4 Samsung Galaxy S4 WiFi / Internet Connection Problems

Among the many problems and complains we receive through our mailbag address ([email protected]) are connectivity problems most especially WiFi and the Samsung Galaxy S4 is the most popular device in our list. This post, basically, will address four of the most common WiFi problems we received from our readers this week.

Here are the emails we received from our readers describing their problems:

“I don’t know how to put this but it seems that my internet connection is unstable. I have a router at home and have setup my WiFi. I believe this problem started a couple of weeks ago and I was just too busy to give a damn about it until today. I know it’s unstable because I can browse at one moment, then I can’t a moment later. My phone, which is a Galaxy S4, doesn’t behave like this when I’m connected to other WiFi hotspots (ex. Starbucks and office). Don’t know what to do so I need your help guys.” — Marianne

“Please bear with me as I am dumb when it comes to technology but I own a smartphone. My problem is about my Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone. More often, it disconnects from my Wi-Fi connection and automatically connects to mobile data network without me initiating it. How can you prevent this from happening. It pisses me off every time because my connection will be cut off and I have to wait a few to several minutes to regain my connection. There are even times when I had to reboot my phone so I could browse the internet. It’s very annoying.” — Joey

“Hey guys, how you doing? This is actually the second time I sent you an email. The first one was last year and you addressed my problem so well that it didn’t happen to my phone again. Now, just recently, I noticed that there are times when my phone can’t or refuses to connect to my own Wi-Fi network at home. It was sporadic at first; I can connect then the next time I can’t. But I let it pass thinking it was just some kind of a technology glitch on my phone. Well, I used to think like that until yesterday and today when I can’t connect to Wi-Fi anymore. Whatever or however I do it, my phone just won’t connect to my Wi-Fi. Please help.” — Marquee

“Hey, first of all, I want you to know I love the drippler app and TheDroidGuy.com is one of my favorite sites especially that you publish stories in a timely manner. Since you guys offer free advices to your readers, I have a little problem. My phone, a Galaxy S4, doesn’t have problems connecting to a Wi-Fi network, my own network. However, I just cannot browse the web even if I am well-connected. It may sound ironic that I am connected but I’m not really. Any advice will surely be appreciated. Thank you and keep up the good work, guys.” — Mark

How To Resolve

The problems mentioned by our readers above are very common but they are not as complicated as they appear. If the WiFi connection is unstable, the phone will display an error message and when the device automatically disconnects from its current connection to connect with other network, well, something has to give in. The other two problems may be problems with the network itself or the device that broadcasts the signal. To address these problems, here’s what you need to do:

1. From the Home screen, tap the Menu key.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Scroll to and tap Wi-Fi.
4. Long press the network you’re connecting to.
5. Tap Forget Network.
6. Tap the Menu key again.
7. Choose Advanced.
8. Make sure Passpoint is set to Off so that the phone won’t automatically connect to Wi-Fi access points that require additional authentication through a web browser.
9. Turn Auto Network switch to Off by unchecking the box.

In case your problem is that you can’t connect to your Wi-Fi network or you can but you cannot browse the internet, here’s what you can do:

1. Verify that your router is broadcasting in a clear spectrum. It means that there is minimal interference in the area. If you have home phones or microwaves at home, try using 5Ghz frequency for clearer broadcast.
2. When testing your router signal, do tests as near as possible to your router avoiding walls or electronics that may break the line of sight or interfere with the good connection between your router and your phone.
3. If your router is considerably far from your phone, try using 2.5Ghz instead of 5Ghz as it has wider range than the latter.
4. If all else fails, contact your router manufacturer or technical support for some support.

One of our readers sent us some tips related to the problems mentioned above:

“A couple tips you missed.

1. Do you have a custom ROM? There are issues with Wi-Fi on some combinations of modem and custom ROM. Read the forums on xda-developer for your ROM to see which modem is recommended for your ROM.

2. Go to Wi-Fi in the settings, then menu, then Advanced. You’ll find an option for automatically switching to mobile data if the connection is unreliable (exact wording varies based on version). I find this kicks in way too aggressively, and interprets you walking out of range (as you may do at home or work when you leave) as an unreliable connection. In some cases the auto-connect setting for a network can be disabled. Turning this off can help.

3. Look for interference. My Wi-Fi gets flaky every time the microwave is running. Other devices can cause interference as well – even nearby Wi-Fi. Try a tool like Wifi Analyzer to see what networks are near you – you’ll see various bands or channels on each network. Check your router configuration to see how to switch it to an open channel.

Those might help.”

— Earl Borah

Tell us your phone problems

The solutions we provided here are based on reports and testimonies from owners who have encountered these problems. I also ask my XDA developer friends regarding some of the problems. Now if you have other problems or questions with your smartphone that you want answered, don’t hesitate to send us email at [email protected].

We don’t guarantee a reply to all emails because we receive hundreds of them daily, but rest assured your email messages will be read by me. But I urge you to provide as much details as possible so I could easily find references and compare your problems with reports from other owners. If your problem is as common as others, there could already be solutions that exist and I would surely point you to them. Screenshots often help so attach one if you can.