Bug Report: e/OS/ 3.2 (and higher) has problem with WIFI WPA transition mode

[TeeTeeHaa]

Since I updated my Fairphone 5 from e/OS/ version 3.1.4-t-20250915526530-official-FP5 to version 3.2-a15-20251022539003-official-FP5 (and later to version 3.7-a15-20260410607089-official-FP5) I am not able to reliably connect to my WIFI anymore.

My WIFI is provided by a FRITZ!Box 6690 Cable router with WPA mode “WPA2 + WPA3” (a so called “transition mode” or “mixed mode”).

I noticed my Fairphone can still reliably connect to my guest WIFI, provided by the same router but with WPA mode “WPA2”.

After changing the WPA mode of my (regular) WIFI from “WPA2 + WPA3” to “WPA2” my Fairphone 5 (currently with e/OS/ version 3.7) I can now reliably connect to my WIFI again.

Unfortunately there is no “WPA3” (only) option in my router. In general I would prefer to use WPA3 over WPA2.

I think this is a bug of e/OS/. Is there a chance that this will get fixed?

Related threads

A thread in German which mentions a problem with “WPA2 + WPA3”:

Wlan schaltet sich immer ab

Hallo, ich weiß nicht ob dies so gut war einfach in einen alten Post zu posten. Sieht scheinbar keiner . Aber ja zur info auch für die die den Post nur gelesen haben . Dieses mal scheint es zu funktionieren. Ich habe (kleiner Nachtrag Verschlüsselung ist WPA2 UND WPA3) die Verschlüsselung auf NUR WPA2 gestellt. Und seit dem scheint alles ordnungsgemäß zu funktionieren. Es ist auch reproduzierbar sobald ich wieder auf WPA2 UND WPA3 stelle fängt die Spinnerei wiede…

Another thread also mentions a problem with “WPA2 + WPA3”:

After June 2025 update to /e/OS 3.0.1 Wifi connection speed dropped

Just a suggestion: If someone is affected by this bug, could they add additional information about their WiFi setup? My OnePlus 6 (/e/OS 15) has a bandwith problem on my WiFi 5 hotspot where simultaneous WPA2/WPA3 encryption is enabled. This seems to be an upstream bug, and setting the encryption to WPA3 only fixed the problem for me.

And another thread:

No wifi after upgrade to android 15

have you tried to reinitialise WiFi network settings → settings → system → reset-options → reset WiFi

In the above thread the user piero suggested:

have you tried to reinitialise WiFi network settings
→ settings → system → reset-options → reset WiFi

Yes, I tried that, but it did change nothing.

[piero]

Week 17, Development and Testing Updates

Important: We will be releasing a v3.7.1 build starting today for all devices except those on A13. The changes in v3.7.1 are given in the release notes. The changes are browser related as mentioned in the release notes For A13 builds we will release a v3.7.2 with fix related to this issues

[tcecyk]

things need to make it to gitlab, there’s a filed bug for this on the FP3 and others (not FP5 yet?).

You could add that your device too is affected:

• Phone not connecting to WiFi when using a WPA2-WPA3 (WPA3-transitional) network (#7337) · Issues · e / Backlog · GitLab
• Phone not connecting to WiFi when using a WPA2-WPA3 mixed mode network (#9043) · Issues · e / Backlog · GitLab

[TeeTeeHaa]

I would love to contribute to GitLab, but that would, as far as I know, require me to register at GitLab with my full name which then would be made public to the whole internet. I will not do that. I mean, I did chose a privacy-respecting operating system like e/OS/ exactly not to be forced to register anywhere with my full name and it being made public to the whole internet.

But thanks for the links to those two issues anyway.

[tcecyk]

never used my full name at gitlab. The /e/ gitlab allows any forum email to be registered

[TeeTeeHaa]

I just installed 3.7.1 on my Fairphone 5 and the problem still exists, just like before.

[herman21]

i think it is a regression/compatibility bug in the newer e/OS builds rather than an issue with your FRITZ!Box 6690 Cable itself, especially since WPA2-only works fine and the problem started right after updating. WPA2/WPA3 transition mode has caused random compatibility issues on a few Android 14 based ROMs lately, so your testing actually points pretty clearly in that direction. Since the guest network works reliably under WPA2, I’d say your workaround is valid for now until the developers investigate it further. Would probably be worth opening an official bug report with logs if you haven’t already, because being reproducible across multiple /e/OS versions makes it easier for them to track down.