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4S: WiFi greyed out, but Bluetooth usable

C

christiaanvr

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 6, 2013
2
0
Sorry guys to bother you about the Greyed Out WiFi slider in iOS 7.04 at my iPhone 4S.. I have read a lot about it and it could be hardware problem etc, but this is what happened when I upgraded my iPhone 4S with iOS 7 (current version 7.04)

- unable to 'turn on WiFi', the slider could nog enable WiFi
- able to 'turn on Bluetooth', the slider enables Bluetooth

In settings > info: i find a Bluetooth MAC-address, so it tells me the chipset for Bluetooth/WiFi works, but for some reason the WiFi could not be enabled.

Am I thinking right, that the chipset is working, but this is particullary a software problem? I treid reset network settings, turn on Airplane mode and off, recovered my iPhone and start DFU mode.. but still no success.

Could anyone with more knowledge about hardware/software tell me what possible could be wrong?

Thanks in advance
 
christiaanvr said:
Sorry guys to bother you about the Greyed Out WiFi slider in iOS 7.04 at my iPhone 4S.. I have read a lot about it and it could be hardware problem etc, but this is what happened when I upgraded my iPhone 4S with iOS 7 (current version 7.04)

- unable to 'turn on WiFi', the slider could nog enable WiFi
- able to 'turn on Bluetooth', the slider enables Bluetooth

In settings > info: i find a Bluetooth MAC-address, so it tells me the chipset for Bluetooth/WiFi works, but for some reason the WiFi could not be enabled.

Am I thinking right, that the chipset is working, but this is particullary a software problem? I treid reset network settings, turn on Airplane mode and off, recovered my iPhone and start DFU mode.. but still no success.

Could anyone with more knowledge about hardware/software tell me what possible could be wrong?

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

Have you tried resetting network settings? This problem is not unique to iOS 7. A friend of mine had the same issue with iOS 6 but Apple replaced his phone.
 
This happened to my sister. If resetting network settings doesn't work, the WiFi radio in your phone is fried.

Take it to the Apple Store and they'll swap out the part in about an hour. Like $60 if you don't have AppleCare.
 
Yes, I have tried already resetting the network setting.. it is strange that Bluetooth is still working..and it occurred right after iOS 7 was installed.
 
WiFi greying out

Hi, after 4 trips to the Apple store and 2 lengthy discussions on line with Apple they infer that wi fi greying out is due to an issue with 4s and the most recent operating system update. I have now had 4 (yes four) Apple 4s phones fail with regards wi fi in the past 3 weeks and all Apple will say it is my issue as I not them chose to upload the update.
My experience with Apple have been very very disappointing and you can easily see why people are moving to Samsung. They are treating their customers like fools at a time they should be transparent and helpful.
 
ccraft625 said:
Hi, after 4 trips to the Apple store and 2 lengthy discussions on line with Apple they infer that wi fi greying out is due to an issue with 4s and the most recent operating system update. I have now had 4 (yes four) Apple 4s phones fail with regards wi fi in the past 3 weeks and all Apple will say it is my issue as I not them chose to upload the update.
My experience with Apple have been very very disappointing and you can easily see why people are moving to Samsung. They are treating their customers like fools at a time they should be transparent and helpful.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry that you've had a bad experience with the Apple Store and online support, but you have to understand that your experience is not the only one out there. Plenty of people have had consistently excellent experiences with the Apple Store. Tons and tons of people go to internet forums to complain about bad service; how many people really take the time and effort to start threads about positive experiences? So yes, of course it will look like Apple's customer service is terrible. I don't understand what you mean by "people are moving to Samsung". I highly doubt customer service has anything to do with it- after all, Apple is the one with retail locations that service and replace products. Could it be that people are easily influenced by advertisements? Some might say that's how Apple achieved their success.

I'm absolutely not trying to diminish the trouble you're having with your phone. But maybe you should try a different store? Good luck, and I hope things work out.
 
My friend has this happen and he said it's a know issue in the 4s according the Apple. He had his swapped out.
 
Happened to my wife's 4s as well when upgrading to iOS7. Apple replaced it under warranty and so far so good.
 
ccraft625 said:
Hi, after 4 trips to the Apple store and 2 lengthy discussions on line with Apple they infer that wi fi greying out is due to an issue with 4s and the most recent operating system update. I have now had 4 (yes four) Apple 4s phones fail with regards wi fi in the past 3 weeks and all Apple will say it is my issue as I not them chose to upload the update.
My experience with Apple have been very very disappointing and you can easily see why people are moving to Samsung. They are treating their customers like fools at a time they should be transparent and helpful.
Click to expand...

You have had 4 phones fail like this in three weeks. Where are you getting these phones from ? It's obviously not the Apple store. Take them back to where you got them from.
 
ccraft625 said:
Hi, after 4 trips to the Apple store and 2 lengthy discussions on line with Apple they infer that wi fi greying out is due to an issue with 4s and the most recent operating system update. I have now had 4 (yes four) Apple 4s phones fail with regards wi fi in the past 3 weeks and all Apple will say it is my issue as I not them chose to upload the update.
My experience with Apple have been very very disappointing and you can easily see why people are moving to Samsung. They are treating their customers like fools at a time they should be transparent and helpful.
Click to expand...

