Every new software release comes with a bug or two, but the alternative to updating is often much worse. For example, Apple rolled out iOS 16.1 last week, adding Live Activities, support for Matter, the iCloud Shared Photo Library, and the ability to subscribe to Apple Fitness Plus without an Apple Watch. The update also patched a dangerous security bug in Siri that could allow bad actors to record your conversations. Unfortunately, iOS 16.1 also appears to have introduced a bug that is kicking people off their Wi-Fi networks.
On Thursday, MacRumors spotted a number of iPhone users on social media and on Apple’s support forums complaining about spotty Wi-Fi. The one thing that all of these users have in common is that they updated to iOS 16.1 after it launched last week.
The affected users say their iPhones are randomly disconnecting from and reconnecting to Wi-Fi networks throughout the day. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for when or how it happens. One user even tried a network reset and resetting their iPhone to factory settings. These steps did nothing to solve the problem.
If you’re running into this bug, some users have found a possible solution. Keep in mind that this isn’t working for everyone, but it might be worth a try until Apple rolls out a fix. Here are the steps you need to take to attempt this solution:
- On your iPhone, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services.
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and tap on System Services.
- Find the Networking & Wireless toggle and turn it off.
This is only a temporary fix, if it works at all, but it might spare you some frustration in the coming days. Once Apple does address the issue, you can follow the same steps to reactivate the feature. We’ll be sure to let you know if Apple acknowledges this problem.
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