Wifi and hotspot no longer activates on Pixel 8 Pro; Mobile is working

CrabwithBowler

The Wifi no longer activates even though the connection has been working for months on my Pixel 8 Pro. I tried rebooting and activating the Wifi by the Pull Down menu icon and in the Internet Settings but they both fail. Mobile data connection is working ok but even with that data connection hotspot is also failing.

Navigate to: Settings --> Network & Internet --> Internet
I get "Settings isn't Responding", but if you wait about 10 seconds (black screen) and don't click anything, it will load the "Internet" screen.
Activating Wi-Fi toggle there also does not work.

If you go back into "Internet" again you can tap "Show Details" and see the Error in Settings log/dump.
I can upload this dump if its helpful :)

A few combos I tried after restarts:

disable everything and try to enable wifi
leave mobile data enable and try to enable wifi
Activate mobile data and location and try to enable wifi
Activate mobile data and try to enable hotspot

Johnnyloans

CrabwithBowler

Awww, your cool pic is gone.

Also, can you use bluetooth? does it work?

CrabwithBowler

I dont use Bluetooth often but I just tried to connect to a headset and it did not work.
It seems to just spin (or try) for a while and then stop.

Any thoughts ?

Johnnyloans

CrabwithBowler

Unfortunately, this sounds like the known issue of WiFi & bluetooth hardware is broken inside the phone, sorry mate. :(

Known issue on the p8p maybe p8 too.

redtailedhawk48

Johnnyloans
I think you are right about that, I have a Pixel 8 Pro currently running stock android 17 beta, I'm researching installing grapheneos on it. I haven't had any issues with WiFi and I don't us hot spots but Bluetooth has been a problem at times. every once in a while my PixelBuds Pro2 won't connect to listen to music or use on a phone call. Mine can eventually connect but it takes restarting the earbuds and reconnecting them to do it, so not sure if it's a driver issue in the phone itself or the earbuds.
So far I think I may just wait for the Motorola and GrapheneOS phone next year.

Johnnyloans

These 2 things might help

settings > system > reset > reset WiFi and bluetooth
- this has the phone forget all WiFi networks and Bluetooth devices (reconnect them with their password)
Sideload a full OTA update file. (Google provides these for their OS as well)
- this replaces all OS files, if that's an issue.
- all data is safe on the phone during this process. Do not unlock the bootloader or toggle anything in dev options for this. (Might want to back up data anyway. Anything can happen at anytime.)

Let me know if you want any more info.
I don't think your issue would be a phone hardware issue. Could be software or the pixel buds hardware.

redtailedhawk48 So far I think I may just wait for the Motorola and GrapheneOS phone next year.

Yeah, I'm excited for the better battery life and cooperation between GOS and this OEM.

redtailedhawk48

Thanks for the reply, because it only happens once in a while, I'll just deal with it for now, do you think it's worth installing grapheneos or just wait for Motorola, thanks.

Johnnyloans

redtailedhawk48

I can't really answer it for you. (Some people factory reset their phone twice a month to get the config just right and don't mind doing this at all)

But, I think wait for Motorola. If you accidentally forget to backup your bookmarks, signal chats, or something then you have your old phone still while you transition to Motorola. Transitioning now, means deleting all of it off of your phone.

If you decide to switch to GOS, there are things to consider.
Some brands/models of these work better than others on GOS:

smart watches
automobile apps
banking or any financial app (list with report to view. https://privsec.dev/posts/android/banking-applications-compatibility-with-grapheneos/ )
AR glasses

Also, the phone being used for tap to pay with google wallet doesn't work unless the financial app has it built in. I have only heard of options in europe, I am sure there are others elsewhere. I think you could use garmin pay anywhere that accepts this form of payment??? not sure.

Not sure if anyone has gotten a payment terminal working -- using their phone to accept payments from customers.

CrabwithBowler

@Johnnyloans
I think you may be right. I tried everything and the issue continued so I ended up doing a factory reset and so far its working correctly, including the hotspot.

One thing I did notice is there is a setting for "control" of the wifi,.. search for "Wi-Fi control". Before I reset to factory, the setting for "Google Play Services" was NOT allowed. I tried toggling this and rebooting as one of the tests but it never worked.

After factory reset this is set to allowed. It may or may not have been the thing ¯_(ツ)_/¯

redtailedhawk48

@Johnnyloans
I think you are right about waiting for Motorola to launch a phone with GrapheneOS in 2027. I have already switched to Proton for email and I'm in the process of switching to Proton Drive.
I used to use Cyanogenmod ROMs on my phones back in the day but now switching seems a lot more risky for all the reasons you mentioned plus some.
Switching to GrapheneOS would also mean switching from my Pixel Watch to a Garmin. My Pixel Watch could work but defeats the purpose.
As a senior I depend on having a phone and I use the Pixel watch for the health metrics it has, so yeah switching now for me would be a bit risky.
Thanks for your response and input, it has really helped me to decide.

Johnnyloans

CrabwithBowler

Nice work! That's great it's working again :)

redtailedhawk48 My Pixel Watch could work but defeats the purpose.

I don't use smart watches so I don't even know if the pixel watch works. 1 thing some people do is use an app called gadgetbridge to connect to their watch if they don't want the OEM watch app.

If the watch does not have its own internet connect with your cell carrier, then the most likely way your data gets out is if an app has access to health data & network.
(I was going to say: the data cannot get out but technically an app with no network could talk to an app with network and transfer data. It'd have to be programmed to do this.)

You're welcome and goodluck on your journey, including proton.

GrapheneOS

CrabwithBowler GrapheneOS does not use Google Play services itself and the permissions for it do not impact any of the OS functionality. Wi-Fi control allows apps to request to toggle Wi-Fi and Android current grants it by default. Disabling it for all the user installed apps requesting it won't break anything in practice but it isn't a privacy issue.