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

[jpn]

i also like it the way that apple currently has it.
i like to disconnect from a current network. not turn off WiFi completely.

but EFF hints at a 3rd solution which is even better:
leave Control Center as it is now except that it doesn't try to connect to any network again until you toggle it back on.
in other words, EFF is objecting to automatically searching for previously joined networks.

another poster in this thread has a great suggestion that 3D press might be employed on the Control Panel to actually shut off WiFi totally. thats a great suggestion ! like it very much.

 

[BvizioN]

“the iPhone used to not require a user manual. Not anymore...”

I think that’s because people are getting dafter by a day.

 

[fairuz]

Stupid attention grab. It's a dumb feature that I agree Apple shouldn't have implemented, but these people are freaking out way too much about it when they say "potentially leave users open to new attacks." You can disable BT and wifi in the settings if you're really concerned. I personally keep BT disabled permanently both for battery and security reasons.

 

[VPrime]

I really like this change.
I always used to forget to turn my wifi back on, and I would use up all my data. Now I disable it when I need, and when I get home it auto connects again. Saves me money from overage charges .

 

[Mike MA]

iOS experience might improve, but my battery experience clearly is far from being best.

 

[SamIchi]

Hopefully Apple will give little tweaks in the next update.

I wish I could change wifi networks via control panel with 3D Touch. This would be especially useful in the city, where there's multiple wifi connections constantly.

It also needs to be more customizable. I want a large section for audio/music controls. I'd say 90% of the time I'm looking for that. Even though iOS 10's had it's flaws, I liked the large audio controls.

 

[tkermit]

It may or may not make logical sense, but the way it works now is actually the most useful to me.

 

[Swift]

Once you understand what the control center buttons DO, it's exactly what we need. Very often, you find yourself losing battery because some ghost wifi has grabbed your phone. Control center, google Starbucks gone. Or the wrong Bluetooth device has grabbed the phone, this undoes it. It doesn't turn off Bluetooth or Wifi.

 

[minik]

I like this new functionality. In the past, I had to goto Setting to disconnect from a hotspot, but now I can do it on Control Center. Sure, it is a change for many many iOS users, but it did say 'Disconnected from 'SSID'' once you tapped on the Wi-Fi icon on Control Center.

 

[MEJHarrison]

While I think it could be improved, and WiFi doesn’t meet my needs, I like the direction they’re headed. I especially enjoy the new Bluetooth toggle. I can turn it off in the evening (and have a valid use case to do so) and it automatically connects to my car in the morning.

I’m quite happy to let the OS handle this annoying workflow task for me. There’s no reason I should have to switch on my Bluetooth every morning if my phone can handle that for me. For me it works perfectly and meets my needs.

Now if I could just manually select my WiFi, I’d be thrilled. Because when I toggle it, it drops the poor connection, then ignores the good one connection and simply reconnects to the bad one.

 

[DotCom2]

I do understand their and apples viewpoint. I think much of this could have been avoided with a better explanation from Apple on the release, and a notification when they are first toggled.

That or show a "Dis-Connect" icon rather than an off indicator. Much like the seat belt icons on airplanes.

 

[kdarling]

Apple made this change because it's the intension most users have when they use that functionality. For most, they don't care if it's truly on or off, just that they can disconnect from the current network/device quickly. If you're that paranoid that you need to turn off everything, airplane mode it is.

I dunno, bud.

Then Apple should've called it something else. Like "Temp Disable" or "Disconnect".

Of course, that would require actually putting freaking labels on those buttons, like they should have in the first place.

Their trend towards mystery icons, ignores all the basics of user friendliness guidelines.

 

[teflonthadon]

I did not know this. I assumed off meant off. Stupid me. I guess Apple knows better, and I am not turning the radios off correctly. </sarcasm>

oops you forgot your open <sarcasm> tag </sarcasm> lol

 

[purplehaze0]

Off should mean off. Simple.

 

[psac]

Anyone who doesn't like the current behavior should leave apple feedback. I did.

 

[Karma*Police]

I do understand their and apples viewpoint. I think much of this could have been avoided with a better explanation from Apple on the release, and a notification when they are first toggled.

Agreed. It’s actually a useful change IMO. A simple notification would have made this a non-issue.

 

[jonnysods]

Honestly I don't mind changing things, but not this particular feature. I want wifi off in certain situations when I'm outside my office building and i'm trying to look something up, or when I'm at a Starbucks and it tries to get me online and then its awkwardly not allowing me to use LTE.

 

[jdillings]

I agree with the EFF. Yet another security hole.

 

[RumorConsumer]

I dont have a hard condemnation for Apple. I don't agree with every decision though I generally believe they do a good job preempting the trends and creating the tech around their choices and I don't like this one.

I hear the security issue. For sure thats something. Also, though I am not a "planned obsolescence" conspiracy theorist I think Apple could be doing a better job of making software more backwards compatible. I get not wanting to fragment OS at all and features like this often only take current hardware into account. The more current hardware usually has more sophisticated power stepping modes that allow for features like this to have minimal impact on power consumption and the like that punish older hardware that doesnt have that kind of granularity baked into their power management design.

 

[az431]

I like the way it works in iOS 11 because it allows continued use of AirDrop and connection to Apple Watch. It clearly states "disconnected from [network name]" not "off," and if one wants to turn either off it can be done in Settings or by putting it in Airplane Mode.

 

[adrianlondon]

I like the new way of working, but there are so so so many threads on this topic that it's clear it's polarising.

Despite liking the new functionality I only knew the way it worked from reading one of the comments in an early beta thread. The icons are rubbish. They should stay "lit" but with a line through them, and then be unlit (with a line through them or not) when actually off. And a 3D touch to off would be good.

 

[ravenstar]

Easy there.

No, I don't think you get it. Having two different behaviors for controls that perform similar functions is something that Apple has long stood against. But now they're violating their own standards by producing this nonsense. It took readers in this forum mere minutes to figure out a much better solution (3 state buttons) that would give obvious clues that something different was going on and that there was more than an on/off control at work. I'm a big Apple fan because usually they get things right, but even so, sometimes they come out with boneheaded ideas (like circular mice) and need to be called out.

 

[WinstonRumfoord]

"Moreover, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth automatically reenable at 5:00 a.m. local time each day, or if the device is restarted."

I thought I was losing my freaking mind. Glad that is not the case.

 

[Andres Cantu]

At least a toggle to choose the behavior.

 

[MadeMyDay]

Ironic that the new Control Center is designed to provide MORE information. Apple could easily alter the WiFi and Bluetooth graphics to indicate partially disabled.