[Updated] Pixel 2 February update breaks WiFi connectivity

Update (July 30):

Google has fixed Pixel 2 WiFi connectivity issue. Read more here.

Update: FWIW, there’s an ongoing discussion over at Reddit regarding issues brought along by the February update. If you want to take a look, head here.

Original story follows:

Looks like the February update has done more harm than good to users of Google’s Pixel 2 series of smartphones. Recently, the company confirmed it’s looking into Pixel 2 overheating and battery drain problems caused by the latest patch. And now, another (and equally serious) issue has come to light.

A significant number of users are reporting that they are facing WiFi connectivity issues after the February update. Those affected explain that the update has caused their unit to lose WiFi connectivity randomly, frequently, and repeatedly. It’s worth mentioning that the phone stays connected to the router, meaning you won’t notice that the WiFi connectivity has been lost.

Toggling the WiFi off and on does resolve the problem, but only temporarily.

At-least one user confirmed they rolled back the February update and found no such issue in the January patch. And when they again installed the latest patch, problem came back.

After updating via OTA, I’m experiencing intermittent loss of WiFi connection despite the phone showing me that it is still connected to the router. Turning Wifi off and on again resolves the issue temporarily but the problem comes back after 30 minutes or so. This never happened before in the January patch

I wasn’t able to reproduce this problem after flashing the January factory image and rolling back, but the issue came back again after updating to Feb security patch again. Anybody else experiencing this?

EDIT 1:
I’ve done the following as well
1. Restart router
2. Reset Wifi, mobile & Bluetooth settings
3. Reboot phone

None of which solved the problem

They further confirmed this erroneous behavior persists in Safe Mode as well. If you take a look at the thread where they initiated this discussion, you’ll see that a large number of other Pixel 2 users have confirmed they are also facing the same issue after the February update.

It’s worth mentioning that complaints are pouring in from all over the world (not just the US) – here’s what a user from the UK reported today:

Hello. I have been using Pixel 2 XL since November and I had no issue with the wifi until the February update. The wifi will just stop working after a few minutes unless I toggle the wifi off and on and it will work for another few minutes. I am using the Virgin Media Superhub 2 in UK. Other devices have been working fine. I have tried resetting my phone, resetting my router, downloaded the latest google play service and even rebooting into safe mode. None of these actually solved the problem. I seriously love this phone but this bug is just too annoying. Hope you guys can fix it as fast as possible!

At-least some of those who approached their carriers over the matter came to know this has been happening to others as well, and it’s a known issue.

I worked with Verizon to troubleshoot and they’ve been getting many customers with this issue. If your device is under warranty (mine wasn’t) they can replace.

I’m having a similar issue where all my WIFI networks are showing disabled with my Pixel. Tried every possible troubleshooting tip, safe mode for 3rd part apps, clearing cache, resetting network settings, rebooting phone, modem, extension routers, etc. Verizon store told me its a known issue. So I’m working with Google. Issue began after Feb update.

Here are some other threads where people are discussing about the same problem. There’s a dedicated thread about this problem on the Google Issue Tracking website as well. And similar reports can be seen on Twitter as well:

https://twitter.com/p0ppyzz/status/964893176531218434
https://twitter.com/garyjbelcher/status/964263504009220097

Needless to say, this is big problem, as people are being forced to use their LTE connections.

Seriously am forced to use LTE now and if this don’t get acknowledged by Google and resolved by March patch, will have no choice but to gave up Pixel.

This is not the first time we’re seeing Google messing up with WiFi on Pixel 2. So it’s worth clearing that this new problem is completely different from the random WiFi disconnects issue that Google is already looking into.

Have you also been facing WiFi connectivity issues after the February update? Let us know in comments below.

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