How to Fix: iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro Can’t Activate on Wi-Fi

iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro smartphones have already launched in parts of the world that hit Friday, such as Asia and Australia.

Now, there’s already an issue with iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro activation, which comes at a bad time on its official launch.

According to an Apple memo seen by MacRumors, Apple acknowledged a bug with iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro not being able to activate while connected to Wi-Fi.

“There is a known issue for iOS 16 that may impact device activations on open Wi-Fi networks,” says Apple.

To fix your iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro not activating, Apple says customers need to go old school and “Connect to Mac or to a PC with iTunes” when setting up your new phone, when it asks you to connect to a Wi-Fi network. You are then supposed to try the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro setup process again, until it’s able to activate.

Apple says there are no official fixes for this iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro bug, telling its staff to not open up repair cases for this problem.

Earlier this week, Apple released iOS 16.0.1 for the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. This iOS 16.0.1 update fixes a problem with activation and migration during the phone’s setup. Apple customers may need to restore their iPhones manually to iOS 16.0.1 on a Mac or PC to activate their new shiny (and expensive) phones.

Apple says if customers can’t activate iMessage or FaceTime on their iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro, they need to update to iOS 16.0.1 to fix the problem.