EFF Says iOS 11's Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Toggles in Control Center Are Misleading and Compromise Security

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

And misleading the other 95% into thinking WiFi/Bluetooth are off when they're still active.

Just another one of Apple's thought-less design implementations of late.

You're mistakenly believing that every user believes that button completely turns off wifi. As most simply want to disconnect from the current network and then have to take the additional action of turning wifi back on shortly after, the new implementation is what most user really want. If you want to turn it totally off, just take an extra 1 second to do so in the settings. Now people can have both.

But go ahead and cry about it. I'm sure that'll change things.

 

[Dicelu]

I like the fact that I can stop bluetooth from looking for new devices to connect to but still keep Apple Pencil connected. If you want to turn off networking, use airplane mode.

I understand Apple’s decision. If those toggles disable completely, it would have probably frustrated lots of users who don’t know some of the services and devices require wifi or bluetooth. Many users actually WANT to keep the existing connections while blocking any new ones.

But yeah, Apple should have explained this more clearly so that people wouldn’t make it a big deal. They should have provided a user-configurable behavior or a 3-way toggle.

 

[FCX]

I'd prefer that CC off = off. I don't want or need the training wheels, and don't appreciate the lost usability.

Yes, I know, go to Settings and turn it off/on. Extra steps, removal of previously-appreciated convenience. Put a damn switch in prefs so I can change the default behavior.

 

[Victor Mortimer]

You're mistakenly believing that every user believes that button completely turns off wifi. As most simply want to disconnect from the current network and then have to take the additional action of turning wifi back on shortly after, the new implementation is what most user really want. If you want to turn it totally off, just take an extra 1 second to do so in the settings. Now people can have both.

But go ahead and cry about it. I'm sure that'll change things.

No, pretty much nobody wants that. They want turning it off to power off that radio. It's the expected behavior for turning something off, it's what humans have expected since switches were invented, and it's a huge mistake on Apple's part to change that behavior.

Nobody in their right mind wants it to just disconnect from the WiFi network. They want it to turn off.

I've met a lot of novice users over the years that I've been doing IT work. They do not want what Apple has set these buttons to do.

Off should mean off.

 

[artfossil]

Nobody in their right mind wants it to just disconnect from the WiFi network. They want it to turn off.

Good to know I’m not in my right mind.

(And also not alone.)

 

[B4U]

How much extra time does it take to turn off wifi in the settings vs the control panel? I'm willing to bet I can do the same operation in less than an additional 3 seconds. Oh so time consuming.
[doublepost=1507549883][/doublepost]

YOU want it off. Do the majority of users want it off or just to disconnect from the current network? I can tell you for a fact that Apple looked at this when making that choice to change the behavior.

That 3 second is already over the time window that I needed to turn those off for my work all the time. So what is your point?
Defending a poor design?

 

[Bacillus]

I like the fact that I can stop bluetooth from looking for new devices to connect to but still keep Apple Pencil connected. If you want to turn off networking, use airplane mode.

I understand Apple’s decision. If those toggles disable completely, it would have probably frustrated lots of users who don’t know some of the services and devices require wifi or bluetooth. Many users actually WANT to keep the existing connections while blocking any new ones.

But yeah, Apple should have explained this more clearly so that people wouldn’t make it a big deal. They should have provided a user-configurable behavior or a 3-way toggle.

Just 1 more dialogue offering that option if connected to a Pencil would have implemented that correctly

 

[IGI2]

And misleading the other 95% into thinking WiFi/Bluetooth are off when they're still active.

Just another one of Apple's thought-less design implementations of late.

Because people are too stubborn to accept the fact that it is actually quite helpful to have this turned on.

GPS fix is being established much faster. Apple can map WiFi routers in the wild and connect them with GPS locations which will help other users get more accurate GPS readings.

Handover and Handoff features for Mac are depending on this.

iOS 11 password sharing need this. AirDrop needs this. AirMirroring needs this. Apple TV remote control center mini-app needs this.

Then people just would turn it off, and could wondering why my Apple Maps app establishes location so long? Or my friend with Galaxy S8 launches it faster (additionally, Google has been mapping WiFi routers positions for years, so even if you turn it off on both systems, it will be more harmful for iOS users than Android users).

Some apps uses soft GPS such as Snapchat at the beginning to conserve battery, etc. for geo-tied filters, stickers.

It was a good move by Apple. The other choice was just to remove the ability to turn it off completely.

 

[2979382]

This is one of those things Steve would have fired someone for. I totally get what Apple is trying to do, in fact I am all for it (security concerns aside), but their implementation is sloppy and amateurish. The "turn wifi back on at 5pm" is based on the premises that people go home from work at 5pm and connect to their wifi anyway, which is becoming less and less true in the modern world. What Apple should have done was just check if the home wifi is in range, and then connect, regardless of what the time is. Simple.

 

[Victor Mortimer]

This is one of those things Steve would have fired someone for. I totally get what Apple is trying to do, in fact I am all for it (security concerns aside), but their implementation is sloppy and amateurish. The "turn wifi back on at 5pm" is based on the premises that people go home from work at 5pm and connect to their wifi anyway, which is becoming less and less true in the modern world. What Apple should have done was just check if the home wifi is in range, and then connect, regardless of what the time is. Simple.

No, they shouldn't have done that. The phone shouldn't know if the home wifi network is in range if the wifi is turned off, because that radio should be powered down.

The button is broken. It doesn't do what it appears to do, and it does what it does do in a very dangerous way.

