Is the Wi-Fi stuck in the off position on your Android smartphone? When you try to switch the Wi-Fi on does it turn itself off all by itself? When you try to activate your Wi-Fi does it freeze, get stuck, or show “Turning On” but never actually turns on? Have you tried to switch the Wi-Fi from your Android device on only to find that the phone won’t let you for some reason? Here are some things that you can do to fix a phone when its Wi-Fi refuses to turn on.
There can be a few things that can cause these issues to happen on an Android cell phone. Sometimes it can be a hardware related problem but this issue is often a software related problem that can creep up on your device after upgrading the phones software. This is a good thing as software issues can usually be fixed with just a little bit of troubleshooting, hardware issues on the other hand can be a little harder to fix.
So let’s start with the basics and go from there…
Power cycle the phone
Start out by power cycling your device. This is often the first step in troubleshooting an Android smartphone and believe it or not, simply power cycling your phone can solve minor software related issues that can occur on Android devices.
So power the phone off for 15-60 seconds, if your phone has a removable battery then briefly pulling out the phones battery is one of the best things to do as it assures the phone is completely powered off. If you cannot remove the battery from your phone then don’t worry, just power the phone off wait for 30 seconds to a minute and then power the phone back on.
When your cell phone fully powers on, try turning the Wi-Fi on to see if power cycling fixed it. If it’s working then enjoy your Wi-Fi if it’s still being stubborn and the Wi-Fi won’t switch on then keep reading.
Hardware
If the Wi-Fi wont power on at all, then there is a possibility that its due to an actual piece of the phone being disconnected, loose, or malfunctioning. If a flex cable has come undone or the Wi-Fi antenna is not connected properly then the phone is certainly going to have problems connecting to a wireless network.
If your phone is less than a year old and has no signs of physical or liquid damage then chances are good that your phone is still covered under the manufactures warranty and you DO NOT want to take the phone apart as it will be considered tampering and will void your cell phones warranty, which you don’t want to do.
So here is what I recommend doing first before trying any software troubleshooting or filing a warranty or insurance claim.
*~DISCLAIMER -- BE GENTLE and USE CAUTION when trying this next suggestion, you do NOT want to cause any damage to your phone and make your current situation worse~* --I will not be held accountable for any damage done to the phone when trying my next suggestion--.
Gently, and carefully give your phone a good shake, don’t let it slip out of your hand, fall to the floor and cause its screen to shatter. You can also give it a few gentle love taps on the back of the phone, (don’t hit and break the screen, I recommend tapping the back of the phone).
After tapping or shaking the phone, test the Wi-Fi and see if it started functioning properly. It may take a few attempts to get a lose cable or piece of hardware back into its proper place. So if at first you don’t succeed you may need to try a few more times.
If it starts working again, then you have narrowed it down to a hardware issue and you’re now faced with a few options…
You can keep using the phone as the piece of hardware may stay where it’s supposed to and you can keep enjoying your working Wi-Fi.
You can keep using the phone and if the Wi-Fi acts up again you can give it another shake or tap to get it to work properly again. Just be careful as this might get frustrating if it starts happening frequently and you don’t want to accidently damage your phone by hitting or not so gently tapping it against a hard surface out of frustration.
You can keep using the phone until the Wi-Fi acts up again and then file a warranty claim. If you are no longer under warranty you can consider taking the phone apart to locate and try to fix the problematic hardware, which may be as simple as pressing a wire or cable back into place, in which case you will have a more permanent solution to your Wi-Fi problem.
Software
If it doesn’t seem to work after a little shaking or tapping then this could be a software related issue.
Check your applications
Try to think back to when this issue first started happening on your phone. Do you remember downloading or installing any applications around that time? Often when software issues start happening on an Android phone it’s because of an application causing problems. If this is the case then uninstall any apps that you might have installed around that time, test the Wi-Fi and see if the app was the cause. If it was an app then you can try installing the app again to see if a fresh install helps or consider using the phone without that app until its app developer releases a more up-to-date or friendly version of that application.
Hard reset
If you go through your apps and do some cleaning on your phone then there is still the chance of a software problem on the device and the BEST way to resolve software related issues is to completely backup and reset your Android phone. This puts the phone back to its factory default settings and wipes everything from the phone. So any software bugs, glitches, viruses, etc are wiped off the phone and the phone is set back to the way it was when it was first purchased.
A hard reset is usually a last resort but it’s a very powerful tool when trying to resolve software issues.
Conclusion
After performing the suggestions listed above your Wi-Fi should be working properly once again. So enjoy the working Wi-Fi on your cell phone.
If the Wi-Fi on your mobile phone still refuses to turn on then there is little more that you can do to try and resolve the issue yourself. If this is the case and your Wi-Fi still isn’t switching on then you might want to consider some of these options. If the Wi-Fi on your Android is turning on but is having problems scanning, connecting, or staying connected with a wireless network or establishing an internet connection then you might consider reading how to fix an Android smartphone when it won’t connect to Wi-Fi.
