If WiFi keeps disconnecting on Android, that’s probably not a big problem since you can fix it with just a few clicks most times. However, it could be annoying when WiFi disconnects frequently on Android, especially when you need to watch an important live stream or download a time-limited file.
In case you’re having a bad day because of your unstable WiFi connection, the comprehensive ten solutions in this article will get you back on track. Let’s get started!
Top 10 fixes for when WiFi Keeps disconnecting on Android:
- Restart your phone
- Remove and reconnect to the network
- Forget old/other networks
- Restart your Wi-Fi router
- Move closer to the WiFi network source
- Try switching the router's AP band
- Disable network auto-switch
- Reset Wi-Fi, Mobile & Bluetooth settings
- Update your phone and the router’s firmware
- Disable apps conflicting with the Wi-Fi
Various issues could cause the problem on your device. It could be your phone itself, the WiFi router, temporary network glitches, the device used for mobile hotspot, or just anything. Despite whatever caused the issues, the fixes mentioned below will reconnect you to the WiFi network and allow you to do whatever you want to do.
Restart your phone
Like fixing many issues on a smartphone, we recommend you restart your phone before trying other solutions to resolve the WiFi connection problem.
Surely, it could be a temporary software/hardware glitch when WiFi keeps disconnecting on Android. But the good news is that rebooting your device can handle the problem in most cases.
So, go ahead and hit that restart button on your phone! If your Android WiFi keeps disconnecting and reconnecting afterward, embark on the solutions below.
Remove and reconnect to the network.
Your Android device stores the network details when you connect it to a WiFi network for the first time. This enables you to connect to the network seamlessly without needing to re-enter passwords every time. However, things might change suddenly, and your phone gets the process wrong.
In such a case, you’ll need to re-establish the connection manually. That’s where you need to “forget” and “reconnect” to the WiFi network from scratch. Here’s how:
Note: the guides used in this article might vary on various Android devices and versions.
- Swipe down twice from the top of your Android screen to open the Quick Settings.
- Long-press on the WiFi tile to open the WiFi network settings
- From there, tap the network you’re trying to connect. You should see it under “Saved networks”
- After selecting the WiFi name, tap Forget. Doing so will delete the network from your device.
- Now, tap the network under “Available networks” and reconnect with it using the password.
Forget old/other WiFi networks
As expected, your device tries to connect to the best WiFi network around if you've connected to them previously. Meaning, if you have multiple WiFi networks available within your, vicinity your device can try jumping from one to the other, provided you've connected to them at least once.
While it does that to give you the best and fastest network connection around, it can be problematic sometimes. And that’s what happens when Android WiFi keeps disconnecting and reconnecting in most cases.
To fix that and enjoy your current WiFi network, you need to forget all the networks so your phone can focus on one network at a time. Simply follow the same steps used above to forget all the networks. Or, you can jump to Settings → System → Reset options → Reset WiFi, Mobile & Bluetooth to erase the networks at once.
Restart your Wi-Fi router
Similar to rebooting your phone, restarting the router can help when the WiFi keeps disconnecting on Android. Normally, that'll reset the router's hardware and fix the internet glitch that might be going on underneath.
- If your router is connected to a power source, we recommend you unplug it, leave it for a minute, and then plug it in again. That should be enough to refresh the system.
- Meanwhile, if you use a battery-powered router or Mi-Fi, you'll find the power button on the hardware. Use it to power off the router, or see the user manual for help on how to restart it.
- Similarly, if you're connected to a Mobile Hotspot, simply restart the phone.
Try reconnecting your Android phone to the network again to see if it work flawlessly now.
Move closer to the WiFi network source.
Beyond troubleshooting the router or your Android phone, the long-distance could affect the WiFi connection. Hence, if WiFi on phone keeps disconnecting, ensure you're within the connection range.
You can check if you’re too far from the network by watching the WiFi signal quality on your status bar. If the signal quality is low, that’s a sign you need to move closer to the router a bit more.
If it’s your home network, you can try moving the router to where it can serve the whole house. However, if it’s a public network, you can’t help but move closer to the network source.
Try switching the router's AP band
- Instead of hanging around the router always, changing the WiFi range to 2.4GHz could help in most cases.
While the 5GHz band gives you faster network speed, its range is lower than the traditional 2.4GHz band. So, if WiFi keeps disconnecting on Android, you can switch your router to a lower AP band. You may need to delve into your router settings for that.
Meanwhile, if you’re connected to a Mobile Hotspot shared from an Android device, follow the steps below to change your AP band.
- Swipe down twice from the top of the screen to open the Quick Settings.
- From there, long-press the Hotspot tile.
- Hit Hotspot settings.
- Tap AP Band and change it to 4GHz.
- Save the Hotspot settings and reconnect your Android phone to it to see the changes.
Disable network auto-switch
An exceptional feature on most modern Android phones is the network auto-switch feature. Upon activation, it allows your device to switch between WiFi network and mobile data – based on their connection speed – to give you seamless connectivity.
However, it could also be the reason why WiFi keeps disconnecting on Android if the said WiFi connection is weaker. With that, you can turn off the WiFi Auto-switch feature if active. Or batter still, you can let it inform you before switching, as analyzed below.
- Again, long-press the WiFi tile from the Quick Settings.
- From there, tap Wi-Fi preferences.
- Turn off “Auto switch to mobile data” to disable the feature.
- Or, enable “Ask before switching” so WiFi doesn't disconnect without your permission.
Disable apps conflicting with the Wi-Fi
On the other hand, some apps you're using may force your phone to disconnect from a WiFi network sometimes. These apps could include most VPNs, Antivirus apps, and Wi-Fi Prioritizing apps.
If you have such apps on your device, you may disable them for a while to see if it fixes the problem. If not, try the two more solutions below.
Reset WI-Fi, Mobile & Bluetooth settings
As commonly used for fixing network-related issues on Android devices, you can reset your network settings when WiFi keeps disconnecting on Android. Don't worry, as you'll not lose any data in the process.
Resetting the network preferences on your Android phone will only erase the WiFi settings and saved networks, paired Bluetooth devices, mobile network settings, etc.
In reality, that could help when WiFi disconnects frequently on Android. Follow the steps below your reset your Android’s network preferences.
- Fire up the Settings
- Scroll down and click
- Tap Reset options.
- Carefully select Reset Wi-Fi, Mobile & Bluetooth
- Tap RESET SETTINGS below the screen to confirm the action.
Now, reconnect to the network by entering the credentials to see if it no longer disconnect.
Update your phone and the router’s firmware
If none of the solutions above works, you may need to update your devices.
While the problems are mostly related to what we've mentioned earlier, it could also be a simple software issue you can fix through updates.
Installing updates for your router shouldn't be a problem. Simply check the users' manual for the procedures and head over to the manufacturer's site.
Meanwhile, you can follow these steps to update your Android phone.
- Launch the Settings app
- Select System
- Tap System Update or Software Update
- Hit Check for update.
- If available, download and install it right away.