It's probably too late for you to use this in your dispute with Apple, but it's on their support page for the wifi issue at http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1559:

"4. Make sure that your device is using the latest software. To do so, connect your device to your computer and check for updates in iTunes."

Hope you get it figured out :)

I found this thread because my aunt is having the same issue and I'm her first line of technical help...

She is also 4s, out of warranty, iOS 6.1.3, and I'm trying to figure out the best thing to do for her. Was thinking of upgrading to iOS 7 but it looks like apple sometimes uses that as an excuse since the user "chooses" to upgrade... hmmm...

Sounds like the best outcome I've read for out-of-warranty is for them to replace the chip for $60.
 
Freeze it!

I have the same problem with my 4s. I tried everything including a full reset but it didn't work. I read that some people had success putting the phone in the freezer for fifteen minutes in a sealed bag.... and it worked!

I don't know how long it will continue working for but it's got to be worth a try if like me all else fails...
 
I had this with a 4S I just bought that was just over two years old. Luckily the Apple store replaced it for me.

They wanted to charge me for the replacement but I was nice and just said this wouldn't have happened if the update hadnt have broken it in the first place. Plus I also mentioned the ~$40k I've spent on Apple gear in the last 7 or so years.

The genius knew about it right away and said it was a hardware fault.
 
4S: WiFi greyed out, but Bluetooth usable

My wife's phone has the same problem. I was told anyone with a 4s with wifi grayed out due to the upgrade to iOS7 is out of luck...if your 1 year warranty is out. Yes, that is what the Lead Genius told me! http://youtu.be/0DwY452C_sw
I already read online about all the 4s wifi grayed out issues after installing iOS7, so I planned ahead!

It is a bigger problem then people think. Check the Apple boards and they are all over the place!
 
Apple refuses to acknowledge this issue!

Yeah I was almost about to update my 4S from 6.1.2 to 7.0.4 but I thought it would be good to google about glitches with the latest iOS 7 firmwares. I was shocked to see the number of 4S devices affected by this f@@ked up update that Apple obviously didn't bother to test with the 4S devices. All that Apple is interested in selling/testing is 5/5S devices now. f@@gots!

Disabled wifi switch in the settings app is a major bug that has destroyed a lot of 4S devices (majority of which are out of their warranty). Apple is extorting money for their ****** ups and this is not the first time... (Antennagate issue with the iPhone 4... f**kers were teaching us how to hold the iPhone and wipe my a**).

Being a major Apple consumer (Macbook, Macbook Pro, 2 x iPhone 4, 1 x iPhone 4S, 1 x iPad 3), this is quite disappointing! Apple is so ********* ignorant.

At least have the decency to allow users to downgrade back to the 6.1.3 firmware (that might not help either if the rumors of iOS 7.0.4 frying the wifi chip) OR FREE REPLACEMENT for out of warranty 4S devices.

iPads (2/3) are too suffering from decresead wifi range. I could use my iPad 3 from the room right next door to my router (wifi had 3 bars). But after iOS 7 and every successive update, the range has been fluctuating from 2 bars to no bars, while my iPhones had full range!

The only option (no I wouldnt want to throw my iPhone in a refrigerator more than just my Wifi.. lol) is to fight your way for a free replacement with the Apple "geniuses" or wait for the 7.1 update (due in March-April) which I would not suggest as your wifi chip might have been permanently damaged and March is too far away!!

Everyone with this issue, please do send a feedback using the apple feedback channel: http://www.apple.com/feedback/
 
Happened to a friend's 4S which was working perfectly fine before the iOS 7 update.

Very disappointing to say the least. As such, my 4S hasn't been upgraded to iOS 7 yet. Don't want to ruin a perfectly fine phone.
 
vaportrails2002 said:
My wife's phone has the same problem. I was told anyone with a 4s with wifi grayed out due to the upgrade to iOS7 is out of luck...if your 1 year warranty is out. Yes, that is what the Lead Genius told me! http://youtu.be/0DwY452C_sw
I already read online about all the 4s wifi grayed out issues after installing iOS7, so I planned ahead!

It is a bigger problem then people think. Check the Apple boards and they are all over the place!
Click to expand...

From what I understand and have observed, the 4S has a faulty WiFi chip that overheats easily. This affects a lot of units. The iOS7 update doesn't inherently kill it, but downloading the large update is often enough to cause the overheating, which is why you're seeing it coincide with the update so often. Update a 4S via iTunes and you USUALLY won't have this issue.

We had about 150 iPhone 4S' deployed in the field at work - less now that we've been upgrading people to the 5S/C. I'd say about 45 of them have had to be replaced under AppleCare for this issue. That's a pretty huge percentage, and it is crappy that Apple's remaining silent about it. Honestly, though, you're better off getting either a newer iPhone or a competitor's phone than you are getting a replacement 4S (paid or not), because you have a very high chance of having the same issue happen again (not to mention that the 4S is now quite outdated).
 
