Looking for some help with Wi-Fi connection on a Galaxy S4

[eopeer1]

My mobile phone service is with T-Mobile. (sorry!) I just upgraded from a Samsung Stratosphere II to Galaxy S4.  After two years of problem-free Wi-Fi access through my Verizon Fios router with my Stratosphere, I am now having issues with my new S4  indicating that I have an excellent signal, yet it says my internet connection speed is too slow and it refuses to connect.  But only sometimes – perhaps a bit less than half the time.  T-Mobile says I have to turn off my mobile data every time I want to use Wi-Fi, but I never had to do that before – that doesn’t seem right.  Any suggestions?  In case it matters, my router is probably about 4 or 5 years old.  Again, I never had this problem with my Stratosphere.  Is there a way to tell an S4 to connect even if it doesn't like my connection speed?  Why was the Stratosphere able to do it with no problem????  I'm perplexed.

[eopeer1 · Accepted solution]

Well, I see that nobody has responded.  I have found a less than perfect solution -- a number of apps exist to address the issue.  I've installed a "Wifi Mobile Data Switch" widget.  One touch turns mobile data off and wifi on or data on and wifi off.  There may be others out there that do it automatically as wifi becomes available or unavailable.  What I now have is better than having to go through my settings every time I lose or gain a good signal.

[VUser50]

I was able to fix a similar issue on my S3 by going into WiFi, pressing the menu key, hitting Advanced settings and unclicking the "auto-network" option. Also, when a message about having an unstable connection would appear, I'd ignore it/ maybe asked it not to nag me again? What I found was that my phone for some reason was overly aggressive about deeming a WiFi network unstable and disconnecting me.

[smith6612]

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@VUser50 wrote:

I was able to fix a similar issue on my S3 by going into WiFi, pressing the menu key, hitting Advanced settings and unclicking the "auto-network" option. Also, when a message about having an unstable connection would appear, I'd ignore it/ maybe asked it not to nag me again? What I found was that my phone for some reason was overly aggressive about deeming a WiFi network unstable and disconnecting me.

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I believe that auto detection feature is broken, even in the Android 4.3 update. I know it's disabled by default on the phone, but it's good to just keep it disabled.

[dslr595148]

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@Smith6612 wrote:

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@VUser50 wrote:

I was able to fix a similar issue on my S3 by going into WiFi, pressing the menu key, hitting Advanced settings and unclicking the "auto-network" option. Also, when a message about having an unstable connection would appear, I'd ignore it/ maybe asked it not to nag me again? What I found was that my phone for some reason was overly aggressive about deeming a WiFi network unstable and disconnecting me.

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I believe that auto detection feature is broken, even in the Android 4.3 update.. ..but it's good to just keep it disabled.

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I was just wondering, why is that and when will that be fixed?

[smith6612]

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@dslr595148 wrote:

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I was just wondering, why is that and when will that be fixed?

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Likely due to the algorithm Google or Samsung has programmed into the system to check for poor Wi-FI connectivitty being a bit dodgy. Or, from my inner sense of humor if the problem is a Samsung coded thing, the phone is expecting to be attached to a Wi-FI network with 100Mbps-1Gbps of connectivity like a majority of Korean connections are 🙂

As to when it'll be fixed? Hopefully when the next update is released for the Galaxy S3. Maybe when Android 4.4 "KitKat" is developed and released for the S3.

[roaddogg1]

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@eopeer wrote:

My mobile phone service is with T-Mobile. (sorry!) I just upgraded from a Samsung Stratosphere II to Galaxy S4.  After two years of problem-free Wi-Fi access through my Verizon Fios router with my Stratosphere, I am now having issues with my new S4  indicating that I have an excellent signal, yet it says my internet connection speed is too slow and it refuses to connect.  But only sometimes – perhaps a bit less than half the time.  T-Mobile says I have to turn off my mobile data every time I want to use Wi-Fi, but I never had to do that before – that doesn’t seem right.  Any suggestions?  In case it matters, my router is probably about 4 or 5 years old.  Again, I never had this problem with my Stratosphere.  Is there a way to tell an S4 to connect even if it doesn't like my connection speed?  Why was the Stratosphere able to do it with no problem????  I'm perplexed.

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I have a GS4 on t-mobile and never had that issue. Wifi is great and it disables the data when wifi is on. It will turn on if needed for updates, etc.. and run at the same time as the wifi with no issues.

Its most likely an issue with your router thats causing the issue with the phone. A newer one would probably fix it. 

have you tried changing the channels on your router to see if it improves?

[grateful2]

My Samsung Galaxy3 would not connect to my wifi.  Told me it was turned off but that  wasn't true.

After spending days trying all sorts of "fixes" and also contacting Samsung directly I found this hint here and it worked.  I installed the Wifi Data Switch app and all of a sudden my home network was found and my phone connected to it automatically.   I am so grateful for this information I found here and hope my experience helps others!