Causes and solutions for not seeing "Wi-Fi network" on your smartphone

Setting up a wireless network is one of the biggest mysteries of life.

You've probably come across a lot of frustrating questions about your settings.

Why is the download slow even when the connection is very good? Why do you lose your connection so quickly when you move around the house?

Why is Wi-Fi so terrible when you're spending a lot of money on your hardware?

That kind of question.

Answering Questions Asked by Lifehacker Readers In this Tech 911, reader George wants to know the answers to the frequently asked question, "Why does Wi-Fi make me so sad?" But it also has an interesting twist.

I've been suffering from a problem for some time.

First of all, the Wi-Fi network we use is only visible on his wife's Android tablet and smartphone.

My mother-in-law's Wi-Fi, which lives one block away, is displayed with stronger radio waves than my home.

I have an iPhone and an Android device, both of which are now displaying more intense not just my mother-in-law's Wi-Fi, but some other Wi-Fi. ..

Even when I'm standing next to my router and modem. When I try to connect with someone else's device, I don't see any available Wi-Fi other than my Wi-Fi. What exactly does that mean?

Device problems when Wi-Fi signal is strong

It's a really strange story, Mr. George.

I can't explain exactly why your device, and your device alone, shows the strong radio waves of the wireless network one block away.

For the time being, the situation is unusual.

The radio waves of a normal router do not reach that far. If you have strong radio waves everywhere in your house, you're in luck.

The funny thing is your device. Others' devices are working fine. Those devices aren't catching distant Wi-Fi radio waves.

It's not impossible to see other wireless networks that have stronger radio waves than your home Wi-Fi.

The strange thing is that it happens when you're next to your router at home. Maybe it's due to some kind of radio interference.

Open your laptop (preferably at least one that supports Wireless-N connectivity, ideally one you've purchased in the last 10 years or so) and use a dedicated app to check your Wi-Fi signal.

What do you see? If you have a lot of Wi-Fi interference, your wireless network (and others' networks) should all be trying to use the same channel.

In that case, manually select a more free channel in your router's settings (unless it is set to automatically select it).

Or, if you have manually selected a busy channel in the past, set it to select automatically.

If it is set to "auto", turn off the router, wait about 15 seconds, and then turn it on again.

Hopefully, then you won't be using the super-crowded channels as your wireless network anymore. If you still use that channel, you can fix it manually.

In case of doubt, reset to factory default

If the app mentioned above shows that your router's Wi-Fi signal is actually very strong, then your device looks strange, but don't worry.

Maybe there is some bug or hardware problem with your device (just in case, update each device to the latest version of Android or iOS).

Then try resetting your router to factory settings. You can usually reset it by pressing a button in the settings section or by poking a small hardware button on your router with a paper clip.

Why take such a violent approach? It's easier to start from the beginning. This is all the more so because you can start from scratch just by entering your SSID and password.

After resetting, update the firmware. This is the software used for the router to work.

If your router doesn't have a built-in auto-update feature, you may need to go to the manufacturer's support site, enter the exact model number of your router, and download it yourself.

All you have to do is upload it to your router and reboot.

Try 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz networks

Next, check the status of the channel again. If you need to make adjustments, do so.

Another troubleshooting technique is to try using different SSIDs for 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz networks (if both use the same SSID).

How does it look now? If your device only shows 2.4GHz networks and not 5Ghz networks, it's a hint to narrow down the problem.

In that case, there is probably a hardware problem that troubleshooting cannot solve. Would you like to tighten the router antenna?

In any case, for the time being, you should be able to access at least one of the Wi-Fi networks.

It may be time to consider replacement by purchase

That said, this doesn't necessarily explain why your wife's device shows the wireless network, but your device (iPhone and Android) doesn't.

In my opinion, there's something wrong with those devices you're using, but it's unlikely that both have the same problem. The only characteristic they have in common is that they are "owned by you."

If you've updated your device and you still can't connect to your home Wi-Fi, but others can, then it's reasonable to assume that your device has a problem.

I'm not sure why all of the devices you're using are affected, and what the problem is.

Perhaps your device is very old and your router uses encryption techniques that your device doesn't support (for example, your device only supports WPA). For example, when WPA2 is used).

If your device doesn't show your Wi-Fi network after all this effort, it's time to buy a new router or new device.

Dear readers, is there anything missing in my explanation?

47,800 yen

I want to read it together

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David Murphy --Lifehacker US