iPhone 17 Pro Max connectivity issues with iOS 26.0

I have a 17 pro. I had Keep Solid VPN installed and it kept getting in the way with connectivity. When I turned it off - voila!

Wifi and mobile connectivity were restored.

Thing is it seems to just want to find WiFi devices and hook up.

One’s got to get a handle on that feature in this IOS version. With loads of apps asking to hook up to network devices it would be useful to check which ones are trying to connect automatically while other apps ask first.

Hello, for whats its worth. I had these issues with the iPhone 17. After uninstalling the NordVPN app, all started working.

Apple released version 26.1.0 about an hour ago and it did include a firmware update and also software bug fixes and new features for some users.

Very true.

To everyone in this thread: no one is saying you can't use a VPN, but you need to first delete the VPN app, and then re-install it. This will resolve issues.

There are likely underlying cached configurations that cause issues with iOS when you upgrade, and removing the app probably trashes the config, so you can re-install with no issues. Just my semi-educated guess.

Do you have a VPN on your iPhone?

It will be interesting to see if iOS 26.1 fixes it for most people. I was on a roundtrip with United last week and the iPhone 17 pro could NOT connect to the United wifi on the plane with iOS 26.01.

I uninstalled the United app 5x while still on the ground, rebooted the phone a few times, made sure that iCloud private relay was turned off. The thing that puzzled me is that the M4 iPad Pro could connect just fine first try. The difference I noted that under privacy there is a "local network access" setting that supposedly needs to be turned on (according to United), and it sure was on the iPad, but on the iPhone 17 Pro that setting was not even there. The United app never got that entry there. As I said, restarted the phone, uninstalled and reinstalled the United app, even reset the network settings. No VPN running, Adguard turned off, no custom DNS etc. Won't be on a plane soon to try iOS 26.1. Over the summer had zero issues flying with United and the 16 Pro phone. Quite annoying but obviously first world problem.

Update your software.

Dropped from wireless CarPlay, dropped from spaces in X, phone is slow to sign into apps, battery is drained too quickly from having 8 more hours than iPhone 16 pro max! iPhone 16 is better than 17! Wish I didn’t update. Apple dropped the ball this time! Don’t update to 17!

Jerrily8736 wrote:

Sounds like a weird bug, especially if calls work fine but data doesn’t. Since you’ve already tried all the basics, I’d suggest backing up your iPhone and doing a full restore through iTunes/Finder — that often clears out setup-related issues. If it still happens after a clean install, it’s likely a hardware or modem firmware problem, so taking it to Apple Support would be the next move.

It's a one page thread and you're responding to a post from September 20th. More importantly, had you bothered to read past the first post, you'd have seen the issue has been resolved. So there won't be any reason for them to restore their phone at all.

I'm having the same issue. My Wi-Fi speed is like 65mbps. When I activate the VPN on wifi, I get over 400 Mbps, and if I connect wired, I get speeds up to 500 Mbps. there must be a hardware issue all other apple device's are good even my old Iphone 15 Pro so it must be a hardware isuue with my New iPhone 17 Pro Max

Expected behavior actually. When plugged into your Mac, iPhone thought you were using it to restore data from your Mac. I almost never plug my iPhone into my Mac to charge. I use Apple branded chargers only and have never had an issue. Can’t say the same for their cables though. Glad you were successfully able to resolve the issue. I hope you have a great rest of your weekend!

I just purchased a new iphone 17 pro max and am having many problems- failed calls , dropped calls and many other issues that aren't working ! text messages are not all coming through when transferring from my old iphone 13. I'm not sure if its an APPLE hardware/phone issue or if it's the APPLE IOS 26 version issue. What are the issues and what are the fixes APPLE is doing and when will they be done?

I too have connectivity issues and bluetooth issues, but on my iphone 17 pro not max. I can go to some sites and although it loads my phone will display you have no internet. My wife has also the iphone 17 pro and her phone connects in my car with clear conversation, like my iphone 14pro did. But my phone has a lag during connection, and my conversations are so broken up that they are inbearable.

I've tried all the usual steps to fix this, but am forced to the conclusion that the iPhone 17 is not fit for purpose. If Apple can - very soon - provide a firmware fix, then fine, otherwise I'll be returning it. Absolutely shocking incompetence in dev and testing.

Well I’ve just inboxed my new iPhone 17, got through set up fine until it came to connecting to my wifi network. Nope - phone just asked me to choose another network, don’t have any, only my printer setup wifi. Every other device in the house, ie my old IPhone, a Samsung Galaxy, a MacBook, TVs and gaming consoles all connect without a problem. So probably the issue is still ongoing