Samsung’s Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, the company’s flagship handsets for 2018, are now on sale all over the world. Compared to their predecessor, the Galaxy S9 has received some major internal upgrades. This includes the usuals like a faster chipset and better display but also faster connectivity.
Apart from featuring a 1.2Gbps LTE modem, the Galaxy S9 also comes with a faster Wi-Fi radio that is capable of reaching higher speeds. But then, like with every other smartphone, many Galaxy S9 owners are already complaining of Wi-Fi issues with their handset. If you are one of them, cheer up as you have come to the right place. Wi-Fi issues don’t necessarily mean that your Galaxy S9 is a lemon unit. It could be a simple software issue as well which could be fixed by trying a few things that we have mentioned below. And if that does not work, you should wait for Samsung to roll out a software update as that usually does the trick in most cases.
Reboot All Devices
The best solution to fix any Wi-Fi issues or most tech issues: a restart. If you are facing Wi-Fi woes on your Galaxy S9, restart all the devices involved. This means not just your smartphone, but also your Wi-Fi router. You can also only try switching Wi-Fi off/on first. If that does not work, then you should try rebooting all the devices. It is a simple tip for sure but one that will likely work for the majority of people.
Reset Network Settings to Stock
If a reboot does not help fix things, its time to reset all network settings on your device. If its an issue with a particular Wi-Fi network or router, this should help in fixing that. To reset network settings on your Galaxy S9, head over to Settings -> Backup and reset and select the ‘Reset network settings’ option. In addition to your Wi-Fi network settings, this will also reset the Bluetooth and mobile network settings on your Galaxy S9 to its default settings.
Reset your router
If the Wi-Fi woes on your Galaxy S9 started after a recent Wi-Fi router upgrade, then it is not your phone but your new router’s fault. For some reason, certain routers have a tendency of not working properly with certain smartphones and devices. Usually, if its a pretty popular router, chances are it can be solved by updating it to the latest firmware. This is true even if you own a particularly old router and don’t bother updating its firmware from time to time.
In some cases though, upgrading the firmware of your router can end up introducing some Wi-Fi issues. And since most routers don’t provide an option to rollback a firmware update, you are pretty much stuck with this issue. You can try resetting the router to see if that helps things or not. You should consider using this option if it is only your Galaxy S9 that is not playing well with your Wi-Fi router.
Tweak DNS settings
In some cases, it is possible that despite your Galaxy S9 connecting to a Wi-Fi network, the internet performance is not up to the mark. This is despite the same Wi-Fi network working just fine on other devices. In such cases, you should first try and ‘forget’ the network from your Galaxy S9. Then, while joining the network again, tap on Show advanced options box which is displayed right below the area where you have to enter the password. Now proceed to tap IP Settings and select Static from the list. Leave other IP settings as they are, and simply enter the DNS server you’d like to use in the DNS text field area. You can try using Google DNS first (8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4) or OpenDNS(208.67.222.222) to see if they fix the Wi-Fi woes on your S9 or not.
Factory reset
If all the steps mentioned in this article have failed for you, then its time to try the ultimate resort: factory reset. It’s cumbersome for sure but this step will essentially confirm whether your Galaxy S9’s Wi-Fi chip is defective or not. If the Wi-Fi woes continue even after a factory reset, it is either a faulty Wi-Fi chip or a firmware issue. In such a case, you can wait until Samsung rolls out an update to potentially fix the issue or take the handset to your nearest service center.
If the above tips help in solving the Wi-Fi woes of your Galaxy S9, do drop in a comment and let us know. If not, then its time to take your handset to the nearest service center.
