How to fix Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) that can no longer connect to Wi-Fi [Troubleshooting Guide]

When your Samsung Galaxy A3 can no longer connect to a Wi-Fi hotspot, the problem could either be very simple or complex and that’s what we need to find out in this post. There are a lot of factors that may have contributed to the development of this problem but we really don’t have to go through each of them in a bid to fix the issue. All we need to do is take into consideration what happened to your phone before the problem started.

Samsung Galaxy A3 cant connect to wifi

So, I will walk you through in troubleshooting your Galaxy A3 in this post. We will try to tackle some of the possibilities and rule them out until it would be easier for us to know exactly what the problem with your phone is. If you own this phone and are currently bugged by a similar issue, continue reading below as this post may be able to help you.

Now, before we jump to our troubleshooting guide, if even you found this post because you were trying to find a solution to different issue, then I suggest you visit our Galaxy A3 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed some of the most commonly reported issues with this device. Try to find a problem that’s similar with yours and use the solutions or workarounds we suggested. If they don’t work for you and if you need further assistance, then fill up our Android issues questionnaire and we will include your concern in our next posts.

How to troubleshoot Galaxy A3 that can no longer connect to Wi-Fi

Problem: I have the Samsung Galaxy A3 I bought last April. So far, everything is working except its Wi-Fi. I just woke up one day that my phone is no longer connected to the Wi-Fi in my apartment. It’s not my personal hotspot really but it’s provided free by the owner of the apartment I’m living in. I’m not really sure why it happened but I don’t know what else to do about it. Can you help me?

Troubleshooting: First off, we don’t know why this is happening but we have to troubleshoot your phone to know. The problem could either be in the network or your phone and it’s for us to determine which is which. With that said, here’s what I suggest you do about it:

Step 1: Try to reboot your phone in safe mode and connect to Wi-Fi

We need to see how your phone behaves when all third-party apps are temporarily disabled. So, the first thing I want you to do is reboot your phone in safe mode and then try to connect to Wi-Fi.

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
  3. When ‘SAMSUNG’ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  7. Release the Volume down key when you see ‘Safe Mode’.

If the phone can connect to the network just fine and it actually has a good internet connection, then there should be an app that’s causing the problem. You have find it and then uninstall it to fix it.

Here’s how you uninstall an app from your Galaxy A3…

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap Application manager.
  5. Tap the desired application
  6. Tap Uninstall.
  7. Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

However, if the problem persists even in Safe mode, then you have to move on to the next step.

Step 2: Reset all network connections and let your phone reconnect

Resetting network settings resets all data connections back to the out of the box factory defaults. The following changes will occur by performing a Reset of network settings.

  • Stored Wi-Fi networks will be deleted.
  • Paired Bluetooth devices will be deleted.
  • Background data sync settings will be turned on.
  • Data restrictive settings in applications that were manually turned on/off by the customer will be reset to the default setting.
  • Network selection mode will be set to automatic.

And the your phone will be brought back to the following settings:

  • Airplane mode: OFF
  • Bluetooth: OFF
  • Data roaming: OFF
  • Mobile hotspot: OFF
  • VPN: OFF
  • Mobile data: ON
  • Wi-Fi: OFF

Now, here’s how you reset network settings on your A3:

  1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Settings > General Management > Reset > Reset network settings.
  3. Tap Reset settings.
  4. If you have set up a PIN, enter it.
  5. Tap Reset settings. Once complete a confirmation window will appear.

After this, let your phone scan the area for available Wi-Fi and then let it reconnect to the network it used to connect:

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Wi-Fi.
  4. If necessary, tap Wi-Fi ON. The Wi-Fi Switch moves right and turns green.
  5. A list of networks populates.
  6. Tap the MORE to add a Wi-Fi network that does not display.
  7. Tap the desired Wi-Fi network you want to connect to.
  8. If necessary, enter the password.
  9. Tap Connect.

If the problem still persists after this, try the next step.

Step 3: Reboot your phone in Recovery mode and wipe cache partition

Let us now try to rule out the possibility that this problem is caused by some corrupt caches. We’ve seen similar issues in the past that occurred after an update or without apparent reason at all. Many of those issues have been fixed by wiping the cache partition that’s why we also want you to do that hoping the problem is as simple as that. Here’s how you do it:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
  4. When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
  5. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. Press the Power key to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
  8. When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  9. Press the Power key to restart the device.

If the phone still not being able to connect to Wi-Fi after this, then you have no other option but to reset your device.

Step 4: Backup your files and data and then reset your phone

This is your last resort but as long as the problem is not with the phone’s hardware that handles all radio communications, then this procedure may fix it. However, you have to backup all your files and data stored in the device’s internal storage as they will be deleted during the problem. After backing them up, disable your phone’s Factory Reset Protection so you won’t be locked out after the reset.

How to disable the Factory Reset Protection on your Galaxy A3

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Accounts.
  4. Tap Google.
  5. Tap your Google ID email address. If you have multiple accounts setup, you will need to repeat these steps for each account.
  6. Tap More.
  7. Tap Remove account.
  8. Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.

How to reset your Samsung Galaxy A3

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
  4. When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
  5. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  6. Press Power button to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  8. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  9. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  10. Press the Power key to restart the device.

You can also reset your phone from the Settings menu…

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Backup and reset.
  4. If desired, tap Back up my data to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  5. If desired, tap Restore to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  6. Tap Factory data reset.
  7. Tap Reset device.
  8. If you have screen lock turned on, enter your PIN or password.
  9. Tap Continue.
  10. Tap Delete all.

I hope this helps.

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