iPhone 17 not connecting properly to 5 GHz Wi-Fi, but 2.4 GHz works

Question

Level 1

19 points

iPhone 17 not connecting properly to 5 GHz Wi-Fi, but 2.4 GHz works

Hi,

I'm reporting the following issue.

I have three iPhones (11, 14, and 17), and only on the iPhone 17 am I experiencing problems specifically with my 5GHz TIM Fiber WiFi network. Everything works fine with the 2.4GHz WiFi.

The problems generally involve connection difficulties and, above all, a lack of synchronization with my Sky Q Black Sat decoder, which is connected via Ethernet to the TIM Hub+ modem.

I should point out that on the other two iPhones (11 and 14), there are no problems whatsoever, and everything is fine on the iPhone 17 with the 2.4GHz WiFi as well.

I'd like to point out that I've given different names to the two WiFi network frequencies to be able to recognize the connection type and identify the frequency with absolute certainty (2.4GHz or 5GHz).

I've updated all my iPhones to version 26.0.1 without any improvements.

I'm waiting for your suggestions.

Thanks

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: iPhone 17 issue with wifi 5 ghz

iPhone 17, iOS 26

Posted on Oct 6, 2025 2:38 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Pietro_Rome Author

Level 1

19 points

Nov 28, 2025 8:16 AM in response to Pietro_Rome

Hello everyone,

I'm writing again about the issue I reported in this post because I have some news.

Over the past few days, I contacted TIM (Telecom Italia), the manufacturer of my TIM Hub+ Router, and I also ran some tests, which I'll describe below.

I should point out right away that TIM (Telecom Italia) confirmed that there are no new software updates available for my router: they believe the one I have is the latest version!

Naturally, I reported the issue in detail and hope they can address it.

At that point, I decided on my own to move forward and run some further tests, which I'll describe below.

I turned off my two range extenders: a TIM Hub modem (connected via Ethernet cable to the router and configured as an access point) and a Netgear wireless range extender. Then I went to the room where I have the Router and restarted the

Router and my three iPhones (11, 14, and 17). The 5GHz network signal from the Router was immediately and steadily established (without slowdowns or disconnections) on all three iPhones!

After a few minutes, I moved to the other, more distant rooms, turned the two range extenders back on, and restarted all three iPhones.

Result: iPhone 11 and 14 had no connection issues, while iPhone 17, ONLY on the 5GHz network, returned to having the usual connection issues!

It was clear that the iPhone 17 wasn't fully compatible with the 5GHz signal coming from range extenders.

Was it the fault of the new iPhone 17's N1 chip?

Was it the fault of its drivers, which didn't properly handle backwards compatibility on the 5GHz frequency with older network devices?

Why didn't the Broadcom chips in the iPhone 11 and 14 cause any problems?

I don't know, and at that point, I didn't care!

It was clear that the last test was to purchase two new repeaters with more advanced technology (at least Wi-Fi 6) and see if, with the two new repeaters, the iPhone 17 would behave differently on 5GHz.

I didn't believe, and I don't believe, that it's right to force Apple users to purchase new network devices to ensure full functionality of the iPhone 17!

But if I didn't want to wait any longer, and who knows how long, for a new software update (which MAYBE would have solved the problem, maybe NOT), there was only one solution: get my credit card!

So I purchased two new Wi-Fi 6 repeaters with two LAN ports. I configured them first in easy mesh mode, then in access point mode (with an Ethernet cable on LAN port 1), and then in repeater mode. Well, you won't believe it, but the iPhone 17 immediately connected to the new repeaters' 5 GHz network.

And on my 5 GHz LAN network (which can potentially reach a download speed of up to 1000 Mbps), the Speedtest app on my iPhone 17, near one of the two repeaters, two rooms away from the Router, reached a speed of 913 Mbps!

Conclusion.

1. For those with an iPhone 17 and a Tim Hub Router (or similar technology), there's no hope of solving the problem without an Apple software update (iOS 26.2? Maybe).

2. For those, like me, with an iPhone 17 and a Tim Hub+ Router (or similar technology): get out your credit card!

Thanks everyone for any feedback.

