Neil Hughes
A somewhat controversial change in iOS 11 will come with a little more clarity in the forthcoming iOS 11.2 update, with the latest beta adding a prompt informing users that turning off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth via Control Center doesn't fully disable them.
Apple made the switch with the launch of iOS 11 in September, ensuring that features such as AirDrop and Apple Watch connectivity remain active even if a user disables wireless connectivity. Rather than turning off the wireless functions completely, flipping the switches in Control Center simply disconnect from networks and third-party accessories.
With the release of iOS 11.2 beta 3 on Monday, Apple has made a small but noteworthy change to help communicate how Control Center works. Upon installing the update, users who disable Wi-Fi or Bluetooth via Control Center are met with a prompt. For Wi-Fi, it reads:
"Disconnecting Nearby Wi-Fi Until Tomorrow. The current Wi-Fi network and others nearby will be disconnected until tomorrow. Wi-Fi will continue to be available for AirDrop, Personal Hotspot, and location accuracy."
And when Bluetooth is toggled in Control Center, iOS 11.2 states:
"Disconnecting Bluetooth Accessories Until Tomorrow. Currently Connected accessories will be disconnected and other accessories will not connect. Bluetooth will continue to be available for Apple Watch, Apple Pencil, Personal Hotspot, and Handoff."
Because iOS 11.2 remains in beta, things could change before the software is released to the public. But as of beta 3, toggling Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in Control Center changes their icons from blue (active) to white (inactive).
To completely turn off either Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, users must delve into the Settings app in iOS, or enable Airplane Mode in Control Center or via Settings.
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33 Comments
So rather than go back to the more intuitive setting, there is a long-winded explanation that looks like it will need to be acknowledged each time. I know there must be a reason they want WiFi enabled for tertiary services, but I rarely use WiFi in public.
My work-around to this is to tell the phone to "forget" all WiFi networks I may have used in the past and use my cell plan data anyplace outside of home, work or family members' homes. That way my phone is not constantly connecting to crappy networks. Face it, most public WiFi is not only inherently unsecured, it is ridiculously slow.
For the bulk of iOS users, the new soft-disconnect feature is a benefit. Prompt screen explaining the feature is of benefit too.
I hope that this prompt screen happens only for the first time the toggle is run. Otherwise, it can be quite annoying if I keep on doing this throughout the day while on the go (e.g., leaving my house/work but my phone won't switch to LTE right away, requiring me to quickly disable WiFi). And what casual users would even read all that text? Perhaps the icons or UI can be altered to better indicate this "temporary toggle".
Yeah this “feature” has a two fold for Apple. 1) It’ll help those -lost cause- users who can’t figure out how to work an iPhone. And 2) this change will allow all those business monitoring and collecting metrics based on WiFi/ Bluetooth while walking into physical locations to collect more accurate data.
If Cook really cared about it’s user base, he’d put in an option to allow me to change this from default disconnect to off. It can default to disconnect, sure, but making me go into settings and turn off WiFi and Bluetooth every time I want to airdrop and worse WiFi every time I leave my house— it’s ludicrous.