Failure to reconnect to networks on iOS

Question

Since installing iOS 14.0 (now 14.2) my iPhone XS repeatedly fails to reconnect to my network after returning from being out of range (e.g., on a walk) and frequently loses the network connection after periods of inactivity (e.g. overnight). No other device on my network has this problem. In order to reconnect I need to do so manually from scratch each time.

What can I do to ensure that my iPhone reconnects? I've tried deleting the offending network connection, resetting network connections, rebooting (and power cutting), rebooting the router — but nothing has helped? Is this a known bug introduced in iOS 14? If so is a fix forthcoming?

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The network in question is hidden and MAC filtered, running on an AirPort Extreme. The connection is always configured to disable private addressing and to auto join.

Answer 1

Things to try... is the same behavior observed if you:

• borrow an iDevice (running iOS 14) from someone else and connect it to your network
• temporarily disable MAC filtering and/or the hidden attribute of your wireless network

(I’ve made the assumption that you’ve already re-booted both your iOS device and the Airport Extreme, and that they both have the most current software.)

As a last resort (that won’t cause you to lose any data, but that will delete any saved WiFi passwords not saved to iCloud - maybe turn off iCloud first just to be safe):

• Use the “Reset Network Settings” option under Settings > General > Reset

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While not the issue in your case, others may encounter a similar issue with the ‘private address’ feature in iOS 14, on a network has MAC filtering enabled.

1. When connected to your network, does “Privacy Warning” appear under the network name on the Wi-Fi settings?
2. If not, click the info circle to the right of the network name, then toggle off the “Private Address” option, which by default in iOS 14 assigns a new MAC address to your device on a regular basis (each time? every day?)