Hello,

I recently installed GrapheneOS on a Pixel 6. The Wi-Fi keeps stalling and then disconnecting at random times. Sometimes it happens after a minute or so, other times hours can go by.

Before installing GOS, I made sure that every system update on the stock google OS was done per the installation instructions, and currently there seems to be no GOS updates.

Has anyone else had this issue and know of a fix?

Thanks!

  • de0u replied to this.

    RabidMongoose I recently installed GrapheneOS on a Pixel 6. The Wi-Fi keeps stalling and then disconnecting at random times. Sometimes it happens after a minute or so, other times hours can go by.

    Probably the first thing to try for mysterious problems with home Wi-Fi:

    1. Settings, Network & Internet, Internet, tap on your Wi-Fi network, set Privacy to "per-network randomized MAC".
    2. Reboot your Wi-Fi router (once).

    If this works, it is a workaround for a common limitation in many consumer-grade Wi-Fi devices.

      de0u I thank you for the reply.

      I tried those steps, and it did not help. I have discovered that the Pixel 6 only drops Wi-Fi under load. If the phone is just idle, the wifi continues to remain connected without issue.

      I have noticed other connection issues, especially when the 5G switches to "UW" (Ultra Wide 5G). I did turn off the 5G feature and tested the wifi issue with the network set to LTE only, and had the same issue.

      If I recall, when I was updating everything in the stock OS, I had no wifi connection issues. I am thinking I should reflash the Stock OS and do some tests to see if it is the hardware and not a strange glitch with GrapheneOS.

      Do you have any other ideas as to what might be causing this issue?

        a year later

        DeletedUser115 It has been a while. I wanted to give as much data as I could in regards to the above issue and suggestion...

        After having several people over the last year connect to my home network and perform some stability tests using Android and iOS devices, all other devices had stable wi-fi connections for hours under data transfer load. My Pixel 4a 5G with GrapheneOS also performed as expected in regards to Wi-Fi stability connection, whereas the Pixel 6 failed as before.

        Taking the Pixel 6 to other network locations along with the 4a 5G pixel also had similar outcomes.

        Needless to say, the Pixel 6 Wi-Fi dropping is an issue with the unit, and not the network.

        Just today, I had a new Pixel 8a arrive. I ran Wi-Fi stability tests before flashing GrapheneOS onto it, and had only one wifi drop. I turned off the "Adaptive Connectivity" in the original OS and that solved that issue. However, after flashing GrapheneOS onto this brand new from amazon pixel 8a, the exact same Wi-Fi dropping issue is there.

        At this point, I believe it is safe to say that the issue is not my home wireless network, but an issue with the OS not having the option to disable "Adaptive Connectivity."

        Any further advise and assistance is welcome.

          RabidMongoose Just read through the thread. It looks like it could be a hardware issue.

          Does this problem occur with stock Android on your Pixel 6a?

          RabidMongoose Just today, I had a new Pixel 8a arrive. I ran Wi-Fi stability tests before flashing GrapheneOS onto it, and had only one wifi drop. I turned off the "Adaptive Connectivity" in the original OS and that solved that issue. However, after flashing GrapheneOS onto this brand new from amazon pixel 8a, the exact same Wi-Fi dropping issue is there.

          At this point, I believe it is safe to say that the issue is not my home wireless network, but an issue with the OS not having the option to disable "Adaptive Connectivity."

          I used a Pixel 3a running GrapheneOS on my home Wi-Fi network for a year and change, and since then a 6a, same network (two APs in bridge mode). On both Pixel devices, running GrapheneOS, I have experienced zero Wi-Fi disconnections per day, also zero per week, and I think I can say zero per month.

          It is not clear that a baseline drop rate of "just" one disconnect in a small number of hours, regardless of Wi-Fi settings, means that the Wi-Fi network environment is fine. I suspect many users of this forum can report zero sudden disconnects on multiple GrapheneOS devices. So, based on reporting so far, it's not obvious what you are observing.

          Can you provide detailed information on some test you can run that fairly reliably results in disconnects? Maybe some people here can try on various Wi-Fi networks (home, maybe corporate).

          11 days later

          I am experiencing this same issue with my freshly installed pixel 9. My phone disconnects from my wifi every 30-90 seconds. I am not having this issue with any other devices on the network and did not have this issue for the week I used my device with the stock OS.

