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Re: IOS 14 upgrade is freezing Wifi

Papasmurph
Aspirant

IOS 14 upgrade is freezing Wifi

Hi

I have had a similar but different issue after upgrading iPhone x and iPad Pro to IOS 14. My Orbi Wifi has been operating without issue for nearly 2 years with up to 20 different devices attaching (other IOS devices, Apple TV's, Smart TV's, Sonos etc). All device upgrades including IOS have completed within this 2 years and no impact on the reliability of the Orbi WiFi. However I upgraded both my iPhone x and iPad Pro same evening about 4 weeks ago and since then whenever I attach either my iPhone or iPad (with IOS 14) to the Orbi WiFi it freezes/stops the WiFi for everything, thats including other IOS (V13) devices smart TV's etc., the only way to restart the WiFi is take IOS14 devices off the wifi and reboot the Orbi router, then so long as I leave iPhone x and iPad Pro off the Orbi wifi then no issue it works away. 

 

As the iPhone x stops the Wifi when it attaches I cannot use the Orbi app but I do have the option to allow access 'Local Network'. So instead I use the https://orbilogin.com and can connect to Orbi router. I have updated the firmware, done a factory reset, installed as new (as few times) and still same issue, IOS 14 devices causes the Wifi to freeze. I have never installed Orbi Nighthawk as an App.

 

I am totally frustrated and while I did contact Apple and they did escalate they clearly identify the problem as the Orbi router issue. 

 

Anyone had a similar issue and at this stage before I throw the Netgear equipment into the trash I would try anything.

Model: RBR50|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi Router
Message 1 of 11
horsecore
Aspirant

Re: IOS 14 upgrade is freezing Wifi

I am having a similar issue. Upgraded an iPhone 11 Pro to 14.1 sometime in October, was receiving constant prompts to enter my network's WiFi password. Some quick searches revealed this to be related to VPN services running on the phone - had one installed from Bitdefender Armor (via Netgear), removed, and issue seemed to be resolved. My wife's phone, also an 11 Pro, did not have this issue as she is not using Bitdefender Armor at this time; all other devices in the home were operating normally.

 

Fast forward to Monday this week and my internet connectivity on my phone is not working - connection to our home wireless network is fine but it behaves as if there is no internet connectivity. Rebooted modem and router, no difference, rebooted phone, no difference, reset network settings on the phone, no difference. I had a pending update to 14.2, updated, no change. Disabling and re-enabling WiFi seems to correct the issue but only momentarily. My wife's phone is also experiencing the same set of issues. All other devices in the home are working as expected.

 

Found a post on Apple's developer forums (https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/651079) suggesting to try Google's public DNS addresses - no change. Also on that forum, a user described changing their security type on their router to "WPA2+WPA3" which unfortnately for us is not an option with the Orbi RBR50, we only have WPA2-PSK [AES]  or WPA-PSK [TKIP] + WPA2-PSK [AES]. Router and satellite are running the latest firmware as well, V2.5.2.4.

 

Checked adding a new wireless network on the iPhone Pro 11 and of the security types available, default is WPA2/WPA3...there is no WPA2 only. I cannot validate what was present on my phone before updating to 14.x but I have an old iPhone 5s running 12.4.8 and WPA2 by itself is an option and this phone has no issue with internet connectivity.

 

My guess would be something to do with the WPA2/WPA3 security type currently set on IOS (could have been present before, not sure) and the lack of the option on the router.

 

Anyone else have thoughts?

Model: RBR50|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi Router
Message 2 of 11
horsecore
Aspirant

Re: IOS 14 upgrade is freezing Wifi

As an update for my specific scenario, I did change the security option on my RBR50 to WPA-PSK [TKIP] + WPA2-PSK [AES] and now connectivity to the internet seems stable. My theory may hold some water but curious what others are seeing.

Model: RBR50|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi Router
Message 3 of 11
tweadick
Aspirant

Re: IOS 14 upgrade is freezing Wifi

I am having the same issues as above, I did change the security option on my RBR50 to WPA-PSK [TKIP] + WPA2-PSK [AES]  but it has had no effect.

 

My iphone works fine in other locations on wi fi, my wife's phone which is android has no problems with my orbi, the issues appear to be between my iphone since I updated to ios 14 & my orbi router.  Whenever i log into my network it crashes everything & the only solution is to reboot the router. This has been going on for a number of weeks & as I work from home it is a nightmare

Model: RBR50|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi Router
Message 4 of 11
horsecore
Aspirant

Re: IOS 14 upgrade is freezing Wifi

Bummer - was hoping I found a common thread that may have been helpful to others in this situation. Thank you for sharing your experience.

 

I have an email correspondence with the Netgear team, waiting on some feedback. I will update this thread once I hopefully have some new information.

