IPhone automatically connects to 3G instead of available Wi-Fi network

When I go to use the phone it is on the 3G network and not automatically connecting to the Wi-Fi network. Originally I noticed this at my office. But after replacing my Apple Extreme with a new D-Link wireless router at home it's doing the same thing here. It connects fine when I go to the Settings and manually select it. So it's not a connectivity issue as much as what network the phone is selecting by default.
Is there a way I can instruct the phone to look for and connect to the available Wi-Fi network before going to the 3G network? Both networks in question have full bars of signal strength so that shouldn't be an issue.

I see this fairly often.
It seems to happen when a 3G connection starts downloading data before the phone sets up the Wifi connection.
Wifi is dropped each time the phone sleeps for a while. As you tap the home button to wake up the phone, you can watch for the wifi icon to appear as you SLOOOOLY drag the "Slid to unlock" button.
But often, when In a hurry, I open the phone and start downloading mail or surfing (or whatever) before wifi is established, and when I do its a real fight to get it to cut over to wifi. Usually have to pop to airplane mode, killing what ever is running on edge/3G and then re-enable wifi, and it will usually connect.
Some things that make WIFI connections quicker, such as using only WPA-AES, 802.11G and low channel numbers on your router. No Dual mode encryption, no N, nothing fancy.
Some routers are slower than others. My Belkin absolutely *****, My Netgear is pretty fast at establishing a connection.
But there are times I just have to go in and power cycle the router to get it to connect again. It seems to get in a state where it will not allow a connect after a number of tries no matter what you do.
Please Apple: better messages than "could not connect". You insist on detailed problem reports when users say "didn't work", so turnabout is fair play.

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New iPhones automatically connecting to public wifi

hi .. the family has 3 new devices (iPhone 5S) running 7.0.4 all connected to my Apple ID
I set up the iPhone in a bar in London then I connected it to a different wifi network in a nearby restaurant .. neither wifi spots required a password
but I see the other two devices the next day automatically connected to these wifi networks without me doing anything - what a great feature !
have iPhones always been able to do this ? did it recognise my Apple ID and assumed I would want to connect to wifi on the other 2 new devices ?
I have been using iPhones since 2008 and never before witnessed this .. is this a new feature or a bit of luck ?

completely agree ..
of course it was and I think even an apple novice would know this ..
due to apple products significantly benefiting my businesses over the last two decades I have in some ways become a bit of an apple nerd, and when I notice helpful improvements in the operating system (particularly business related) i research them..
this is one of the rare occasions where I cannot get any official clarification as to what apple did in ios7 to make 'joining trusted public wifi spots easier'
1) every year I buy a bundle of new iPhones for work and family and noticed this time they all automatically connected to known networks faster and more consistently than in previous years;
2) google this topic and lots of sites say the same thing i.e. iOS 7 improved something with connecting to "trusted" wifi spots;
3) i asked in store and staff confirmed this but had no further details;
4) scan all Apple's official pages and no more detail !
5) SO ARE THERE ANY NERDS OUT THERE THAT CAN PUT MY MIND AT EASE
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Then I'm at a loss. Mine has switched automatically from the start, favoring Wi-Fi, any of its registered networks, whenever available. Only thing I can think of is trying a Force Restart and see if that clears things up: hold down Home and Sleep till the screen goes black and a white Apple logo pops up. Release and allow it to restart.
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It should manually connect. Mine always does. So does wifes. So does everybody I know.

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Hi there gali2012!
I believe I have an article that will help you troubleshoot this issue:
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http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1500
Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities. Have a good one!
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Message was edited by: eaganjs

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Hi there Huskerscott!
I have some information here that can help you troubleshoot this issue:
Unable to automatically connect to Wi-Fi
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Some wireless routers are preconfigured with a common SSID (network name) such as "wireless" or "default."
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iOS: Troubleshooting Wi-Fi networks and connections
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1398
It also may be helpful to follow these settings, which are optimal for use with iOS and OS X devices:
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http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4199
Thanks for being a part of the Apple Support Communities!
Regards,
Braden

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IPhone automatically connects to 3G instead of available Wi-Fi network

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