Last edited:
zioxide said:
This happened to my sister. If resetting network settings doesn't work, the WiFi radio in your phone is fried.

Take it to the Apple Store and they'll swap out the part in about an hour. Like $60 if you don't have AppleCare.
Click to expand...

They can't replace the wifi chip set. It's a whole unit swap at $199 for a 4S.

----------
ccraft625 said:
I have now had 4 (yes four) Apple 4s phones fail with regards wi fi in the past 3 weeks and all Apple will say it is my issue as I not them chose to upload the update.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing their point of view is that you said that your previous phone was fine on iOS 6 then on iOS 7 not. So they swapped it and handed you a phone with iOS 6 which you updated to iOS 7. And same result. And then came back and same thing two more times. They gave you a phone with iOS 6, which was working when you were given it and you yet having had at the last time three failures of working phones after updating you choose to do it again when you should have been smart enough to get that it would most likely fail yet again.

So you did it to yourself. Especially at that point. I get why you would update it, you can't load a backup of iOS 7 data into an iOS 6 phone but really after three times you should have gotten the message and stopped trying.

----------
Primejimbo said:
My friend has this happen and he said it's a know issue in the 4s according the Apple. He had his swapped out.
Click to expand...

There are two unique issues going on. One is a burnt chip which also kills Bluetooth as they have a common connector. Those have to be swapped.

The other is software. Those don't get swapped, particularly multiple times.

What I'm really shocked about in this case is that once it got to the fourth swap someone didn't say 'dude, you have tried this three times and it failed. Don't update this phone. Or we won't swap it again because it is working now you know the software is screwy'

They wouldn't be out of line depending on how they say it. Of course once a new update comes out things might reset to some degree. If a DFU of that 7.0.4 phone into 7.1 doesn't fix it.

----------
Jambalaya said:
You have had 4 phones fail like this in three weeks. Where are you getting these phones from ? It's obviously not the Apple store. Take them back to where you got them from.
Click to expand...

They could be coming from an Apple store. Running iOS 6 or an earlier version of iOS 7 even and he's updating them to 7.0.4 and creating a software break.

And after three times of this they are refusing to swap it again because they feel he's just going to do the same thing and break the new phone cause he's not getting the memo.

One of the reasons Apple stores insist on turning on the swap phones in store is to make sure they work when they are handed to the customer. Including over the air activation to test the wifi.
 
charlituna said:
They can't replace the wifi chip set. It's a whole unit swap at $199 for a 4S.
Click to expand...

They most definitely can. I was there. I brought my sister to the store. They took the phone, swapped out the radio chip, and about 45 minutes later it was ready. She didn't have the extended AppleCare and it was after the year warranty was up. It was $60. They definitely replaced the chip and didn't just swap units because the serial number was the same and all her data was still there without having to do an iCloud restore.
 
Same issue with wifi

I've had the same issue with wifi on iPhone 4s. Not long after upgrading IOS wifi stopped working. Tried everything - including full restore to factory. Refrigerator almost worked, but not. Apple said I'll have to pay if I want it fixed. 13 months into 12 month warranty.
 
iFixit Repair Guide (Greyed out wifi on iPhone 4S)

Replacing or repairing the wifi module is very difficult if you do not have the right tools. I suggest that anyone who wants to save 200$ on your out of warranty piece of ***** Apple device... this is it...

The heating and freezing fix works temporarily. In order to fix it permanently, you have two options. The links are posted below.

Repair with a heat gun:
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/How+to+Fix+iPhone+4S+Wi-Fi+Module/22167

Replacing the wifi/bluetooth module:
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPhone+4S+Upper+Antenna+Replacement/7288

iFixit store link for the wifi/bluetooth antenna:
http://www.ifixit.com/Store/iPhone/iPhone-4S-Wi-Fi-Bluetooth-Antenna/IF115-018

Please consult a professional for help if possible.
 
I used the heat fix yesterday, it worked.

To be honest I am surprised there hasn't been more coverage or a thread on this on here. I think it warrants a front page article (assuming I haven't missed one which is of course possible)

I got the grey-out wifi on my 18 month old 4S. I had not done a software update recently, I do mine via iTunes although app updates are wifi and I may switch it off. I had tried network settings reset, phone reset and a re-install and none of this worked.

I am pretty disappointed in Apple about this, they should be replacing all phones/wifi units as it's clearly a hardware or hardware/software interaction issue. In the EU there is a mandatory 24 month warranty on electronic goods. These phones are very expensive and should last longer. We have older iPhone 4 (plural but adding s is confusing) in household still gong strong and in my view this is clearly a 4S problem and perhaps newer phones too but they are as yet too new for this to surface in numbers.
 
I'm pretty sure that when a function is greyed out that it means a hardware failure. I've seen it a few times working with the iPhones and a friend of mine has the same issue but on an intermittent basis.

Beside that, I doubt starting a petition will go anywhere, come September the 4S will probably be discontinued. Not saying Apple wouldn't take action, they're pretty good as large companies go, but I wouldn't bet money on it.
 
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