 

 

Message 5 of 11
horsecore
Aspirant

Re: IOS 14 upgrade is freezing Wifi

Following-up on my previous post -

 

The post on the Apple Developer Forum has been updated with some great feedback, in particular, confirming my suspicion related to WiFi security type - see below:

 

https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/651079?login=true&page=1#650007022

Apple just told me that WPA-2 security is a known issue for ios 14. Their support rep said I should use WPA-3. Problem is my broadcom-based router (Netgear AC1750 purchased in 2018) does not offer WPA-3.

 

Chat transcript:

 

Apple:

Security

WPA3 Personal for better security, or WPA2/WPA3 Transitional for compatibility with older devices

The security setting defines the type of authentication and encryption used by your router, and the level of privacy protection for data transmitted over its network. Whichever level of security you choose, always set a strong password for joining the network.

 

• WPA3

Personal is the newest, most secure protocol currently available for Wi-Fi devices. It works with all devices that support Wi-Fi 6

(802.11ax), and some older devices. 

• WPA2/WPA3 Transitional is a mixed mode that uses WPA3 Personal with devices that support that protocol, while allowing older devices to use WPA2 Personal (AES) instead.

• WPA2 Personal (AES) is appropriate when you can't use one of the more secure modes. In that case, also choose AES as the

encryption or cipher type, if available.

 

Don't create or join networks that use older, deprecated security protocols like WPA/WPA2 Mixed Mode, WPA Personal, TKIP, Dynamic WEP (WEP with 802.1X), WEP Transitional Security Network, WEP Open, or WEP Shared. These are no longer secure, and they reduce network reliability and performance. Apple devices show a security warning when joining such networks.

 

Article: HT202068

Apologies, discard that  

Me:

OK

Apple:

Once you change the Security, you will need to monitor the devices for dropping connections intermittently 

Me:

So are you saying there is a problem with iOS using WPA2-PSK [AES]?

Apple:

Yes 

Me:

Introduced in iOS 12.4?

Apple:

Correct 

Is there anything else I can assist with today?

 

Unfortunately, this may mean that I/we have to invest in new network hardware, which is not ideal. To this point I have not received any further feedback from Netgear but I will be passing this along. 

Message 6 of 11
tweadick
Aspirant

Re: IOS 14 upgrade is freezing Wifi

Much appreciated even if unfortunately I have the same issue with only WPA2-PSK - AES with my Orbi rbr50.

 

I reads like it will not be something they care to sort with further ios updates?

Message 7 of 11
Papasmurph
Aspirant

Re: IOS 14 upgrade is freezing Wifi

I did have interaction with Netgear Support - they took logs off Router about 10 days ago but nothing from them since

My experience would further support your theory on the issue being between Orbi RBR50 and IOS 14 and same as you I don’t have option on my router to change to WPA3. My iPhone and iPad work fine on other WiFi environments but not on my Orbi

Is there a chance that Netgear will add WPA3 in a firmware update to older routers?

Model: RBR50|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi Router
Message 8 of 11
horsecore
Aspirant

Re: IOS 14 upgrade is freezing Wifi

I'm not sure if Apple will do anything or the onus will be placed on the network equipment manufacturers/vendors. It would be great if Netgear releases a firmware update to add WPA3 but I am not certain if there are any hardware limitations. I suspect if it were an easy add, they would have done it already.

 

I will update the thread with any new updates from Netgear (or Apple if I see any).

 

Thanks for the feedback all!

Message 9 of 11
carumuga
Aspirant

Re: IOS 14 upgrade is freezing Wifi

WPA3 freezes still happens on the latest netgear router MK80.

Device: MK80

Firmware Version V1.1.3.6_3.1.82

We had purchased the new MK80 at BestBuy and the router failed within couple of days. We did the factory reset and couldnt get the new MK80 working. We changed the router with another MK80 as we liked the coverage and the number of satilites it comes with.

 

Here is our setup:

Default Wireless - SomeName-5G (supports both 2.4 & 5GHz and uses WPA2)

Customize WiFi - SomeName (supports only 2.4GHz and uses WPA2)

Customize WiFi - SomeName-5G+ (supports only 5GHz and uses WPA3)

This setup works great and we are getting 400MBps download on all our 5G devices everywhere.

 

All our Apple devices are using SomeName-5G+ and it works great. However, I had noticed that iPhone 12 Pro Max freezes for WPA3 connection sometimes and I need to restart the WiFi on the iPhone. I am not seeing this issue with WPA2 connections.

Anyone seeing the freeze issue with WPA3 connections?

Message 10 of 11
beyistan
Aspirant

Re: IOS 14 upgrade is freezing Wifi


@horsecore wrote:

I'm not sure if Apple will do anything or the onus will be placed on the network equipment manufacturers/vendors. It would be great if Netgear releases a firmware update to add WPA3 but I am not certain if there are any hardware limitations. I suspect if it were an easy add, they would have done it already.

 

I will update the thread with any new updates from Netgear (or Apple if I see any).

 

Thanks for the feedback all!


I have similiar issue with iphone, wifi not working my iPhone but it's all fine in android phone, I think it's related to iPhone it must be fixed soon, Looking forward for solution if anyone here have 

Message 11 of 11
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