Why Won’t My iPhone or iPad Automatically Connect to Wi-Fi?

Has your iPhone or iPad suddenly stopped automatically connecting to known wireless networks such as your home Wi-Fi? This is a common question for iPhone 11 users but sometimes comes up for other Apple devices as well. It doesn’t necessarily mean the internet is not working on your iPhone. It’s more likely that a setting on your device is the culprit, but it’s easy to fix. Let’s learn how to change or reset your Wi-Fi settings so that your device will connect automatically to Wi-Fi again.

Related: What to Do If Your iPhone Won’t Connect to Wi-Fi

Auto-Join Networks on iPhone & iPad

Auto-Join saves you a lot of hassle by keeping you from having to manually select your preferred Wi-Fi network every time it’s within range. Sometimes, however, this setting can get switched off and you'll lose automatic connection to that Wi-Fi network. This problem is annoying, but easily fixable. Here’s how to enable automatic network connections on your iPhone or iPad.

1. To start, open up Settings and tap on Wi-Fi. The network you prefer should automatically show up near the top of the screen, but won’t show that you’re connected yet.
   
   
    
2. Tap on your Wi-Fi network and look for a toggle labeled Auto-Join. This toggle will likely be off, in which case it will not be green.
3. Tap Auto-Join to turn it on. This enables your iPhone or iPad to automatically join this specific Wi-Fi network whenever it’s in range, which is a good choice for secure networks like private home Wi-Fi networks.
   
   

You may need to check on this setting for each of your preferred networks at locations you visit, like work or home.

This is the most common solution to network issues with iPhones and iPads automatically joining networks, but if you’re still experiencing issues you may want to check out this more in-depth guide to troubleshoot further.

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