Pro' VPN on my phone and it caused all kinds of problems with connectivity. Sites and apps wouldn't load or update. I don't know why, but turning it off , and no more problems.

Glad it worked for you.


.

quote:

Originally posted by Pyker:

quote:

Whatever. It works for now. But it makes me nervous that I've had an iPhone since 3GS (including 5S, 7S, and Xs before this 12 Pro) and this is the first time I've had any kind of trouble that has actually affected the functionality of the phone.

I have (had) 'Privacy Pro' VPN on my phone and it caused all kinds of problems with connectivity. Sites and apps wouldn't load or update. I don't know why, but turning it off , and no more problems.

Glad it worked for you.


.

I've had connection issues with certain apps and websites while using NordVPN, but I still don't understand why having it installed, but not using it just started causing problems today and resolved when I actually removed it. That's why I'm thinking Apple is somehow deliberately trying to not play nice with VPNs to force everyone into using their Private Relay tool.

-Rob