Why does my Android Wifi Keep Turning Off

There’s no debating that 3G and 4G data connection are much more flexible and convenient, but you just can’t beat the superior speeds of Wi-Fi. Depending on your carrier, you can avoid large phone bills by using Wi-Fi connections whenever you can.

While all of this is great, it’s clear that Wi-Fi tends to drain a lot of battery. That’s why a lot of smartphone manufacturers try to optimize this function and make it less of battery life cycle killer.

It’s certain that the Wi-Fi function is far from perfect on most terminals, as a lot of users report that their Android Wi-Fi is turning off randomly and reverts back to mobile data. This is known to happen when the phone is idle or when a certain action has been performed.

Because the issue has multiple potential causes, we have compiled a master-guide of methods that will most likely solve your problem. But first, let’s take a look at the most common causes that will make your Wi-Fi to turn OFF and ON constantly:

3rd app conflict (Textra, Mc Afee or similar app)

A Wi-Fi setting that prevents Wi-FI from staying on in idle mode.

A glitch with Google Home Launcher.

Location services interfering with Wi-Fi.

A custom ROM.

Aggressive power saving mode that turns off Wi-FI.

Faulty Wi-Fi router.

Connection optimizer that constantly looks for the best connection.

Malware attack.

VPN interference.

Before we get to technical, let’s eliminate the possibility of a faulty router. Try staying connected to a different Wi-Fi network or swap the current router with another. If the issue doesn’t repeat, you need a new router.

Now that we know the causes, let’s see to the solutions. Make sure you follow each guide in order until you find a solution that works for your device.

Method 1: Keeping Wi-Fi On During Sleep

This is perhaps the number one culprit for turning off Wi-Fi. A lot of phones have a feature that is meant to save battery by disabling any Wi-Fi connection when your phone is in idle mode. Depending on your manufacturer, you can find it under Wi-Fi Timer,  Wi-Fi Sleep or a similar name. Here’s how to turn it off:

1. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi and tap on the action button (more button).
2. Go to Advanced and tap on Wi-Fi timer.
   
3. Check to see if any timer is selected. If it is, turn it OFF.
4. Go to Settings > Location> Menu Scanning and set it to Wi-Fi scanning.
   
5. Restart your phone.
6. Check to see if Wi-Fi keeps disconnecting. If it still does, move over to the next fix.

Method 2: Turn OFF Connection Optimizer

Connection Optimizer is a Samsung feature but can be found under different names on most devices. It’s meant to improve user experience by automatically switching between Wi-Fi and data, according to the better connection. But, a lot of times this will make your phone mindlessly switch back and forth between Wi-Fi and mobile data.

Now, keep in mind that the exact path will differ across different manufacturers, but the location is roughly the same. Here’s how to turn Connection Optimizer off:

1.  Go to Settings > More Networks > Mobile Networks.
2. Tap on Connection Optimizer.
   
3. Toggle the setting off and restart your phone.

Method 3: Turning Battery Saving Mode Off

Some devices are much more aggressive than others when trying to save battery. HTC and Huawei are known for not allowing excessive power drainers eating away at their battery. Some power saving modes will automatically switch the Wi-Fi off when it’s not in use.

If you constantly keep your phone on battery saving mode just for the sake of an extra hour or two, you might want to reconsider it. Let’s disable power saving mode and see if the issue will resolve itself:

1. Go to Settings > Battery.
2. Disable the toggle next to Power Saving Mode.
   
3. Restart your phone.
4. Turn On the Wi-FI and leave it idle for some time.
5. If the issue persists, move over to the next method.

Method 4: Disabling High Accuracy Location

As you know, your phone is capable of working with multiple modes when using GPS. If your GPS is set to high accuracy, it will also use Wi-Fi to triangulate your position and improve location accuracy. For some reason, this will facilitate a conflict and might cause your Wi-Fi to reboot. Here’s how to make sure location services are not using your Wi-Fi:

1. Go to Settings > Security & Privacy and tap on Location Services.
   Note: The location might differ across manufacturers. If you’re unable to locate location services, do the following search online: “location services + |your phone model|”.
2. Check to see which mode is in use. Keep in mind that besides High accuracy, some Battery saving modes also use Wi-Fi.
3. Make sure you select GPS Only and restart your device.
   