Reply

Answer 2

karnedgy

Level 1

14 points

Nov 12, 2025 3:54 PM in response to Pietro_Rome

I had the same issue after I got the iPhone 17 Air a day or two ago.

I tried changing the router bandwidth, removing the vpn on my phone, updating to ios 26.1, router dns stuff/reboot but nothing worked. I was only able to connect to my slow 2.4ghz connection.

After a bit, I decided to upgrade the firmware on my century link router that my apartment comes with from the router UI site (192.168.0.1).

Then now 5ghz wifi connection magically wants to start working now.

So, this could possibly be a solution for some people.

Reply

Answer 3

Oct 6, 2025 2:41 PM in response to Pietro_Rome

Perhaps a long shot:

Do you have a 3rd party VPN installed, even if you are not using it? If so, delete the VPN profile in Settings/General/VPN & Device Management/VPN, then restart your device. Don't just turn it off; delete the profile. If that fixes it, you can try reinstalling VPN, but probably shouldn't.

Reply

Answer 4

Nov 13, 2025 7:52 AM in response to LD150

LD150 wrote:

Pietro_Rome wrote:

Hello everyone,

I wanted to stop telling you about my experiments regarding the issue I reported. However, since this issue concerns several other users in the Community, I decided to continue and run further tests, which I'll tell you about.....

You tested everything except another router outside your network, as two of us asked. You proved nothing except your network is incompatible with the latest iphone.

More than a few of the consumer routers have had issues with their implementations’ security and otherwise too, and Wi-Fi 7 support is fairly new everywhere, too. Testing somewhere else and preferably with the same or later Wi-Fi as the home network would be appropriate, as would checking the home network comfiguration and firmware.

I’m not so sure why folks are still separating the SSIDs for 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz where available, except if their Wi-Fi gear can’t somehow band-steer people off of 2.4 GHz where appropriate. (Multiple SSIDs was common advice some years ago, but times and standards have changed. Nowadays, this SSID separation usually only happens when problematic or insecure IoT gear is involved, and other gear uses one SSID for all bands.)

Apple has some Wi-Fi suggestions here:

Recommended settings for Wi-Fi routers and access points - Apple Support

Ubiquiti (“prosumer” and commercial) recommendations for less-dense and more-dense environments:

https://help.ui.com/hc/en-us/articles/221029967-Optimizing-WiFi-Connectivity-and-Reducing-Latency

12.85 GB of technical Italian is going to be a slow go for most of us, but here it is:

https://www.tim.it/assistenza/assistenza-tecnica/guide-manuali/modem-timhub#manuali---quick-guide

Here is how to troubleshoot the installed firmware version in TIM HUB:

https://www.guide-informatica.com/come-aggiornare-firmware-router-tim-hub/

Reply

Answer 5

Jeff Donald

Level 8

44,790 points

Nov 13, 2025 9:52 AM in response to Pietro_Rome

I reached out to a few IT people I know with an Apple background. They suggested disabling MLO (Multi Link Operation) on the router. They said some older routers are having issues connecting and/or maintaining a connection.

On another note, there are several threads on Reddit with people reporting the same or similar issue(s). One user stated they’d been in touch with the TIM HUB manufacturer and their support team said they are aware of issues and are working on firmware updates for several models.

Reply

Answer 6

Pietro_Rome Author

Level 1

19 points

Nov 9, 2025 4:00 PM in response to Pietro_Rome

Hello everyone,

I wanted to stop telling you about my experiments regarding the issue I reported. However, since this issue concerns several other users in the Community, I decided to continue and run further tests, which I'll tell you about.

First of all, as I've already mentioned, I've given different names to my two home Wi-Fi networks: one name for the 2.4 GHz network and another for the 5 GHz network. This way, I can clearly distinguish which of the two Wi-Fi networks I'm connected to with each of my devices.

In recent days, I've decided to involve all my family members: my wife and my two daughters.

I should point out that in total, in addition to my three iPhones (11, 14, and 17), we have eleven other devices in our family: five smartphones (two Samsungs, one Oppo, and two Nokias), three tablets (all Samsungs), and three notebooks (two HPs and one Lenovo).

