Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Does iOS 7 have persistent wifi?

C

CyanLite

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 3, 2013
110
0
So I have been searching the internet for days looking for an answer but I couldn't find one. So I decided to ask you guys who have it installed..

For those of you who don't know what it is, it's basically when the WiFi stays enabled when the phone is asleep and still getting notifications from apps.

iOS6 didn't have this and I assume it used data for notifications but I don't want that, I want it to use wifi

I know that things may change in the final build but I want to know how things are right now.

Thanks :)
 
With most routers even though the WiFi signal bars disappear when locked I found under iOS 6 the iPhone is actually still connected.

For about 6 months I used my iP5 soley on WiFi without a SIM card. I would still get push notifications almost immediately even when the phone was locked.

Try it yourself, put your phone in Airplane Mode, turn WiFi back on, lock the phone, wait 30 seconds or so and do something that will send you a push notification.

You should receive it just fine unless you're on one of those rare networks where the iPhone won't keep the connection open.

If I'm not mistaken it has something to do with the network's beacon interval.
 
apunkrockmonk said:
With most routers even though the WiFi signal bars disappear when locked I found under iOS 6 the iPhone is actually still connected.

For about 6 months I used my iP5 soley on WiFi without a SIM card. I would still get push notifications almost immediately even when the phone was locked.

Try it yourself, put your phone in Airplane Mode, turn WiFi back on, lock the phone, wait 30 seconds or so and do something that will send you a push notification.

You should receive it just fine unless you're on one of those rare networks where the iPhone won't keep the connection open.

If I'm not mistaken it has something to do with the network's beacon interval.
Click to expand...

Well, I don't have an iPhone and don't want to update my iPad to iOS6 but I have seen so many threads on the internet complaining about the lack of persistent wifi on iOS6, you're saying that they're all wrong?
 
Schrodinger would say that, unless the state is observable, it can therefore be assumed that the WiFi is AND isn't persistent, simultaneously.

HTH. :p
 
xcodeaddict said:
Schrodinger would say that, unless the state is observable, it can therefore be assumed that the WiFi is AND isn't persistent, simultaneously.

HTH. :p
Click to expand...

LMAO, well it is observable, turn off data, turn on wifi, put phone in standby, send yourself a message, check whether or not it makes a sound! :)
 
I believe it is in iOS 6.

I often get push notifications through with just wifi enabled and the screen shut off. Not quite sure how it works tbh.

When I power the screen back on, the wifi icon is not there to begin with.
 
Damolee said:
I believe it is in iOS 6.

I often get push notifications through with just wifi enabled and the screen shut off. Not quite sure how it works tbh.

When I power the screen back on, the wifi icon is not there to begin with.
Click to expand...

Well that's weird... so it'd be safe to assume that iOS7 does indeed have persistent wifi?
 
Does iOS7 have persistent wifi?

iOS 7 lets administrators configure individual apps to automatically connect to VPN when opened.
 
I enable both wifi and mobile data when I'm at home. Everytime I turn on my phone screen, I see 3G icon for a few seconds before the wifi icon appears. Strangely, it seems like my iPad 3 does have persistent wifi because it does get notifications with the screen turned off.
 
Only way to test persistent wifi is to turn off 3G , just keep wifi enabled and see if you get push notifications.

I seem to, but i'm not sure how or why seeing as the wifi icon is gone when I unlock the phone and it comes back.

Have to assume its on some sort of timer and checks for them now and then.
 
Damolee said:
Only way to test persistent wifi is to turn off 3G , just keep wifi enabled and see if you get push notifications.
Click to expand...

Do you mean Cellular data? Assuming that a 2G data network is available, then you will still receive data over the cellular network

apunkrockmonk said:
Try it yourself, put your phone in Airplane Mode, turn WiFi back on, lock the phone, wait 30 seconds or so and do something that will send you a push notification.
Click to expand...

That's a feature that has been available for a while now. When an iOS device knows that a cellular connection is totally unavailable, it should keep Wi-Fi enabled - even when locked.