          I really hope this gets fixed soon because until it is graphene os is unusable for me.

          • de0u replied to this.

            mdapa My phone disconnects from my wifi every 30-90 seconds. I am not having this issue with any other devices on the network and did not have this issue for the week I used my device with the stock OS.

            1. Does this happen with your GrapheneOS Pixel 9 on any other Wi-Fi network, or just your home network?
            2. Is the situation improved if the "Privacy" setting for your Wi-FI network is set to "Use per-network randomized MAC" and the router is rebooted?

              de0u I have the same issue with the Pixel 9 Pro XL, and I can say that for me it's happening with all Wi-Fi networks and the "Use per-network randomized MAC" has not solved it. Nor has a network or factory reset - it drops out seemingly exactly every 60 seconds for me. I will try reverting to stock OS this weekend to see if that has the same problem to rule out a hardware issue.

                de0u It has happened on multiple networks and on all of them I have used "per-network randomized MAC".

                • de0u replied to this.

                  mdapa Interesting. Which servers are you using for connectivity checking? Settings, Network & internet, Internet connectivity checks. Are you using a VPN?

                    de0u Ive tried using both graphene os and google servers for connectivity checks. I have not tried with a vpn. I am using adguard dns, though I have tried disabling it and it has not fixed the issue.

                    I don't know if this is helpful, but all of the networks I have used recently are from my university. So there are a lot of access points in any given area. I don't know if that might be causing the phone to get confused. Though I am not moving between rooms when the issue occurs. I can just be in my own room and it will disconnect and reconnect repeatedly.

                    I am currently testing my pixel when connected to a hotspot with one access point. I'll report if that seems to fix the issue.

                    • de0u replied to this.

                      Ok, it's been about 10 minutes and my phone has not disconnected from my hotspot. It seems like using a network with an access point in every room could be the issue.

                      I have never had problems on any of these networks with any other device or even this pixel 9 when on the stock os, so it still seems like a graphene os problem.

                      I'm curious if other people experiencing this issue are using similar networks? If this is the problem hopefully it's easily fixable.

                        The problem I'm experiencing is on every Wi-Fi network I've tested it with. I first noticed it because the wireless Android Auto setup I use would cut out every minute, but every other Wi-Fi network I've tested has been the same.

                        The only way I noticed was by monitoring the network traffic from a Wi-Fi router to the device and seeing the device fall off the network every minute. If the device has another method for internet (i.e. cellular data) then it shows the 4G/5G symbol, otherwise it continues to show the Wi-Fi symbol as it drops out for such a short time that the Wi-Fi symbol does not disappear.

                        So far all Wi-Fi networks I've tested have been the same, so it's interesting to hear a hotspot connection works. I wonder if it's something to do with using a 2.4GHz vs 5GHz, perhaps?

                        I also got WiFi problems with Android Auto. It drops every minute. Iam using Pixel 9

                        Hmm okay I don't think it's 2.4/5 related, as on a 2.4/5/6GHz Wi-Fi I've had 20+ minutes without a dropout.

                        Interestingly, though, it seems to have dropout constantly when per-network MAC address randomisation is on, rather than off. So I wonder if it's actually a bug in this? Wouldn't explain why Android Auto is dropping out though as it's on by default. I'll investigate further.

                        mdapa when you connected to your hotspot, was randomised MAC per-connection still enabled?

                          mdapa I don't know if this is helpful, but all of the networks I have used recently are from my university.

                          This may well be relevant. Enterprise-quality access points are different from regular access points. For example, they often cooperate behind the scenes (over a wired network) in terms of how specific access points behave toward specific endpoint nodes. For example, if the collective wisdom of the access points is that you should be using #4 instead of #11, but you are signed in to #11, #11 might either drop you or slowly degrade service to you to encourage you to switch.

                          Meanwhile, some enterprise-quality access points behave differently toward different client devices -- for example, if the AP chipset was made by the same company as the client-node chipset, private protocol extensions may be used.

                          So it might be interesting to try Wi-Fi networks from a different provider -- maybe a public library. In the U.S., I think the McDonald's chain uses enterprise-grade Wi-Fi gear and allows public access. Also, if you can find out whose equipment your university Wi-Fi uses, that could be interesting too.