Most of us browse or access the internet on our mobile devices, and you may have a strong connection at home, but if you suddenly find your device lagging, dropping your connection or struggling to connect to the network, in most probability, you may find yourself staring at an ‘AP Currently Not In Use’ error message.
In fact, even though you may have entered the correct password, have all the correct information, this AP currently not in use error message does pop up. It is annoying, but easy to rectify – read on to figure out what to do if you come across this message.
Why Does ‘AP Currently Not In Use’ error message pop up?
You will see this error message when the device you are using cannot detect your Access Point (AP), or thinks that your AP is not being used. Your access Point could be your wireless router, accessing the internet via a range extender, your wireless dongle or anything that is helping you access the internet.
Reasons Why Your Device May Think AP Is Currently Not In Use
The main reason why your device will think that is because it is having problems in connecting to the network. If you take a closer look at your wireless router or at the signal strength on your device, you will probably notice that it is weak.
Mobile devices cannot pick up wifi signals as effectively as a computer or laptop does, and it is no guarantee that you will receive a strong signal on your smart phone even if your laptop shows you have a good connection. Each device is different and has different capabilities.
But not to worry, there are ways to get this fixed. Read on to know how to fix this problem.
How to Fix ‘AP Currently Not In Use’ error
1) The first step could be to do the simplest thing – power off your device and restart it. If that doesn’t work, then try restarting your wireless router. Sometimes this is the simplest and easiest way to sort out problems regarding your network or connection.
2) Check which connection you are on, and try a different one. Remember, your wireless router should have two bandwidths – 2.4GHz and 5GHz. If you find that you have a weak signal in one, try connecting to the other band. Just being connected is no guarantee that you will have a strong signal – knowing which network you are connecting to will help you determine if you are going to enjoy an optimum internet experience.
3) Location, location, location. This rule applies to mostly every field, and it remains true for getting a good connection as well. If this is possible for you, move your device to a closer location to your wireless router or Access Point. Move your work desk closer or to a place which has fewer obstacles and less interference. Places in your home like a kitchen offers many obstacles which could affect the bandwidth performance of your wireless router due to walls, metal, household gadgets like microwaves etc. Making sure you distance yourself away from these obstacles will ensure that you do not see the ‘AP currently not in use’ error message.
4) Have you noticed a setting on your phone that says ‘Avoid Poor Connections’? Uncheck that option – when it comes down to it, having a poor signal is better than having no signal at all.
Follow these simple steps:
- Go to Settings on your phone
- Select Wifi
- Go to the ‘More settings’ tab
- Select Advanced
- Uncheck ‘Avoid Poor Connections’ tab
Just one point to keep in mind – not every phone may have this option – perhaps older models may not have this feature – if that is the case, just check out our other tips – one of them should work for you!
5) Check the Date & Time on your phone. You’d be surprised, many problems pop up simply because your phone could be set to 20 years from now, or even gets reset to the day you bought your device. Simply go to your settings and unselect your ‘Automatic Date and Time’ settings and select it again. You may need to restart your device for the settings to take effect.
6) Utilise a Static IP address instead of a dynamic one. This means that your IP address will remain constant, instead of changing every time you restart your wireless router. It is a simple solution, and all you have to do is know the DHCP range of your network, and insert an IP address that is outside your network’s DHCP range but within the boundaries o your network subnet.
7) Forget your Wifi connections and reconnect to it. Sometimes your device may not be connecting successfully, which would lead to the ‘AP Currently Not in Use’ error message to show up. Another simple fix is to go to your wifi networks and select ‘Forget connection’. After you do this, simply select it again to reconnect to the network.
When it all comes down to it, and the above tips still don’t work, you may have to reconsider what device you are using or even the wireless router you have. Is it an older model which can slow down your network unexpectedly?
Many times, we buy or rent a wireless router which may not live up to its expectations. In fact, if you are renting your wireless router, you may be having one that is not only older, but may not be able to handle the speeds you pay for.
Upgrading your wireless router could be a solution to your problems – but this option, of course, is a last resort. We don’t want you to suddenly go out and buy a whole new device if it is not needed.
If the above tips don’t work for you, let us know about the problems you are facing with AP currently not in use error in the comments below and we’ll try to find a workable solution for you!