Poor Wi-Fi Signal on your iPhone XR? Lets Fix It!

Haseeb Awan
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August 29, 2023
Modified On
August 29, 2023

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The distance between a wireless router and your device could disrupt the iPhone signal. The Wi-Fi reception gets weaker with each distance made. It is suggested to move closer to the source of your Wi-Fi reception while checking if the signal's strength improves.

The distance factor is just one consideration – there are other factors to consider, for instance, Wi-Fi interruptions and software-related factors. It could even be the hardware damage that disrupts the Wi-Fi signal on your iPhone XR.

What to do when you counter such issues on your iPhone XR?

Let's take a walk together.

Turn the network equipment off and then on.

This process is known as power cycling. Just like smartphones, power cycling of this equipment is necessary because there is a potential that these devices, for example, modem and wireless routers, also give into system crashes and random firmware errors.

Numerous symptoms could transpire in interconnected devices. It could range from Wi-Fi drops (intermittent connection) to no internet connection or slow internet. It is prescribed to power cycle or turn OFF and then ON your device.

Turn it off for at least 30 seconds, just like you reboot your computer or reset your device. This act will eliminate any firmware errors causing the modem or router to mess up or trigger weak Wi-Fi on your phone.

Illustration:

  1. Toggle off the power button on your wireless router once you have located the power switch.
  2. Unplug the AC adapter for at least 1 minute or a minimum of 30 seconds. 
  3. Turn the device back ON when the time has elapsed.
  4. Let's wait until your Wi-Fi signal indicator is stable.

Wait for your phone to revert back to the Wi-Fi network connection. Test if the bug has been fixed. Reboot your iPhone XR as a last resort.

Mess with your Airplane mode

Resort to perform the Airplane mode trick. It is an alternative to power cycling your Wi-Fi connections on your phone. Try these steps:

  1. Tap on Settings from your home screen and select airplane mode (you can see an aeroplane symbol).
  2. Turn ON this airplane feature. This will switch off your Bluetooth and Wi-Fi options by default.
  3. Once the airplane mode has been enabled, turn off your iPhone.
  4. Turn back this Airplane mode ON.
  5. Hold on till your iPhone boots up.
  6. Go to settings from your home screen and airplane mode, and turn the feature ON.
  7. Wait till your Wi-Fi network connects, then check the signal strength.

Reconnect: Forget your Wi-Fi network.

The phone connects to your Wi-Fi network by default and could even connect to unsecured Wi-Fi networks such as your neighbor's network. Despite the connection, you may notice the signal strength getting weaker.

Tip – forget all saved Wi-Fi networks. Here's how to do it:

  1. Tap on Settings from your home screen and select Wi-Fi.
  2. Tap the "i" from the information icon next to the Wi-Fi networks or the list you want to forget.
  3. Tap on the Forget this network option.
  4. Tap on forget to confirm – you can also select the Wi-Fi network you want to delete.
  5. Delete all the saved Wi-Fi networks.

Reset the network settings

Apply this option when the aforementioned has failed. This will impact the current Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections, similar server settings, APN, and restoring the default networks.

Here's how to reset network settings:

  1. Navigate to the settings option from your home screen and select general.
  2. Tap reset (scroll down to find the keyword reset in general settings).
  3. Enter the passcode/PIN/pattern etc., when you tap on the reset network setting option and confirm the reset option.

Your XR version will instigate the network resetting settings and restore the default options. Once the reset has been completed, the device will be rebooted automatically to apply the changes you have made. Go to your Wi-Fi settings to reconnect it (after re-enabling it) once the device boots up.

Reboot your iPhone XR Network as a last resort [Soft Reset]

This case is also applicable when the response of your iPhone to your network connection is acceptable initially, but it starts acting up the next moment. This means various glitches impair your iPhone's signal system performance.

Here's how you can soft reset it:

  1. Simultaneously hold power and volume buttons for a few seconds.
  2. You can see a slide to power off option as soon as you release the buttons → drag it to the right.
  3. Press the Slide Button again once the phone boots up after 30 seconds.

For soft network reset, try:

  1. Go to the Wi-Fi menu after tapping on the Settings option and enable Wi-Fi if required.
  2. Select Wi-Fi network and add a password if prompted.
  3. Tap connect and see if the problem has been resolved.

Miscellaneous factors affecting the signal connections

  1. Ensure you have the later iOS version – the latest software update can fix Wi-Fi signal issues. This will also fix interrelated bugs and system errors. There's a possibility that you may miss viewing and downloading over-the-air updates because of your Wi-Fi interruptions on your iPhone. The synonym for this problem would be to use iTunes on your desktop version to check for the latest update. You can then download and install it.
  2. Thank you, iTunes! A master or factory reset may help clear out issues like connection errors, and you can reset and restore your device through iTunes. You can restore the factory defaults and install the latest iOS update on your iPhone XR.
  3. Is your network reliable? There could be unscheduled or unposted outage problems other than device issues. You can call your provider and troubleshoot further. They can also reset your wireless router from their end if needed. Refresh once the desired actions have been performed, and here you go!

BONUS - Manual DNS Setup on iPhone

This creates a massive impact. It is not always Wi-Fi reception, but other issues like altering the DNS setting would fix your issue. This is not a method to boost your Wi-Fi reception but a way to go through some other DNS to obtain data from the internet.

Here are a few options and how to do it:

  1. Navigate to Settings and tap on Wi-Fi and the 'i' icon to the right of the Wi-Fi network connected name.
  2. Tap DNS and enter the DNS addresses:
  3. - Google – 8.8.8.8; 8.8.4.4
  4. - OpenDNS – 208.67.222.222; 208.67.220.220
  5. Restart the Wi-Fi.

This is the optimal thing, where automatically opted DNS does not always work, which is why using an OpenDNS (public version) or Google is suggested.

Hope this issue is now resolved and you are enjoying a better Wi-Fi connection on your iPhone! Hint: these steps can fix your iPad connectivity issues as well. Let us know in the comments section. Please also ensure that specific or immediate updates due to COVID-19 respond to rising cyber threats and SIM swapping. Once you embed Efani in your device, you're free of SIM swapping threats. Remember, privacy is a fundamental right! Stay safe.

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Haseeb Awan
CEO, Efani Secure Mobile

I founded Efani after being Sim Swapped 4 times. I am an experienced CEO with a demonstrated history of working in the crypto and cybersecurity industry. I provide Secure Mobile Service for influential people to protect them against SIM Swaps, eavesdropping, location tracking, and other mobile security threats. I've been covered in New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Mashable, Hulu, Nasdaq, Netflix, Techcrunch, Coindesk, etc. Contact me at 855-55-EFANI or haseebawan@efani.com for a confidential assessment to see if we're the right fit!

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