Wifi won't connect

[PatG]

I have had Wifi issues now for a couple months, but it has gotten to the point where Wifi won’t work at all. I noticed a couple of months ago that for some reason my Wifi started disconnecting at my house every few hours. No changes in router, phone settings, new apps, etc. Well, no big deal, I just reconnected. Then it started disconnecting more often. In the last few weeks or so it has gotten to the point where I can’t connect at all to any Wifi system. Not at my house, hotels, work, etc.

The basic symptom is that I turn on Wifi, the icon goes to a dull green, then turns back off. Sometimes that takes 30 seconds, other times it just slides back right away. So it doesn’t even turn on at all, never mind connect. This morning I was able to connect to my Wifi for about 40 seconds and download one Playstore update. First time that happened in a few days. Then it disconnected again, Wifi icon was grey. Couldn’t turn Wifi on again. So it is not 100% dead. And given that it has gotten progressively worse I am somewhat ruling out hardware. Also, Bluetooth works perfectly and I believe it is the same hardware connection.

Did all the normal troubleshooting

• Reboot phone
• Turn off phone, leave it off overnight (I usually do that anyway).
• Pull Battery. Pull battery while the phone is rebooting. Pull battery while the phone is on.
• Wipe cache.
• Reboot router at house.
• Connect to my other router (Comcast) to see if it works better
• Forget networks and try to re-connect again.
• Power up in safe mode, same symptoms.
• And yes, “Keep Wi_Fi” on during sleep” is set to always.

After searching the web for hours seems like there are other users with the same issue. Many of them have wiped the phone (not solved), rooted and renamed some driver files (some say it solved their issues, others did not), downloaded custom ROMs.

Went to the Verizon store, they “have never seen that before”. The phone is out of warranty. It is a refurb, about 4 months ago the proximity sensor on my original S4 died. So I exchanged it as the screen would not come back on after a phone call.

So, not sure what to do next. Any suggestion from this group? I am running 4.4.2, and I heard that a 4.4.4 update is coming out. Wait for that? Try rooting the phone and download new ROMs (I am very computer literate but have no experience with rooting). Take it apart to see if maybe the antenna connection is lose (that doesn’t really sound like the problem). Give up and get an iPhone?

In case I do want to root it, is there a “Root for Dummies” link somewhere? Again, as a former software engineer I am very familiar with computers and embedded systems.

Thanks!

 

[Jonny Kansas]

First of all, thanks for the amazing write up of your issue. It's a heck of a lot easier to help someone when they're this clear up front. My first question would've been the "always on" setting, but you've got that.

I'm a bit confused though by the fact that you say the wifi icon turns green. Mine is always what I call white, or a dark gray when there's no signal. Are you talking about the signal indicator icon in the status bar, or the toggle button in settings that says "ON" or "OFF" respectively?

I'm worried about the fact that someone else did a reset and that didn't fix the issue. That actually leads me more towards thinking it IS a hardware issue.

If you wan to try the rooting route, I think you'll have no problem having been a software engineer, but when you install a new ROM, that wipes the phone anyway just the same as doing a factory reset. If you decide to go this route in the end, make sure you take note of the wifi radio software version that you currently have before doing so, as you'll probably want to try and find a ROM with a tweaked software side of wifi.

I feel your pain on VZW not having seen something before. I have a refurb s4 now myself because my wireless radio just suddenly crapped out one day.

 

[PatG]

Yes I could have been a little clearer about the wifi icon; that was what I am talking about. It is white (or dark gray I guess) when off. So then I click it to turn on, and it changes to this dull grey color. Then normally when WiFi connects it goes to this full green color. Well, mine doesn't do that anymore. It either goes off (back to white) immediately or stays dull grey for 30 seconds and then turns off.

I am back and forth on the hardware issue. If it is a lose connection then moving around in your pocket could cause it working and not working. The only reason I am hesitant is that I read the antenna and connections are shared by Bluetooth and that works great.

If I can't figure it out I will take the phone apart just to check connections. Next step will be new ROM. Unless of course KitKat 4.4.4. is around the corner; I may wait for that.

 

[Jonny Kansas]

I'm assuming that the answer is no, but do you have any better luck going into settings & turning it on rather than using the quick toggle? Pretty sure it's the same situation, but worth trying.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[PatG]

Correct, the answer is no. Same result. It will slide back after 30 seconds or slide back to off right away. Also will not go green.

 

[Jonny Kansas]

Hmm... Definitely a strange situation.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[baudwalk]

I suggest talking to a higher level tier support person on the VZW telephone support line. My Bionic was misbehaving strangely over a period of weeks. The tests confirmed a circuitry failure, and they shipped a replacement that arrived the next day. Don't forget to remove the SD to protect against picture and data loss before resetting the phone. HTH.

 

[dezymond]

Definitely seems like a hardware issue. If you can keep bugging Verizon I'm sure they'll send a refurbed s4 your way.

 

[PatG]

I'll give it a try. I didn't really want to go that route since the first thing they have me do is wipe the phone. If WiFi does not come then I'll be sitting there with downloading everything back using 4G.

 

[dezymond]

I'll give it a try. I didn't really want to go that route since the first thing they have me do is wipe the phone. If WiFi does not come then I'll be sitting there with downloading everything back using 4G.

If you let them know that you've factory reset already then they should proceed to their next steps. Just make sure to mention you can't connect to any wifi whatsoever.

 

[baudwalk]

If you get a fix or a new phone then you won't be using 4G to reload the apps. Non-issue, as you appear to have two routers...

Call on a phone that isn't the cellphone with the problem. Just make sure you are speaking to a higher tier level support person before beginning a run through the tests asked for. In my case, wiping the phone was the last thing tried, and that was at my suggestion. There are a myriad of settings only seen by a combination of buttons and keyboard entries you may be asked to look at.

Pull the SD card or otherwise back up your personal files and data before testing the phone. The tech can walk you through it. Remember to ask how.

 

[KaosMaster]

I recommend that you reflash your phone using odin! This should fix your issue! I had the same problem with mine! It is the software that maintains the internet connection. Also ensure that your 2.4Ghz and 5 Ghz access point names are different! This confuses the S4

I can walk you thru the steps if you like, just make sure you select to reload the bootloader and clear the efs when you flash. After that is done, just skip thru the setup wizard, and factory reset two more times thru the operating system!

Good luck!

 

[PatG]

I can give re-flashing with Odin a try; if you could outline the steps or send me a link that shows how to do it that would be great. I assume I am just re-flashing KitKat 4.4.2 again?

Thanks!

 

[KaosMaster]

I can give re-flashing with Odin a try; if you could outline the steps or send me a link that shows how to do it that would be great. I assume I am just re-flashing KitKat 4.4.2 again?

Thanks!

I can surely outline the steps for you and send you all the files you will need. I can send them to you thru live messenger or another program you prefer. Please let me know! It will take at least an hour to send it all to you because of the size of the files. And mine are directly from Verizon. If you have another carrier, please let me know. The files are to big to send thru email so you know

 

[PatG]

I tried to set up a shared link on google folder. I can PM you the link. Never done that before, but I haven't used any other programs either.

BTW, for some reason its working better again. So I am ruling (somewhat) out hardware. Got home tonight and WiFi came on and stayed on for a couple of hours. Very strange.

Thanks.