Does really the setting revert to 'manually used'?

I guess I have the same/similar issue since a few weeks only.
I disconnected from WiFi on purpose, hereby setting this connection to manually used. Of course I set it back to automatic.
But since then it blinks as if connecting but then stays disconnected (I did it already a few times earlier). So no idea why I have this behaviour now.

To get connected I open mail and update. This makes the N9 connect and stay connected (as I also have a SIP account in background).

So any input greatly welcomed.