Many HTC One M8 owners have reported about Wi-Fi connectivity problems. Users may be unable to connect to the Wi-Fi network at all; or they may be able to connect but with very low speeds and signal strength; or sometimes they may able to connect with very good speeds at first, but subsequently the Wi-Fi connection may drop automatically and frequently or the connection will degrade.
Follow the steps listed below to resolve the issue:
- Before troubleshooting Wi-Fi connectivity issues with the M8, check and see if the Wi-Fi network of the router works with other devices.
- It is recommended to turn off the router once in a while so as to refresh it. In case the router has not been restarted in some time, then you may turn off both the router and the modem and even remove the power cord from the socket. Wait for a minute or more, before eventually connecting all the devices, plugging the power cord, and powering on the modem and the router.
- The firmware for the router should be updated to its latest version. The router’s security settings should also be reviewed. For this, contact the router manufacturer or the ISP.
- If there are no problems with the router, then power off the device, wait for a few seconds, and then turn it back on. You may also toggle the airplane mode between on and off.
- If issue persists, perform a soft reset. It does not erase the data. For a soft reset, make sure that the M8 is turned on and then press and hold the power button to get the options. Then tap on the option ‘restart.’ Tap on restart again to confirm.
- If you are still unable to connect to the Wi-Fi network, then check if there are any restrictions to Wi-Fi connectivity in the phone’s power saving options. For example, the M8 may not be able to connect to Wi-Fi when the phone has low battery change as the power saving mode may place restrictions on it. You may remove such restrictions for a short while, or turn off the power saving mode completely.
- Toggle the Wi-Fi between off and on, i.e., turn it off, wait for a few seconds, then enable it or turn it back on. Do this a few times.
- Go to the advanced options of the Wi-Fi feature on the phone and check whether the option ‘Always allow scanning’ is checked; the option ‘Avoid poor connections’ is off or unchecked; and the option ‘Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep’ is ticked or set as “always”.
- Make sure that Wi-Fi connectivity problems is not due to incorrect entry of Wi-Fi password or other such details.
- If Wi-Fi issue persists, then go to Wi-Fi settings and delete the preferred Wi-Fi network as well as other networks that may be present on the phone. Now, start the chosen Wi-Fi connection once again and reconnect to the Wi-Fi by entering the correct password and other details.
- The Mac address of the HTC M8 should be present or added to the list of permitted gadgets of the router. Alternatively, users may disable or turn off MAC filtering feature on the router. Usually, the MAC address of a smartphone can be obtained from the advanced section of Wi-Fi settings.
- If issue does not resolve, then try setting a static IP address; for this you need to contact your ISP, or go to its website, or check the manual. Then, select the router on your HTC One M8 and change the IP settings to static.
- Sometimes, Wi-Fi connectivity problems can occur due to conflicts with outdated apps or outdated OS. Users may go to Settings – > Software Updates – > Check Now and update the OS to its latest version. The apps can be updates to their current version from Play Store. All updates available in the future need to be regularly installed in the above manner.
- If issue persist, Change wireless band frequency from 5 GHz to 2.4 GHz or vice versa. The 5 GHz frequency is less crowded and faster than the latter, but also comes with a shorter range. Additionally, the 2.4 GHz band works smoothly with many new AC-based Wi-Fi networks; but these networks may experience instability issues at the 5 GHz range. Users may check between the two and choose the band frequency that works for them.
- Public or office Wi-Fi tend to come with the unusual problem of overcrowding. Hence, users who are connected to or are trying to connect to such networks may use a Wi-Fi analyzer app download from Play store to check and verify the number of people using the network. If there are too many users, then you may move to some other channel.
- If the Wi-Fi connectivity issue persists, then some corrupt or buggy apps may be incompatible with OS, thereby hampering Wi-Fi connectivity. Users may boot the M8 into safe mode and check if such apps are the cause. Safe mode disables all third-party apps, thereby preventing them from affecting Wi-Fi network connections. Thus, if the phone can connect to and use the Wi-Fi network, then users need to identify the culprit app or apps by deleting each app, one by one, from the phone.
- To launch safe mode,
- Keep holding the power button till the options are visible on the screen
- Now tap and hold the ‘power off’ option till the option ‘reboot to safe mode’ appears on the screen.
- Tap on ‘restart’ option to confirm
- The phone will boot into the safe mode. It can be recognized by the words ‘safe mode’ which appear at the lower left corner of the display.
- Alternatively, or if the above steps do not work, users may launch safe mode by,
- Press and hold the power button to completely turn off the HTC One M8
- Now press and hold the power key till the HTC logo appears on the screen.
- Let go of the power button and then press and hold the volume down button till the option ‘safe mode’ is seen on the left side of the display.
- In order to exit safe mode, press and hold the power key and then tap on the ‘restart’ option to confirm.
- The above process can be rather tiring and time consuming. Users have the option of skipping it and uninstalling all the aps at one go by performing a factory reset. The reset will however also erase all data from eth phone. Hence, ensure that the data is backed up before you reset the device. Also, a factory reset will take some time to complete. Therefore, you may connect the device to a charger or make sure that the battery of the phone has a full change before you begin the reset process.
- After the reset has finished, it is advisable to not restore the data from eth backup. This is because when you restore from an older backup then older faulty settings and buggy apps, etc., also get reinstalled along with the data. This will cause the Wi-Fi connectivity issue to co0me back. Hence, it is suggested to set up the M8 as a new device after the reset. Your important data, such as photos, contacts, music, etc. can be manually entered into the phone. All your favorite apps can be newly installed back into the phone from Google Play Store.
- To perform a factory reset using the screen via settings,
- Go to Settings – > tap on Backup & Reset
- Tap on the option ‘Reset phone’
- Select the option ‘Erase all data’ so as to delete all data from the phone’s storage
- Select the option ‘Erase SD card’ so as to all data from the storage card.
- Tap on ‘ok’
- Users may sometimes face problems in resetting the device from the screen settings option. This may be due to an unresponsive screen or due to other unknown factors. In such cases, users may use the hardware buttons to reset the device. To do a factory reset using the hardware buttons,
- Press and hold the power button till the phone is completely turned off.
- Now, press and hold the ‘volume down’ key and then press the power key for a short time. Release or let go of the volume down button when an icon appears on the screen.
- Now, press the hardware buttons in following sequence to factory reset the HTC One M8: Volume up, then volume down, then power, then volume down.
- If the Wi-Fi connectivity issue persists, then contact HTC support or go to a service center for further assistance.
