Google Pixel won’t connect to any wifi network, wifi slider won’t turn to ON, other internet issues

We’ve received a few internet-related issues for the #GooglePixel device lately so this post is our answer for some of them. We hope you’ll find the answers helpful.

If you are looking for solutions to your own #Android issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page.

When describing your issue, please be as detailed as possible so we can easily pinpoint a relevant solution. If you can, kindly include the exact error messages you are getting to give us an idea where to start. If you have already tried some troubleshooting steps before emailing us, make sure to mention them so we can skip them in our answers.

Below are specific topics we’re bringing for you today:

Problem 1: Google Pixel won’t connect to any wifi network, music volume turns down on its own

I think I’m having some hardware issues with my phone. I did all the trouble shooting steps and my issues are still not resolved. Sometimes when I listen to music for an extended period of time the phone automatically decreases the volume of my media, ring tone, and alarms. I see it on my screen as if I were pressing the volume down button. I raise it back up and it just goes right back down. Does not happen during phone calls or anything. Only when listening to music for an extended amount of time.

Also, the main thing. My phone no longer connects to any wifi. It’s not that it just doesn’t connect. It no longer sees any wifi networks at all. When i try to turn on my wifi it doesn’t stay on. It just goes right back to off. And when I hold my finger on  the on button for wifi, it eventually stays on but it looks like its searching forever for a network but never comes up with anything anymore. Not sure if the wifi connection in my phone got loose or what. It’s had a case on it since day one. Never had a cracked screen or anything. Nothing more than normal wear and tear. Haven’t dropped it from high places or anything of that nature. — Nikko Pena

Solution: Hi Nikko. Both issues appear unrelated so there may be a general software issue causing it. We can’t think of any specific bug that may cause such problems in this type of device.

Boot to safe mode

At this point, it may be any thing. It can be a bad app or an operating system so the first thing that you should do is to see how your phone works when it’s on safe mode. While in safe mode, you will only be able to use the apps that originally came with the phone. Third party apps will blocked in this mode so if both problems won’t occur, you can bet one of your third party apps is to blame.

To restart your Google Pixel in safe mode, follow these steps:

If your device is on:

1. Press and hold your device’s Power button.
2. On your screen, touch and hold Power off Power.
3. Your device starts in safe mode. You’ll see “Safe mode” at the bottom of your screen.

If your device is off:

1. Press your device’s Power button.
2. After the Google logo shows on your screen, when the animation starts, press and hold your device’s Volume down button. Keep holding it until the animation ends and your device starts in safe mode.
3. You’ll see “Safe mode” at the bottom of your screen.

To boot your phone back to normal mode, just do these steps:

1. Press and hold the Power button for a few seconds.
2. On your screen, tap Restart Restart. If you don’t see “Restart,” continue holding the Power button for about 30 seconds, until your device restarts.

Factory reset your Google Pixel

If the issues won’t go away when your device is on safe mode, we suggest that you do a factory reset to so you can have a performance benchmark from which you can base how your device should work. Factory reset, as the name suggests, will restore all software settings back to their known, working defaults. It will also eliminate any possible software and app bugs that may have developed over time. This procedure will reformat your internal storage device as well so you’ll lose all customizations and other non-system data. Be sure to create a backup of your photos, videos, etc. before doing it.

To avoid locking yourself out for 24 hours after a factory reset due to Android Device Protection, be sure to know the Google email address and password in the phone. If you can’t trust your memory, write them down in a paper and ensure that you test to see if they work in your phone’s or computer’s browser.

Once you’re ready, follow these steps to factory reset your Google Pixel:

1. Turn off the device.
2. Press and hold the Power and Volume Down buttons until bootloader mode  appears, then release.
3. Select Recovery mode. Utilize the Volume buttons to cycle through the available options and the Power button to select. The device will flash the Google start screen momentarily and then restarts in Recovery mode.
4. If presented with an image of a broken Android with No Command printed on the screen, press and hold the Power button. Press the Volume Up button once. Then release the Power button.
5. From the Android Recovery screen, select Wipe data/factory reset.
6. Select Yes. Allow several minutes for the factory data reset process to complete.
7. Select Reboot system now. Allow several minutes for the factory data reset and reboot processes to complete.
8. Set up your phone again but DO NOT install any app yet.

Now that you’ve factory reset your phone, make sure that you check if the issues are still present. We expect them to be gone at this point since the phone is now running a fully validated operating system version. There are only possibilities at this time.

• If the issues are gone:

proceed with apps installation. If the problems return after you’ve installed your apps, one of them must be problematic. Uninstall apps one by one until you’ve removed the cause.

• If the issues remain:

that can indicate that there may be a hardware issue. Contact Google so you can send the phone in.

Problem 2: Google Pixel wifi slider won’t turn to ON

Hi. My toggle/slide switch to turn the wifi from off to on does not work. It continues to stay on off. Can you please offer your expertise on how to resolve? Anything will help. Thank you. — Fitri

Solution: Hi Fitri. We addressed some wifi-related issues late last year in this post. Make sure to check our suggestions for other users and see if anything can help you. We’ve been monitoring a lot of wifi issue on Google Pixel devices since last year and a lot of them were fixed by a factory reset. If you haven’t tried it, be sure to do it right away. Refer to the steps above on how to do it.

Problem 3: Google Pixel wifi won’t turn on, turns off automatically

So my phone has had this problem for months now and i couldn’t find a solution so i came to email you. In the first phase my phone’s WiFi simply would not turn on and would turn off automatically. That problem recently has been fixed after a long time waiting and a new problem has risen which is that i can get any WiFi saved by typing in a random password but when i type the right password into my WiFi it would not connect and would say connecting… then stop then start. In attempt to fix this is have figured it is not a third party app and i have also factory reset the problem is still going on. So what do i do? — Aman Patel

Solution: Hi Aman. As what we are saying for Nikko above, a Google Pixel wifi issue that can’t be fixed by uninstalling apps or factory reset must have a hardware-related cause. This means that a more thorough hardware diagnostics must be performed to identify the malfunction. Unfortunately, this type of diagnostics can’t be done remotely, or via software. You’ll need to let a trained technician check the device physically.

Problem 4: Google Pixel cellular reception disappears on its own

Hello, I’m having an issue with my Google Pixel. I have MetroPCS as my provider and have never had this problem until today. As usual I wake up every morning to check my phone to see if I have any messages. I turn it on and everything seems fine, data is fine, everything is working. Then after about a minute, my cell reception just disappears. One second I’m connected to 4G LTE the next, no reception at all.

I’ve tried soft reseting my phone, as well as checking the SIM card and I can’t seem to find a fix for the problem. If you could help as soon as possible I’d greatly appreciate it. — Jarrett

Solution: Hi Jarrett. Your issue can either be due to a bug found within the device itself, or something you can’t control, like an issue with your network. If it’s a device problem, then the usual dose of software troubleshooting like restarting to safe mode and factory reset may help.

The easiest way to determine if it’s a network issue is to insert your SIM card in another metroPCS phone. We assume of course that you have a GSM device. If you are using a CDMA phone, just contact your carrier right away and let them identify where the problem lies. It’s possible that there’s a problem with their service during particular hours in your area so talking to them is a must.

If you suspect that the issue is with the phone itself, consider doing a factory reset first before you call metroPCS. Refer to the steps above on how to factory reset you device.

 

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