Developers have been telling Google that Android L devices will not connect to Wi-Fi. One of the reported cases said that while Nexus 5 will save passwords, it will also fail to actually connect. The issue of establishing a Wi-Fi connection seemed to have also affected the Nexus 7 and Nexus 9 tablets.
The Wi-Fi connection issue is the second major issue that has affected Android 5.0. Earlier in the month, Wi-Fi users with an Android 5.0 powered device reported an issue with the battery. Apparently, the battery gets drained whenever the device would connect to Wi-Fi and would then receive screen wake ups in an abnormally high frequency.
It should be noted that Google's new Lollipop update hasn't officially rolled out to most Android devices. However, developers have already started reporting an issue on connecting the device to Wi-Fi networks.
Several reports have already flooded the developer-preview website which began with a case saying that the Nexus 5 had problems getting a Wi-Fi signal. The thread started on October 17 and the most recently published post was spotted on November 13.
Based on the reports, it appeared like the same issue has been recurring since the middle of October wherein some had also mentioned having issues with the other Nexus devices.
"It seems to happen with wifi [sic] that I already had setup in my Nexus 5 prior installing LPX13D. Tried to "forget" them and connect again but same results," one user reported.
Other Nexus smartphone owners reported about the same issue.
"Having the same issue on my Nexus 9. It remembered my work Wifi from my Nexus 5, but it stays in a 'saved' state and won't connect," another post on the same forum read.
It has now become clear that most developers who are having the problem are using the latest Google Lollipop on a Nexus 5 device that runs on the LRX201 build. It is said that this build is the official build from Google which translates to the fact that it will then be referred to as the software's final version as opposed to being a developer preview edition.
An Android Developer project member replied to the report.
"Thank you for reporting this issue. We have passed this on to the development team and wil update this issue with more information as it becomes available," an Android Developer project member stated.
There's no word yet from Google on how they would fix the issue which could leave the affected users who rely on Wi-Fi to be helpless on the matter.
On a different note, the Nexus 6 which is running on a different build known as LRX21I didn't have any issues in getting Wi-Fi connection. With this bit of information, it is possible to say then that the problem may be exclusive to a specific version of Android Lollipop on the Nexus 5 which is not totally up to date.
Users have been warned beforehand to save their data before installing the final version of Android Lollipop. While anyone can start installing the final preview on their Nexus 5 or Nexus 7 devices, the user may have to think twice if these devices are his main tablet or device. The good news however is that the Android Lollipop can be uninstalled and that the device could then revert to factory settings.
