Old Phone's Wi-Fi Woes Solved by Router Setting Change

A common household tech frustration, an old phone suddenly unable to connect to Wi-Fi, was recently highlighted by a user on Taiwan's PTT forum. The individual found their long-serving Nokia 8 smartphone inexplicably disconnected from their home network. Initial troubleshooting steps, including resetting Wi-Fi settings and performing a factory reset on the phone, proved futile.

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Over 5 years old equipment does not support WPA3 very normal, many smart home appliances are the same

The mystery deepened when the phone could successfully connect to another device's mobile hotspot, ruling out a hardware failure in the phone's Wi-Fi module. The breakthrough came after the user investigated their home router's settings. They discovered that the router's security protocol had been upgraded from the older WPA2 to the more secure WPA3 standard.

Unfortunately, the Nokia 8, operating on Android 9, lacks support for WPA3. This incompatibility was the direct cause of the connection failure. The user resolved the issue by changing the router's security setting back to WPA2. Other netizens commented that devices older than five years often lack WPA3 support, similar to many smart home appliances.

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WPA2 is like not locking the door

Experts suggest that for households with a mix of older and newer devices, setting the router to a "WPA2/WPA3 transitional mode" is the best approach. This allows newer devices to utilize the enhanced security of WPA3 while ensuring older devices can still connect using WPA2. For those who must use WPA2, implementing additional security measures like device whitelisting can help mitigate risks.

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Old phones really should be retired