It has been more than seven years now since Google released the first version of Android to the public. Despite numerous versions of Android being released since then and Wi-Fi technology and routers themselves improving, every version of Android is affected with some Wi-Fi related issues. Android 7.0 and 7.1 Nougat are no different here and show some of the same Wi-Fi issues that were found in the previous version of Android.
These issues include Android devices running Nougat being unable to connect to a particular Wi-Fi network, randomly getting disconnected with the Wi-Fi AP, or getting very slow download speeds. Thankfully, the majority of such issues can be fixed by simply following the tips mentioned below. In some cases, they might not completely alleviate the Wi-Fi issues introduced by Nougat but should be able to make Wi-Fi on your device usable once again.
Restart all the things
If your Nougat running Android device started having issues while connecting to a Wi-Fi network on one fine day, simply restart your device as well as the Wi-Fi router. As someone who has been troubleshooting computer and smartphone problems for others since the last few years, I can confidently say that in most scenarios a simple reboot solves most of the issues. If your Android device is unable to connect to a particular Wi-Fi network or is giving you slow transfer speeds, reboot the devices — your Android device and the Wi-Fi router — which should hopefully fix the problem for good.
Forget Known Networks
If after updating to Nougat, your Android device has been struggling to connect to a particular Wi-Fi hotspot, try ‘forgetting’ that Wi-Fi network, turn off the Wi-Fi, switch it back on and then connect to it again. This should in most likelihood fix any connectivity issue that you are facing with any particular Wi-Fi network.
To forget an existing Wi-Fi network, go to Settings -> Wi-Fi, tap on the name of the Wi-Fi network followed by Forget.
Switch to a different DNS
If your Nougat running Android device is able to connect to a Wi-Fi network, but pages are loading slow or the internet is outright not working despite the same Wi-Fi working on other devices, you can try and switch to a different DNS.
To do this, head over to Settings -> Wi-Fi and switch on Wi-Fi. If it’s a known network, you will need to ‘forget’ it first. Then, connect to it again, but this time when the window asking for password pops up, click on Advanced options first, and select Static from the IP settings drop down list. Scroll down then and enter the IP address of the DNS server that you would like to use in the DNS1 and DNS2 box. I’d recommend using Google DNS (8.8.8.8/8.8.4.4) or OpenDNS (208.67.222.222/220.220).
You can now enter the password of the Wi-Fi network to connect to it. This should hopefully solve the slow internet connectivity issues you have been facing on your device.
Reset your router
Sometimes Wi-Fi related issues can stem from the router itself. If you own a particularly cheap router and connect too many devices to it, its performance can take a severe hit. In such cases, it is recommended that you disconnect a few devices from the router to see if its performance can be improved or not. Alternatively, a more painful method to confirm that your Wi-Fi router is not the culprit behind the poor Wi-Fi performance of your device is by resetting the router. (Alprazolam)
Resetting the router can be a tedious task for many, so consider this option as the last resort, especially if you have not done it before. Make sure to note down your ISP and Wi-Fi related settings before proceeding with the reset so that you can easily set your router back up.
Do a factory reset
If all the above steps have failed to get the Wi-Fi performance of your Android device back to the state that it was before installing Marshmallow, you are only left with one solution: do a factory reset. While extremely cumbersome, doing a factory reset will eliminate any issues with the radio or software itself. Since a factory reset will wipe your phone of all data, it is recommended that you create a backup beforehand.
If none of the steps above work, you should first try and get your hands on a different router to see if the problem persists or not. If it does, it is likely that the Nougat update for your Android device broke the Wi-Fi functionality. In such cases, you should wait for a few weeks as your device OEM is likely to roll out an update that should fix this issue. Alternatively, you can also try to roll back to the previous version of Android, though that will require some tinkering from your side.
And if you are facing Wi-Fi connectivity issues on a new Android device running Nougat, you should submit your device to the nearest service center for a replacement or repair.