Well, my family and I ran tests on all the devices we have at home, and none of the eleven devices had any issues with the 5 GHz Wi-Fi network!

I remember that I never had any problems with my iPhone 11 and 14 either.

The issue only occurs on iPhone 17 and only on 5 GHz Wi-Fi.

At this point, I don't think I really have anything else to add.

I confirm that, in my opinion, the problem is software-related, specifically with the drivers for the new N1 chip in iPhone 17 devices.

The new N1 wireless network chip is a proprietary component that replaces the Broadcom chips used until recently in Apple devices.

I believe the N1 chip's drivers aren't fully compatible with some existing routers and therefore need to be reviewed and updated!

I really hope Apple acknowledges the issue that penalizes many iPhone 17 owners. I also hope they can resolve the issue, perhaps with the next software update, especially since, on the user side, the problem isn't fixable.

Thank you all for your contributions and suggestions.

Reply

Answer 7

Jeff Donald

Level 8

44,790 points

Oct 13, 2025 8:11 AM in response to fra___

Does it connect to any other routers? Have you looked for firmware or software updates for the router?

Reply

Answer 8

Jeff Donald

Level 8

44,790 points

Oct 13, 2025 10:06 AM in response to Pietro_Rome

You’re welcome to wait but you are using a 5 year old router. It was introduced in 2020. If you’ve never updated the routers firmware and software, it’s time. Your older iPhones connect because they use older technology. It also explains why your iPhone connects over 2.4Ghz and not 5Ghz, older technology. Consider that! When new technology comes out, older hardware (like your router) need to be updated to maintain compatibility.

Reply

Answer 9

Oct 30, 2025 9:38 AM in response to jdselmer96

As the Wi-Fi diagnostic tools available for iPhone are very limited, what other local equipment is available to evaluate the local Wi-Fi environment?

A Mac, maybe?

If a Mac is available, the basic Wi-Fi environment characteristics are visible when using Option-Click on the Wi-Fi logo 🛜 in the menu bar to capture some Wi-Fi network data.

For us to look at the Wi-Fi network data here, post the items shown in the following image including the Security mode and from Channel to NSS inclusive (Security, Channel, Country, RSSI, Noise, Tx Rate, PHY mode, MCS, NSS, green highlight) (without posting the Wi-Fi address, any local HotSpots that might be present, the network name, or the BSSID, all of which are expurgated from the image shown below, red highlight), and we can take a look at the basic network environment.

There are other Mac apps and tools, including the very useful (and not particularly expensive) WiFi Explorer app, which shows a display of the network environment.

If iPhone only…

If your diagnostic access is limited to what an iPhone can report, there is a Shortcut that can show the very minimal Wi-Fi network information available:

https://github.com/intuitibits/shortcuts?tab=readme-ov-file

This example shows a decent Wi-Fi 6E connection in 6 GHz:

Reply

Answer 10

Nov 7, 2025 5:59 AM in response to Pietro_Rome

Is there any way for you to run some checks on another Wi-Fi network? Maybe one at a neighbor's house if it is possible to set up separate 2.5 GHz and 5 GHz networks?

If the iPhone 17 works correctly on another network, then that certainly makes things more interesting.

If the iPhone 17 continues to have the same issues though, then that tells you that the iPhone 17 has a problem. If that is the case, the next question would be whether all iPhone 17s have the same problem.

If this is an issue with all iPhone 17s, I think this support site would be flooded with posts.

Reply

Answer 11

LD150

Level 10

100,275 points

Nov 7, 2025 4:34 AM in response to Pietro_Rome

Pietro_Rome wrote:

Hi,

thanks to all of you.

I'm a computer scientist and have been working in IT for thirty years. I've been an iPhone user since 2012 (my first was an iPhone 5, then an iPhone 8, 11, 14, and finally the new iPhone 17).

Today, for the first time in 13 years, I'm deeply disappointed with Apple!

I've tried everything to fix the problem: manually setting an IP address, manually setting a DNS server, etc..

After seeing that even the update to 26.1 today didn't fix the problem, I gave up!

Because the problem, which occurs exclusively on a 5G Wi-Fi network and only on the iPhone 17, is not fixable on the user side.

