Many Galaxy S23 Ultra units have a WiFi problem and potential fix might be too late
The Samsung Galaxy S23 series was released only recently and a couple of bugs and one screen issue have already been reported. And now, many Galaxy S23 Ultra users are reporting that their units have no internet on WiFi.
Galaxy S23 Ultra Connected but No Internet issue
According to multiple threads on Reddit and Samsung Community forums, the Galaxy S23 Ultra has WiFi connectivity issues. It looks like the phone gets connected to WiFi without internet access. On the off chance that it does connect, the connection doesn't last long. Most users say that the Galaxy S23 Ultra is the only device that has this issue, and other devices in their home are working fine.
So my wife and I both purchased S23 Ultras. I have Black, she has Purple, both unlocked. IT guy here, gigabit internet with wifi 6 router (TP-Link AX11000) I have had the infamous wifi - "Connected but No Internet: every day since we got them on Feb 17th. My wife's phone has never had it. I tried all the fixes/workarounds and mirrored them on my wife's S23U to see if I can get her's to have the issue. Nothing has worked for my phone, yet my wife still had not had the issue. We both took the Feb Update yesterday and I still have the issue, she does not. If this was a Firmware or Drive issue, it should affect us both, but being her phone has not had the issue, and many people in threads regarding this issue have stated they have not had it, I am leaning towards this being a hardware issue with the wifi radio/receiver in our phone." Reddit user jericko
The prevailing theory is that this problem only arises if you have a WiFi 6 router. WiFi 6 or 802.11ax is a new generation of wireless technology and it goes without saying that not everyone has a WiFi 6 router. Many still have older standard routers, while some users have routers with the newer WiFi 6E tech.
Suspecting it had something with the WiFi 6 protocol, I swapped back to my old WiFi 5 router. The phone has since maintained the connection for more than 24 hours, where before it would drop the WiFi 6 connection within an hour or two." - Reddit user -avenged-
Disabling WiFI 6 and encryption protocol WPA3 has fixed the issue for some users. A factory reset also resolved the problem for some Galaxy S23 Ultra owners. One user suggested disabling the random MAC address and switching to phone MAC.
Samsung is apparently aware of the problem and is working on a fix. A Samsung rep seemingly told a Reddit user that the next update would address the issue. By the time the update arrives, Galaxy S23 Ultra early adopters will be outside of the return window. So if the fix doesn't work and this turns out to be a persistent issue, which is unlikely, the best bet would be to do a warranty claim. For now, affected users will have to rely on mobile data.
Android Central author Andrew Myrick says that he has experienced the problem on his Galaxy S23 Ultra and that the February 2023 update has improved the situation to some extent.
It's not clear exactly how many units have the issue, but the number doesn't seem to be small, with some users saying they saw the problem on multiple units.
New phones often have bugs so this is nothing out of the ordinary and is unlikely to prevent the Galaxy S23 Ultra from becoming one of the top phones of the year.
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