Apple added a new alert in iOS 14. Your iPhone or iPad will alert you if your wireless (Wi-Fi) network is using weak security. To elaborate, this alert means that your Wi-Fi router is using an older encryption technology to protect the information flowing to and from all of the devices connected to your Wi-Fi network. The warning looks like the one shown below.
More specifically, your iPhone or iPad will display this alert if your Wi-Fi router is using any of the following outdated encryption technologies: WEP, WPA, or WPA2 (TKIP). Currently, only WPA2 (AES) and WPA3 are considered secure.
If you tap the tiny icon of a lowercase letter i that appears next to the Weak Security warning, Apple discloses the same information as shown in the image below.
The recommended solution is to do either of the following:
- Reconfigure your Wi-Fi router to use the newer, secure encryption technologies.
- Replace your aging router with a newer router that does support these newer encryption technologies.
The exact steps involved in reconfiguring your Wi-Fi router vary from router to router. As a first step, you might want to simply search the Internet to determine if your Wi-Fi router supports either WPA2 (AES) or WPA3. Then, check your router manufacturer’s website for instructions or hire a consultant to help you reconfigure it, if that’s an option. If your Internet Service Provider (ISP) provides you with your Wi-Fi router, please contact them for assistance with reconfiguring your Wi-Fi router.
No tip was to buy a new router or update settings I am old and things were fine yesterday and now all of a sudden apple is worried about me today??? What is the option if I want to just stay on a weak network??
Hi David
If you want to stay on a weak network, then do nothing. However, I don’t recommend that. Apple added this alert or notification to help users become aware of changes to the security of one’s network and thus one’s data that is transmitted through that network. A few years ago the encryption method used on many of our wifi networks was considered secure. However, more recently, research has revealed vulnerabilities in this encryption method. Thus, it’s recommended that one either use newer encryption methods, WPA 2 using AES or WPA3. -Tim
Our router is set up with WPA2/3, and my husband’s android recognizes it. My iPhone does not—I get the weak security message
Hi Karen,
I don’t understand what you’re stating. One the one hand you indicate that your iPhone reports that your router’s wifi network is using weak security. To me, this indicates that your iPhone can both see and connect to your router’s wifi network. However, you also state that your iPhone does not recognize your router’s wifi network. So, it’s unclear to me what sort of trouble you’re having. My best guess is that you’re experiencing some sort of communication issue between your iPhone and your wifi network. I’d recommend restarting your iPhone and your home router. Perhaps that’ll clear up the issue.
The poster said Android sees it but the iPhone will not connect. You didn’t read the reply properly. Try resetting your network on the iPhone as wpa2/3 should work