It wouldn’t be a new iPhone launch without a bug report or two. Hot on the heels of the “scratchgate” controversy affecting the Pro models, some early iPhone 17 series owners are now experiencing an intermittent Wi-Fi issue that’s causing a headache for many. The problem affects all four new variants—the iPhone 17, iPhone Air, and iPhone 17 Pro. And it seems to be tied to Apple’s brand-new wireless chip.
Dozens of customers have taken to online forums like Reddit and Apple’s own support community to report the issue. The Wi-Fi connection on their new phones briefly disconnects and then reconnects as soon as they unlock the device. This may sound like a minor annoyance for some. However, it can cause major disruptions to services like CarPlay, which relies on a constant Wi-Fi connection to function. Drivers are finding that their navigation and music playback cut out every time their phone is unlocked.
iPhone 17 Wi-Fi issues could be the fault of Apples N1 chip
The Wi-Fi issues appear to be linked to Apple’s new, custom-designed N1 chip. This hardware platform handles Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread connectivity. This is the first time Apple has used its own wireless chip in its iPhones. It is a key part of the company’s strategy to move to more in-house connectivity solutions. But, as with any new technology, though, there are often some growing pains. The issue is almost certainly a software bug that slipped through testing.
The good news is that a fix seems to be on the way. A few users who have installed the first developer beta of iOS 26.1 have reported that the problem appears to be resolved. This is a positive sign, as it indicates the issue is a software-related problem that Apple can patch with a simple update. A hardware problem without a possible solution via OTA would have been really serious.
Up to two months for the fix to reach everyone
Even so, considering that the fix is ​​allegedly available in the iOS 26.1 developer beta, it could even take a few weeks until it reaches the public, stable release. After all, it would have to go through the public beta build first. More specifically, we could be one—or even two—months away from that.
Apple has not yet commented on the Wi-Fi bug. However, the company is also reportedly preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, a minor update meant to fix other issues. It is quite likely that this update does not yet include the aforementioned fix. Meanwhile, you can keep an eye on your Wi-Fi connection and check for upcoming software updates.