The OP wants to know if you can have Wi-Fi on 24/7 regardless of what other data connection is available - the answer to that is no.
 
Daveoc64 said:
Do you mean Cellular data? Assuming that a 2G data network is available, then you will still receive data over the cellular network



That's a feature that has been available for a while now. When an iOS device knows that a cellular connection is totally unavailable, it should keep Wi-Fi enabled - even when locked.

The OP wants to know if you can have Wi-Fi on 24/7 regardless of what other data connection is available - the answer to that is no.
Click to expand...

This is correct.
 
my iphone 4s is on iOS 6. it stays connected to wifi even when the screen is sleeping. but my iphone 5 doesnt stay connected to wifi.it may be coz of the cellular data is switched off on 4s and not the 5.
 
Daveoc64 said:
Do you mean Cellular data? Assuming that a 2G data network is available, then you will still receive data over the cellular network



That's a feature that has been available for a while now. When an iOS device knows that a cellular connection is totally unavailable, it should keep Wi-Fi enabled - even when locked.

The OP wants to know if you can have Wi-Fi on 24/7 regardless of what other data connection is available - the answer to that is no.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry but I didn't understand what you just said. If I disable all kinds of data connection (3G, EDGE), but WiFi on, will I get notifications when phone is in standby?

EDIT: Okay, so after reading everything again, I get it, and thanks for your answer :)

So just to make sure, if I have a SIM, and a cellular connection, but data disabled, then I won't get notifications when locked, correct? Is this also true for iOS7?
 
Even better.. when I walk into an area with which I've set up wifi before, my phone now uses that wifi EVEN IF it required a login page previously. So now at school I don't have to log in each day, iOS 7 finds its way in and logs into wifi on its own.

I'm not sure how to test if this is the case while the phone is 'sleeping' though.
 
MuGeN PoWeR said:
my iphone 4s is on iOS 6. it stays connected to wifi even when the screen is sleeping. but my iphone 5 doesnt stay connected to wifi.it may be coz of the cellular data is switched off on 4s and not the 5.
Click to expand...

That's because your iPhone is set by default to use cellular data and turn wifi off to save power. If it detects no data connection it'll keep wifi on in a low power state to allow push notifications etc to get through.
 
I have an iPad but my phone is a Nokia 920. The last update implemented an option to leave wifi on all the time. This means that even when my phone is 'asleep' it stays connected to wifi (if I have the option checked).

This was a much requested feature and frankly for those who have limited data it's quite nice because the phone always uses wifi even in the middle of the night. And I haven't found any significant battery degradation. So with my phone I simply leave both the wifi and the cellular on all the time. When I go anywhere I have set to auto connect to wifi my phone connects and all email, etc come through wifi. I can certainly tell the difference in my data usage.

This would be a nice option for Apple to implement. I would love it on my iPad because then I could leave the cellular switched on but it would only kick in when I leave the wifi location (usually my home).
 
Gav2k said:
That's because your iPhone is set by default to use cellular data and turn wifi off to save power. If it detects no data connection it'll keep wifi on in a low power state to allow push notifications etc to get through.
Click to expand...

So if I do have a cellular and WiFi connection but no data connection, then I will continue to get notifications when locked right?
 
According to a post in Apple's forums, the iPhone will maintain a wifi connection if it is plugged in.
 
Gav2k said:
That's because your iPhone is set by default to use cellular data and turn wifi off to save power. If it detects no data connection it'll keep wifi on in a low power state to allow push notifications etc to get through.
Click to expand...

well thats not true. my wife's iphone 5 is always connected to wifi when sleep. even when the cellular data is switched on :)
 
HowEver said:
Even better.. when I walk into an area with which I've set up wifi before, my phone now uses that wifi EVEN IF it required a login page previously. So now at school I don't have to log in each day, iOS 7 finds its way in and logs into wifi on its own.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately not the case for me with iPhone 5 and beta 2. Makes me constantly log back in at work and also the hotel I'm staying in now on vacation. It actually seemed to do better on beta 1 for me. Hopefully they get it straight with upcoming betas.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back