How to fix iPhone XS Max that keeps losing WiFi signal

Having problems with your iPhone XS Max WiFi signal that keeps dropping? You’re not alone. We have other readers who reported that their device no longer connects to their network or the connection keeps on dropping.

A problem on WiFi internet drops or intermittent connection to the WiFi network are often due to a weak signal. This is often the case if the phone is way too far from the wireless router or modem. The same thing can happen if a network outage is transpiring in your place.

Software-related factors like random glitches and firmware crashes on the phone or network equipment are also among other possible causes. And the worst possible triggers are hardware damage on either the phone or network equipment (router/modem). Before rushing to a service center, you can try some tweaks to get rid of software-related factors that might have caused WiFi signal drops on your iPhone XS Max including these subsequent solutions.

Before anything else, if you are looking for a solution to a different problem, then drop in on our iPhone XS Max Help Guides page for we have already solved some of the most common problems with this device. Try to find issues that are similar with yours and feel free to use our workarounds and solutions.

Troubleshooting iPhone XS Max that keeps losing WiFi signal

Before troubleshooting, try moving closer to your wireless router or modem and see if that improves the quality of your WiFi signal. If you’re already near the router or modem but still experiencing WiFi signal disconnects, then you may proceed and try these workarounds.

First solution: Power cycle the wireless router/modem.

If all of the devices connected to the wireless router/modem are experiencing internet connection issue, then it is quite obvious that the problem is with the internet source or network equipment. To clear out minor firmware crashes on the wireless router/modem, performing the so-called power cycle or reboot can help. Here’s how it’s done:

On your router/modem, flip or press the Power switch/button to turn the equipment OFF.
Once it is completely turned off, unplug the AC adapter from the power source for at least one minute.
After one minute or so, flip or press the Power switch/button again to turn the router/modem back ON.

Wait until all the lights on the router/modem become stable. Your iPhone should then reconnect to the WiFi network if it was set to auto-connect to the network. If this trick doesn’t fix the problem, continue to the next option.

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Second solution: Give your iPhone XS Max a soft reset (restart).

If your phone has been inflicted with minor glitches that somehow affects the quality of WiFi signal its getting, performing a soft reset will likely be able to fix it. By doing so, random network errors and glitches as well as cached files on the phone’s internal memory are cleared out along with the associated symptoms. To perform a soft reset on your phone, simply follow the steps below:

Press and hold the Side/Power button and either Volume buttons simultaneously for at least 30 seconds.
When the Slide to power off command pops up on the screen, release both buttons.
Then drag the power off slider to the right to completely turn off the device.
Wait for at least 30 seconds, and then press and hold the Side/Power button again until the Apple logo appears.

Wait until your phone boots up again. Then enable its WiFi feature, reconnect to your wireless network, and check if the WiFi signal is already stable.

Third solution: Refresh your iPhone’s WiFi feature.

Most of the time, this simple trick could help rectify flaws that caused WiFi signal issues on your phone. It is also the simplest yet very effective way of refreshing the phone’s Internet connection and services. This can be done through your iPhone settings or through the Control Center. Here’s how:

From the Home screen, go to Settings.
Select the WiFi menu.
Toggle the WiFi switch/indicator to turn it OFF for at least one minute.
After the elapsed time, toggle the WiFi switch/indicator again to turn the feature ON.

When your iPhone is reconnected, open your browser app and test browsing by loading some websites then see if the connection is steady. If WiFi continues to drop, then you’ve got to try applying other possible solutions.

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Fourth solution: Turn the Airplane Mode ON and OFF.

Enabling the Airplane Mode will temporarily disable your phone’s wireless functions like Bluetooth and WiFi, giving them a clean fresh start. Performing the Airplane mode trick will also eliminate minor glitches that trigger intermittent WiFi signal on your device. If you wish to give it a try, then here is how it’s done:

From the Home screen, go to the Settings app.
Tap Airplane Mode.
Toggle the Airplane Mode switch to turn it ON and disable the wireless radios like Bluetooth and WiFi.
Then, restart (soft reset) your iPhone while the Airplane Mode is ON.
Once the phone is already back on, head back to Settings-> Airplane Mode menu and toggle the switch to turn the feature OFF again.

