Help Wifi connectivity issues - utilities to blame?

[RobertB-DC]

I'm having an increasing number of Wifi connectivity issues. For quite a while, I've had trouble when leaving a Wifi hotspot - the phone wouldn't connect to the data network (even though voice/txt was fine). I had to reboot to get my 4G data back. Now, I'm having trouble even staying connected to a hotspot - even at home, where I can tell from other devices that the network is stable.

Now for the caveat: I've got a couple of Wifi utilities installed that might be causing my trouble. I'm going to uninstall them and see what happens. For reference (that is, for my own future reference, and in case anyone else happens across the thread), they are:

Wi-Fi Keep Alive
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.shantz.wifikeepalive&hl=en
I installed this because my work Wifi would drop my connection (and require me to log in again) if my phone went to sleep. It became redundant, though, when my work changed their access system to support guests only, unless I install a certificate. (More on that below.)

Smart WiFi Toggler
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sebouh00.smartwifitoggler&hl=en
This is a handy utility that looks at the cell towers around you and determines whether you've ever been able to get Wifi in this area. If you have, it turns on Wifi for you. If not, it turns off Wifi. It's powerful, if a bit newbie-unfriendly. I installed it hoping it would help with battery life, but there are too many other variables for me to know for sure.

I have some other Wifi utilities installed (I love Fing), but I don't think any of them are likely to cause my Wifi to misbehave.

The only other thing that's non-standard about my setup is that I've blocked every bloatware program that seems useless, and I've refused to upgrade T-Mobile's non-blockable "MyAccount" app.

So... I'm going to remove those two, and see if that fixes the problem. If so, maybe this will be a helpful post (even for those without this particular phone).


* About the certificate issue, just for those curious. Employees have to install a certificate to access the internal Wifi. That wouldn't be so bad except that it requires me to use a lock screen. Every time I've tried a lock screen, I've nearly butt-dialed 911 thanks to the "Emergency Call" function that's always available. It's less inconvenient to use my data plan at work, than to explain a random emergency call to the nice first-responders pounding on the door.

 

[Rukbat]

Smart WiFi Toggler
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sebouh00.smartwifitoggler&hl=en
This is a handy utility that looks at the cell towers around you and determines whether you've ever been able to get Wifi in this area. If you have, it turns on Wifi for you. If not, it turns off Wifi. It's powerful, if a bit newbie-unfriendly. I installed it hoping it would help with battery life, but there are too many other variables for me to know for sure.

I use it. (It's one of the very few "do it for me" apps I use.) Unless it's a phone-specific issue, this isn't th one causing the problem. I was switching in and out of wifi and 4G all day today. (Cheap expesive specialist doctors won't install a guest account on their routers for their patients.)

It's less inconvenient to use my data plan at work, than to explain a random emergency call to the nice first-responders pounding on the door.

An explanation in the right ear (from a source to be named later - in about 50 years) about how the company policies are causing the FRs to have to respond to non-emergencies might just get the company told - officially - that their policy is going to change. By their doing or otherwise, but it's going to change.

Just wait until the first FR is killed or injured due to that policy, and the city, county, whatever it is, sues the company. (It's happened and, unfortunately, a firefighter died responding to a "chair arm" dial. The company ended up auctioning itself off to pay a small part of the judgment. It's happened in other cases of which I'm aware, but thankfully no one died in those. But companies have been put out of business, and executives have been given free vacations of the striped sunlight variety.)