When you have to connect to Wi-Fi from your android smartphone, you can do that by opening the settings menu, selecting the network, and then pressing the connect button. You can use a variety of tricks to troubleshoot wireless problems in rare instances when it does not cooperate.
The “failed to obtain IP address” error also appears when a user may try to connect to a Wi-Fi network. A router assigns an IP address for any connecting device. Your device must obtain this address to be able to connect to a router. This message means that there is an IP configuration failure, and the user is unable to join a Wi-Fi network.
These Wi-Fi troubleshooting tips are arranged in descending order from the most straightforward to the most complicated solution.
1. Turn Off your Android Phone
You should begin by turning off your android phone, and turning the phone back on helps you connect Wifi, obtain an IP address on android, and resolve the issue.
2. Wireless power-cycles
My phone has retained an IP address from a previous wireless connection and has applied it to the current wireless connection, which is strange. However, this is only acceptable if the addressing scheme is the same and there are no address conflicts, which is not always the case. You can give it a try to turn off the wireless device and then turn it back on again by following the steps outlined below:
- Press the Menu button on your phone’s screen.
- Select Settings from the drop-down menu.
- The Wireless and Network option can be found within the Settings menu.
- From the Wireless and Network menu, select Wi-Fi settings from the drop-down list.
- On the new screen, uncheck the Wi-Fi checkbox to turn off the connection.
- After Wi-Fi has been turned off, tap the entry once more to turn it back on again.
3. Forget the network
If the previous method does not work, it is possible that your android device will need to be forced to forget the network and then re-add it. However, there is a catch: If you are using an android device and you are connected to a wireless network that is within range, you will need to get out of range of that network and then perform the following steps:
- Long-press the network name that you want to remove from the list.
- Select Forget Network from the drop-down menu.
- Re-enter the range of the network and wait for it to reconnect on its own initiative.
- To connect to the network, enter the network password.
Your Android phone should now have a different IP address and should be functioning as expected.
4. Check the wireless password
If the wireless password changes on a regular basis (as it should), the phone will not automatically update itself with the new one. In order to change your wireless password manually, follow these instructions:
- You must be outside of the range of the network under consideration.
- Hold down the long-press key on the wireless network you want to configure.
- Select Change Network Settings from the drop-down menu.
- In the resulting screen, type in the new password you created.
- Select the Show Password option from the dropdown menu. When you’re entering a password into my mobile device, you always check the Show Password box to ensure that you enter the correct password.
- When you are certain that the password is correct, click Save.
This screen will also display the type of security that is currently in use on your network. Check that the type of security matches what you believe to be the correct type; if it does not, you may need to force Android to forget about the network and re-add it.
5. Advanced Wi-Fi settings
If none of the previously mentioned solutions worked for you, you may need to look a little deeper into the Wi-Fi settings on your android device. To access the advanced settings window, complete the following steps:
- Press the Menu button on your phone’s screen.
- Select Settings from the drop-down menu.
- Select Wireless and Networks from the drop-down menu.
- Select Wi-Fi settings from the drop-down menu.
- Press the Menu button once more.
- Select the Advanced option.
- Go to the Proxy settings on your Android device and make sure it is not configured to use a proxy. In most cases, unless the Wi-Fi network you are connected to requires a proxy, this setting will prevent your device from connecting to the Internet. If you click on Proxy and you see an IP address or domain, remove it from your list.
Most likely, the Proxy and Port settings will not be configured, but it’s always a good idea to double-check if you’re experiencing frequent Wi-Fi problems.
6. Static IP address
Providing your Android device with a static IP address is another troubleshooting strategy to try. This could reveal whether or not the router to which you are attempting to connect is having problems with the distribution of DHCP addresses, or whether or not your device is receiving a bad address. To configure a static IP address, select Use Static IP from the drop-down menu and then fill in the necessary information (IP Address, Gateway, Netmask, DNS).
If you set up a static IP address, the only drawback is that it will apply to all wireless networks, so you should only use it for troubleshooting if you only connect to one Wi-Fi network.
7. Wi-Fi sleep policy
You can experiment with changing the Wi-Fi sleep policy to Never if you are experiencing persistent Wi-Fi issues and see if your problems disappear. The Never setting will cause your battery to drain more quickly, but it will also allow your Wi-Fi to stay connected on a more consistent basis in the long run.
Summary
I hope the above-mentioned troubleshooting tips help you get over your Wi-Fi issues. Even if everything else fails on one of the Wi-Fi networks, you should test other networks to ensure that the problem isn’t with the wireless router.
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