The WiFi and Bluetooth connections will be enabled again after disabling Airplane Mode. by then you can connect to your WiFi network and see if the WiFi signal is no longer fluctuating.

Fifth solution: Delete (Forget) the WiFi network from your iPhone and then reconnect.

It is also possible that your WiFi network has been corrupted and thereby caused its signal to randomly disconnect. This is often the cause when you installed a new update containing network bugs that ruined the network functions or connections on your phone. To fix the problem, carry out these steps:

From the Home screen, go to Settings.
Select WiFi.
Tap on the information “i” icon next to your WiFi network’s name.
Select the Forget this Network option to delete the network from your phone.

If you have saved multiple WiFi networks on your phone, deleting unused networks may be necessary to solve the problem. Doing so will prevent those networks from causing conflicts to your chosen WiFi network and therefore prevents WiFi signal drops from recurring. Once you are done deleting/forgetting all the WiFi networks, restart your iPhone. Then go back to Settings-> WiFi menu, add your WiFi network again and reconnect.

Sixth solution: Reset network settings.

When network settings were automatically overridden chances are that some options and values were messed. As a result, WiFi signal on your iPhone XS Max suddenly drops. To rule this out, follow these steps to reset network settings so as to eliminate network errors inflicted by incorrect network configurations. There’s no need to back up files beforehand as this reset does not affect any saved information on the internal storage. Here’s how it’s done:

From the Home screen, select Settings.
Tap General.
Scroll down to and select Reset.
Then tap the Reset network settings option.
Enter your device passcode when prompted to continue.
Then select the Reset network settings again to confirm the reset.

Your phone will reboot itself after the reset. When it’s back on, you need to set up and reconnect to your WiFi network since the network settings has been reset to default.

Seventh solution: Reset all settings on your iPhone XS Max.

If the previous reset doesn’t solve the problem and that your iPhone XS Max continues to drop its WiFi signal, then try this next settings reset. Performing this reset will delete all customized settings from your phone including those that might have caused errors to your WiFi network. Here are the steps:

From the Home screen, go to Settings.
Select General.
Scroll down to and select the Reset option.
Then tap Reset all settings.
Enter your passcode when prompted to continue and then select Reset all settings again to confirm the reset.

Your phone will reboot itself after the reset and the default values and options will be restored once it’s back on. By then you can re-enable necessary features like the Bluetooth and WiFi and see if the problem is gone.

ALSO READ: How to fix Visual Voicemail that is not working on your Apple iPhone XS Max

Eighth solution: Perform a master reset (factory reset) on your iPhone XS Max.

If you have already performed all applicable solutions but to no avail, then you must be dealing with complex system errors that usually require more advanced solutions. Among the last options you can try next is the so-called master reset or factory reset on your iPhone XS Max. Performing this reset will wipe out all saved information from your phone’s internal memory and so creating backup of your iPhone files is recommended. Once you’re ready, follow the steps to restore your iPhone to its factory settings:

From the Home screen, go to Settings.
Select General.
Scroll down to and select the Reset option.
Then tap Erase all content and settings.
Enter your passcode when prompted to continue and then follow the onscreen prompts to complete the factory reset.

Wait until the phone shows that the reset has been completed. Then follow the start-up wizard to set your iPhone as new again.

Seek more help

Contact your Internet service provider/carrier to report the problem if WiFi signal issue continues on your iPhone XS Max after exhausting all applicable solutions. There might be some problems that needed to be addressed on their end. Ongoing network outages or scheduled maintenance are usually among the possibilities.

If there’s nothing wrong with your network services but still experiencing WiFi signal drops on your iPhone XS Max, then you should contact Apple Support for further assistance. A dedicated fix patch might be necessary to resolve the issue.

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We are committed to helping our readers fix the problems with their phones as well as learn how to properly use their devices. So, if you have other issues, you may visit our Help Guides page so you can check by yourself the articles we’ve already published that contain solutions to common problems. Also, we do create videos to demonstrate how things are done on your phone. Visit our Youtube Channel and please subscribe to it. Thanks.