Method 5: Clearing Data of Settings

On Android, the Settings app holds all kinds of data from paired Bluetooth devices to changes made when adding a new Wi-Fi connection. Some users have reported that clearing the data of the Settings app made their issue disappear. Let’s try it:

1. Go to Settings > App Manager.
2. Change the app filter to include ALL apps, including system apps.
3. Scroll down and look for the Settings app.
4. Tap on it and start by clearing the cache.
5. Tap on Clear Data and restart your phone.
   
6. Reinsert your Wi-Fi password and see if the issue repeats.

Method 6: Eliminating the App conflict

If nothing helped in keeping your Wi-Fi alive, this might very well be an app conflict. This usually happens on phones sold by carriers that impose certain apps and give them elevated privileges. A known WI-FI killer is Textra – it forces users to download MMS solely from mobile data. This will make your phone auto switch to mobile data and back to Wi-Fi every time you receive a MMS.

A known WI-FI killer is Textra – it forces users to download MMS solely from mobile data. This will make your phone auto switch to mobile data and back to Wi-Fi every time you receive a MMS.

Another potential culprit is your antivirus or malware scanner. The mobile version of Mc Afee is known to identify false treats on A Wi-Fi network and force-stop the WI-Fi connection. Bitmoji is another app that has been reported by users as a Wi-Fi killer.

Based on what the users reported, we managed to identify three potential conflicts, chances are there are more. If you only had this issue appear recently, try uninstalling apps that made their way into your phone when the issue first started appearing.

Method 7: Updating or Uninstalling Google Home Launcher

It seems like Google Home Launcher is causing the WI-Fi Connection to drop unexpectedly on various Android phones running on the stock version. You can easily check to see if that’s the case by updating or uninstalling Google Home completely.

Method 8: Restricting Bloatware’s Permissions

Android is pretty strict on which apps get permissions, particularly older versions. From what we gathered, the only apps that are allowed to cause major glitches on the latest Android versions are bloat wares with elevated permissions. I’m talking about the Verison app, the T-Mobile app or any other app that is fully supported by the carrier.

The problem is you can’t uninstall them without having root access. The good news is, you can leave them without the right permissions to cause any damage. But keep in mind that this is only possible on Android 6.0 and above.  Here’s how:

1.  Go to Settings > Connections > Location and tap on Improve accuracy.
2.  Enable Wi-Fi scanning and go back to Location.
3. Scroll down for the “Recent location requests” tap on the bloatware and go to Permissions.
4. Disable the location permission for it.
   
5. Repeat this process with every permission there and move to the next bloatware that you can find.
6. Restart your phone and see if the issue has been resolved.

Method 9: Making sure your VPN isn’t interfering 

IPSEC, the basis for many VPNs and NAT are known to have some issues on Android. If you’re using a VPN client while this issue appears, try disabling it. Some routers have trouble dealing with your gateway and will end up breaking your WI-FI connections.

Another way to check for this is to connect to the VPN client with a 3G or 4G connection. If the connection is stable on mobile data and unstable on WI-FI, there’s certainly a conflict between the VPN client you’re using and the router.

Method 10: Doing a factory reset

If your Wi-Fi is still turning off by itself, there are still a few things you can try. If the issue is related to a glitch or virus, chances are you’ll be able to get back the normal functionality of your Wi-Fi after the factory reset. Here’s what to do:

Note: Keep in mind that a factory reset will delete any of your personal data that isn’t on your SD card, so it’s recommended to create a backup before doing this.

1. Go to Settings > Advanced settings.
2. Tap on Backup & reset and see whether backups are enabled on your device. If you don’t have a backup, you should do one now.
3. Scroll down and tap on Factory data reset.
   
4. Tap on Reset Phone and wait for the process to complete.
5. Wait for your phone to restart and check whether the Wi-Fi connection is working normally.

Hopefully, your Wi-Fi is back on track. If not, you should seriously consider reflashing your device or take it to a professional for a closer inspection. Especially if you’re rooted running a custom ROM. If you don’t know how to reflash, it’s best to take it to a professional.