i android eu: Many Redmi Note 9S units plagued by Wi-Fi connectivity issues

Monday, 15 June 2020

Many Redmi Note 9S units plagued by Wi-Fi connectivity issues

Credit: Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority

Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S units in Europe are plagued by a Wi-Fi problem.
The phone randomly disconnects from the internet minutes after the screen is locked.
A MIUI update appears to put a band-aid on the problem but doesn’t quite fix it.

Xiaomi recently launched the Redmi Note 9 series globally in the UK and Europe. Amongst the three phones in the global Redmi Note 9 lineup, the Redmi Note 9S is apparently facing strange Wi-Fi connectivity problems.

Multiple users have taken to Xiaomi’s community forums as well as XDA forums complaining about their Redmi Note 9S units randomly disconnecting from the internet. The phone reportedly loses Wi-Fi connectivity 10-15 minutes after the screen is locked. When it’s unlocked and woken up again, the Wi-Fi status shows as connected, however, there’s no data traffic on the connection.

The issue seems to be plaguing Redmi Note 9S units across Europe. The phone has the same specs as the Redmi Note 9 Pro available in India, but we couldn’t find any specific reports from Indian users about the same.

Redmi Note 9S Wi-Fi problem: What’s the solution?

Xiaomi has been advising users to reset their phone and/or switch their Wi-Fi routers off and on to resolve the problem. Sadly, this method didn’t work for most users who tried it.

Some users also report that the Wi-Fi issue was resolved after Xiaomi rolled out the MIUI 11.0.8.0 update for the Redmi Note 9S in May. However, many still continue to experience the problem despite the update.

Redmi Note 9 Pro vs Redmi Note 9 Pro Max: Which one to choose?

The Redmi Note line has always been a pretty successful one and is largely responsible for Xiaomi's success in markets like India. Value-for-money, good specs, and impressive imaging capabilities have long remained the trademarks of …

A number of forum sleuths figured out through their router logs that the update is more of a stop-gap measure than a full-fledged fix. With MIUI 11.0.8.0, Redmi Note 9S units log out of the Wi-Fi network every 10 minutes, followed by a login after a few seconds. This isn’t how normal Android phones behave. As one Xiaomi forum user points out, Android phones usually reconnect to a Wi-Fi network every few hours to renew the IP address, not every few minutes.

We’re not sure if this is a hardware issue on the Redmi Note 9S or if the company can simply resolve it with another software update. For now, If you’re someone who’s experiencing this problem, your best bet would be to get the MIUI 11.0.8.0 update rather than trying to reset your phone as previously advised by Xiaomi.

We’ll update this article if Xiaomi has any more information to share about the problem.