 

[drummingcraig]

You're mistakenly believing that every user believes that button completely turns off wifi. As most simply want to disconnect from the current network and then have to take the additional action of turning wifi back on shortly after, the new implementation is what most user really want. If you want to turn it totally off, just take an extra 1 second to do so in the settings. Now people can have both.

But go ahead and cry about it. I'm sure that'll change things.

Problem is, at least for me, I am having to constantly go back to CC and toggle wifi “off” again if I stay near a known network for more than 10-15 minutes (and sometimes less).

Case in point, I am currently on tour with a band, and our tour bus has wifi via a mobile hot spot. Often times my AT&T reception is better than what the bus’ mobile hot spot is picking up. If I don’t take the extra step of going into settings to do the ‘hard off’ I find that the phone will jump back onto to the bus wifi after just a few minutes (doesn’t matter whether I am using the phone or not).

I just don’t see the use in having a “temporary” disconnect button, especially if there is no way to control how long it stays disconnected. Seems as if it contradicts the convenience of the CC. At the very least we should have the option to choose how the CC wifi and bluetooth buttons function (soft or hard off).

 

[Jdcdh]

Because people are too stubborn to accept the fact that it is actually quite helpful to have this turned on.

GPS fix is being established much faster. Apple can map WiFi routers in the wild and connect them with GPS locations which will help other users get more accurate GPS readings.

Handover and Handoff features for Mac are depending on this.

iOS 11 password sharing need this. AirDrop needs this. AirMirroring needs this. Apple TV remote control center mini-app needs this.

Then people just would turn it off, and could wondering why my Apple Maps app establishes location so long? Or my friend with Galaxy S8 launches it faster (additionally, Google has been mapping WiFi routers positions for years, so even if you turn it off on both systems, it will be more harmful for iOS users than Android users).

Some apps uses soft GPS such as Snapchat at the beginning to conserve battery, etc. for geo-tied filters, stickers.

It was a good move by Apple. The other choice was just to remove the ability to turn it off completely.

It can be usefull to have an automatic switch on of wifi and bluetooth for some apps.

Still, why didn't they put a force touch gesture or a switch in settings that allows users to control weather when you press that button it's really off or idle?

Needing to go to settings to really switch wifi and bluetooth off IS a security risk because most people will forget at some point and wifi/bluetooth protocols aren't as safe as people believe.

While I understand Apple's move,
I don't understand why they didn't think of an alternative.

 

[You are the One]

Seems High Sierra do the same.

 

[MacBergin]

a bunch of cry babies. I always turn it off in settings when i need it off.

 

[IGI2]

Needing to go to settings to really switch wifi and bluetooth off IS a security risk because most people will forget at some point and wifi/bluetooth protocols aren't as safe as people believe.

Apple's bluetooth was immune to Blueborn 1 year before it got extensively covered (with iOS 10).

 

[ASoTxn5]

I for one prefer it this way. That’s all the average person (and me) wants when they turn off Bluetooth or WiFi.

I think the average person assumes wifi is off when you turn it off. Not "disconnected from a network". The average user is not this technical.

 

[chucker23n1]

I think the average person assumes wifi is off when you turn it off. Not "disconnected from a network". The average user is not this technical.

What is this mythical average user trying to accomplish by disabling Wi-Fi, though?

 

[jacjustjac]

I think the average person assumes wifi is off when you turn it off. Not "disconnected from a network". The average user is not this technical.

A person would have one of two reasons for "turning off" the wifi from control center.

One would be to conserve battery life, but Apple has been quite adamant from the beginning that WiFi could actually *save* battery because the phone wouldn't use the more power-hungry cellular modem, and searching for WiFi networks while you are out and about doesn't really consume as much power as people think.

The other reason would be to disconnect from a weak or faulty WiFi network, or specifically favor the cellular modem, which is what I often find myself using it for.

In which case, adopting the idea that the WiFi can be either connected, disconnected, or disabled entirely, and you see why there are three possible icons to display the status on the wifi toggle in control center.

 

[ASoTxn5]

A person would have one of two reasons for "turning off" the wifi from control center.

One would be to conserve battery life, but Apple has been quite adamant from the beginning that WiFi could actually *save* battery because the phone wouldn't use the more power-hungry cellular modem, and searching for WiFi networks while you are out and about doesn't really consume as much power as people think.

The other reason would be to disconnect from a weak or faulty WiFi network, or specifically favor the cellular modem, which is what I often find myself using it for.

In which case, adopting the idea that the WiFi can be either connected, disconnected, or disabled entirely, and you see why there are three possible icons to display the status on the wifi toggle in control center.

I should probably mention....I'd be fine with adding a 3D touch option that allowed me to get the wifi w/ a dash through it to happen from the CC as long as the function was kept there. But eliminating that option entirely for the benefit of a few watch and pen users and forcing me to lose one of the main functions I used CC for (leaving the only one left to be the flashlight), while making me connect to every known network I've ever been connected to whenever I pass its point of origin has turned this into being one of the most annoying "features" for me.

 

[jacjustjac]

I should probably mention....I'd be fine with adding a 3D touch option that allowed me to get the wifi w/ a dash through it to happen from the CC as long as the function was kept there. But eliminating that option entirely for the benefit of a few watch and pen users and forcing me to lose one of the main functions I used CC for (leaving the only one left to be the flashlight), while making me connect to every known network I've ever been connected to whenever I pass its point of origin has turned this into being one of the most annoying "features" for me.

Actually, I'm very curious for the reason why you used CC pre-ios 11 to disable WiFi entirely. Were you doing it often?