I look forward to your comments and suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

Maybe we were not clear, does the phone refuse to connect to all routers on 5GHz , or just yours?

If it is just yours and it works on other routers, as an IT expert that should tell you something. You cannot prove a problem with the 17 just because the 14 and 11 work on it. So, what happened when you tried to connect to another, maybe more recent router on 5GHz?

Look forward to your empirical evidence. Thanks in advance.

Reply

Answer 12

Pietro_Rome Author

Level 1

19 points

Oct 30, 2025 10:50 AM in response to jdselmer96

@jdselmer96

Thank you for your reply, because I'm in exactly the same situation!

I've also installed two range extenders in my home, and even then, the situation isn't improving.

In the past few days, I've also tried configuring my iPhone 17 to the 5GHz network by manually assigning it a static IP address.

As you know, a static IP address reduces internet connection interruptions, which typically occur when devices aren't recognized by the network.

Unfortunately, that didn't solve the problem either: the iPhone 17 connects much faster to the router, but then it's often not recognized by the other devices on my home network.

As I wrote, I still believe it's a driver issue with the N1 chip, the new wireless networking chip designed by Apple for the iPhone 17 line, which unifies Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections, supporting new standards like Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.

[Edited by Moderator]

Reply

Answer 13

Pietro_Rome Author

Level 1

19 points

Nov 13, 2025 9:23 AM in response to LD150

Hi LD150,

I decided to respond to you personally because I detected a subtle irony in your words.

"Hats off" to your level and your points! I would never doubt your expertise, especially within this community but not only, and I would appreciate it if you didn't doubt mine.

After thirty years of working as an IT representative for local government, I can assure you that I have expertise to spare!

In any case, I followed your advice and did the experiment you asked me to do. I connected to a friend's router via Wi-Fi with my iPhone 17, and unfortunately, the result was the same. His router is a Technicolor, and I encountered the exact same problems with his network as I do with mine: difficulty connecting only on 5GHz Wi-Fi and only with my iPhone 17. His router's software version is recent and, like my router, it's the latest available.

At this point, the solution would be very simple: buy a newer router, since mine, dated 2020, doesn't allow me to take advantage of all the features of the iPhone 17!

But I'll tell you right away that I have a different opinion.

There are several Apple users online who are complaining about this type of problem, and, sorry if I'm being too picky, but I wish Apple would fix the problem, not my credit card.

Thanks anyway for your contribution.

Reply

Answer 14

Nov 13, 2025 4:40 PM in response to Pietro_Rome

Pietro_Rome wrote:

I congratulate you and ask you a favor. I've noticed that many of the users complaining about the problem I reported have TIM (Telecom Italia) routers, such as the Tim Hub and Tim Hub+ (mine is the latter). Would it be possible for you to report the issue to Apple and suggest contacting Apple and Telecom Italia so they can work together to resolve the issue?

Lo siento, I’m another user of Apple gear with some limited experience around networking, and lack any connections within Apple’s networking. I’m not a viable proxy. Tengo un poquito de español, pero no italiano, también.

ISP on-premises gear is usually purchased on price and ease of end-user installation and support, and not much else. Performance and features, not so much. Accordingly, I rarely use ISP-provided network gear on premises, usually either removing and replacing it entirely, or switching the ISP gear into its bridged mode and ignoring it.

Chasing issues with ISP premises gear is no fun, and chasing issues in the ISP network itself less so.

As potential replacement options used locally, Zyxel and particularly Ubiquiti gear in recent years.

Of that, probably look at UX7, UDR7, or UCGF, if considering the Ubiquiti space.

Reply

Answer 15

fra___

Level 1

14 points

Oct 13, 2025 8:05 AM in response to Pietro_Rome

Same thing with old timhub...I guess at this point could be the router itself or firmware settings on 5ghz conflicting with something in the new iphone chip. I hope future ios updates bring good news.

edit: for me connection difficulties mean that basically takes some time to connect, like a few minutes of bickering with wifi on and off and such. then magically it connects and it's stable i think. problem is ofc that when you get off wifi and then come back, same thing as before, so you have to spend minutes waiting for it to connect and that's not acceptable. 2.4 thankfully is all good.

Reply