A number of iPhone 17 users have commented that their new handsets experience sporadic Wi-Fi connectivity errors. At present, hundreds of comments have been posted on the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and the Apple Support Community over the past few days citing the issue with the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air units. It is unclear how widespread the problem is.
Specifically, affected users said Wi-Fi briefly disconnects and then reconnects after they unlock the iPhone. And since Apple’s CarPlay system in vehicles relies on a Wi-Fi connection, the issue can result in CarPlay disconnecting too.
A number of users have stated that the issue occurs while they’re wearing an Apple Watch that is paired and unlocked, although it’s unclear if this is a contributing factor.
It is unclear if this is a hardware or software problem, but Apple is often able to fix these sorts of issues with a software update. iOS 26.0.1 is coming soon, but it is unclear if Apple will have identified and implemented a fix in time for that version.
Each of the new iPhone models arrives equipped with Apple’s first-ever custom-designed N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread connectivity, whereas previous iPhone models rely on a Broadcom chip for wireless networking.
In its press releases for the new iPhones, Apple said the N1 chip also improves the performance and reliability of features like Personal Hotspot and AirDrop.
If you’ve seen these errors on your end with your new iPhone 17, please let us know in the comments.
Read more on O'Grady's PowerPage
