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Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Aren't Fully Disabled When Toggled Off in Control Center on iOS 11

Wednesday September 20, 2017 9:28 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple has confirmed that Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are not fully disabled when toggled off in Control Center on iOS 11.


Even when toggled off in Control Center on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 11 and later, a new support document says Bluetooth and Wi-Fi will continue to be available for AirDrop, AirPlay, Apple Pencil, Apple Watch, Location Services, and Continuity features like Handoff and Instant Hotspot.

Toggling off Bluetooth or Wi-Fi in Control Center only disconnects accessories now, rather than disabling connectivity entirely.

If Bluetooth is turned off, the iOS device can't be connected to any Bluetooth accessories until one of these conditions is met:

  • You turn on Bluetooth in Control Center.
  • You connect to a Bluetooth accessory in Settings > Bluetooth.
  • It's 5 a.m. local time.
  • You restart your device.

    While Wi-Fi is disabled, auto-join for any nearby Wi-Fi networks will also be disabled until one of these conditions is met:

  • You turn on Wi-Fi in Control Center.
  • You connect to a Wi-Fi network in Settings > Wi-Fi.
  • You walk or drive to a new location.
  • It's 5 a.m. local time.
  • You restart your device.

    Apple made this change in the iOS 11 beta, and it gained more attention after the software was publicly released yesterday.

    iOS 11 users can still completely disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for all networks and devices by toggling them off in the Settings app.

    Apple says users should try to keep Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on for the best experience on an iOS device.

    (Thanks, FlunkedFlank!)

    Tags: Control Center, Bluetooth
    • [ 401 comments ]


    Top Rated Comments

    (View all)

    Avatar
    djeeyore25
    25 months ago
    This feature is annoying.
    Rating: 95 Votes
    Avatar
    Moonjumper
    25 months ago
    The original iPhone famously came without a manual as everything was so obvious. That time is over.
    Rating: 90 Votes
    Avatar
    Mlrollin91
    25 months ago
    Where did this 5am thing come from? How did they decided on 5am?
    Rating: 68 Votes
    Avatar
    ghostface147
    25 months ago
    This annoys me. Add a 3D touch option to turn it off. Thanks.
    Rating: 42 Votes
    Avatar
    Geert76
    25 months ago
    it's all about simplicity, right? :rolleyes:
    Rating: 37 Votes
    Avatar
    enrilo
    25 months ago

    Can you press and hold one of the shortcuts to open the full settings page in the Settings app yet?

    Nope... that's the annoying part.
    I'd really want the previous behavior. This "feature" is completely useless for a "pro" user and I though it was a bug for 8 betas.

    Also: why not to put a flag into settings to restore the complete switch off instead of this. Apple, wtf are you doing?!
    Rating: 36 Votes
    Avatar
    mzeb
    25 months ago
    Does airplane mode still completely disable things?
    Rating: 32 Votes
    Avatar
    nia820
    25 months ago




    Apple says users should try to keep Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on for the best experience on an iOS device.

    Article Link: Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Aren't Fully Disabled When Toggled Off in Control Center on iOS 11 ('https://www.macrumors.com/2017/09/20/bluetooth-wifi-not-disabled-ios-11-control-center/')


    This is why people say apple boxes people in. It's stuff like this that makes me want to go back to Android.

    Stop telling me how to use my device.
    Rating: 29 Votes
    Avatar
    Lord Hamsa
    25 months ago

    Apple says users should try to keep Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on for the best experience on an iOS device.


    Perhaps, but some of us work in locations (at least some of the time) that prohibit Bluetooth and/or WiFi from being active. Thanks for pointing out the limitations of this feature so that those of us won't accidentally violate those rules.
    Rating: 24 Votes
    Avatar
    dannys1
    25 months ago

    Where did this 5am thing come from? How did they decided on 5am?


    It's the universal safe zone between when people who like to stay up late go to bed and when people who like to get up early wake up. It's the new "new day" time.
    Rating: 19 Votes

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