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

[Diving Capers]

They should make it so a long press shows available networks (WiFi) / devices (bluetooth) and an option to turn off.

Tapping on a connected network or device can disconnect (with a prompt)

Tapping on an available network or device to which you are not connected can then connect to it and prompt for password or verification if needed.

Tapping on turn off ...well... that’s self explanatory

My ¢3.5

Basic functionality should not be so convoluted

 

[seyss]

TERRIBLE decision from Apple.

Took them 10 years to add a Cellular Data toggle, maybe in 20 years they'll give us a Location Services (GPS) toggle.

Sometimes I feel like throwing my iPhone to the wall and buying a Pixel 2 and saying goodbye to these ******s.

 

[jlseattle]

So when I turn off bluetooth and wifi I'm actually not turning them off?

 

[SeattleMoose]

Since some people like this (I don't), just add an option for a HARD off in BOTH Settings AND Control Center...or not.

Sadly, much of Apple's recent design decisions seems to come from it's millionaire executives who think that something they would like should be universally imposed on us peons. This "design by convenience" is NOT the same as design via vision, digital safety, and functional common sense.

The King says it is so...so it must be so. Unless the King is losing it.

 

[eternlgladiator]

This could easily solved by giving the user a bit more customization. Allow a long press to bring up more details. I personally flip wifi on/off all the time and it's really infuriating that it basically forgets my choice the next day. I don't want to forget these networks because I do need them sometimes. Since I'm on the move a lot my phone tends to hang on to them way too long and I end up in a gray area where nothing will connect. Just let me turn wifi on/off in control center. Bring back the old way please.

 

[richie510]

I love this feature for myself, and especially for my wife. We often have to disable wifi because of some crappy network we are connected to. Then at home, stuff isn't working, and the phone hasn't been backed up in days because we forgot to turn the wifi back on. I agree Apple could explain this better, but the outrage here is out of control.

 

[KanosWRX]

Fix this Apple!! When I turn something off, I expect it to be turned off completely, otherwise I wouldn't have turned it off in the first place!! This is a huge security flaw as most people have no idea and rightfully so, Apple can't just expect people to assume turning something off doesn't turn everything off.

 

[flat five]

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.

3D Touch

(not that this solves your gripe entirely.. but it might help a little bit )

 

[joueboy]

Thanks for this, it's no more clearer than Apple's stupid reasoning. They claim as to continue a much better experience but that feature is only limited to Apple products. That's obviously a BS and putting people at risk and stealing that precious little juice on this tiny batteries they put in. SMH!

 

[sinsin07]

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.

Ridiculous, Unsupported, Generalized, Ancdeotal assumption.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

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.

Seems many are making the assumptions that functionality can never change with time. Once a hard on/off, always a hard on/off seems to be what some believe is a strict requirement.

The reality is, few really care about this. Most users are perfectly happy having it function the way it now does and never looked at it as a requirement to totally turn wifi/bluetooth off.
[doublepost=1507312807][/doublepost]

Ridiculous, Unsupported, Generalized, Ancdeotal assumption.

I based that comment on conversations with a number of people on the iOS team within Apple. So your comments are completely incorrect.

 

[Stella]

I'd agree. The UI isn't clear enough about turning off and disconnecting.

This is backed up by the number of people confused by the functionality earlier, in the story about what the control panel functionality actually did.

 

[MjWoNeR]

I couldn’t agree more.

I like another user who said, “the iPhone used to not require a user manual. Not anymore...”

I like the new way of handling radios as I had them always on anyway. But I couldn't agree more with the quote. I was baffled with the control centre toggles in iOS 11.

They should add a 3D touch/long press to disable the radios from the control centre.

 

[s15119]

What nonsense. It's trivial to actually turn off Bluetooth and/or WiFi and this provides a good function for the average user. The dumbing down of electronics users does more to hinder security.

 

[skitidetdu]

Totally agree.

 

[Rogifan]

So having WiFi and Bluetooth on compromise security? I’ll bet 95-99% of consumers are never toggling these things on/off.

 

[Zaft]

I agree, this is Apple babying its users a little too much. There at least needs to be some clue that its not turning off Wifi/Bluetooth.

 

[fmalloy]

But..but...but...Apple said this is far more intuitive, and people want to be able to connect even when turning the radios off.

Apple said it, it MUST be the right thing to do, damn all you stupid users, right?

 

[panjandrum]

What is Apple turning into?

We've all been watching it for years, beginning when Steve got sick enough to begin relinquishing control, and continuing to this day; the slow (and sometimes fast) destruction of everything that made Apple and Apple products (frequently, but not always,) great. Frankly it's all gone to hell by any measure aside from Apple's profits. Sad thing is that nobody has really stepped-up to take over the "rational, consistent, and usable device" market. It's all just a race now to see who can release the "least crappy" products instead of the best products, whether we are discussing the moronic new flat UIs ( https://slashdot.org/story/17/09/05...rs-navigate-flat-ui-designs-22-percent-slower ) or stupid industrial design decisions (Notice how the power button and the volume button are on opposite sides of the iPhone 6 and newer, with the exception of the SE? That's a basic design flaw, making it easy, even common, to accidentally change the volume when you just want to turn your screen off, or turn your screen off when you want to change the volume, because when you hold the phone and squeeze for those functions you are putting force on both sides. The power button on top - or at least somewhere not opposite the volume buttons, is a better design. Sure, that's basic, and a fairly small issue, but when you add-up 100, or 200 new small flaws, that's one crappy product.) Unfortunately, Apple isn't likely to notice how bad things have gotten until their sales and profits start to dry-up. Sooner the better I say, they need to be forced to do an about-face and get this crap fixed.

But it's not just Apple and most of the rest of the technology market. Automobile manufacturers have also fallen into the trap of terrible design, at least in terms of the controls: ( https://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/high-tech-car-features-distract-drivers-aaa-study/ ). Even the most basic level of common-sense suggests that car controls need to be reachable, intuitive, distinctive, and require as absolutely little interaction with the driver's eyes as humanly possible. Yet another race-to-the-bottom of usability... It's a phenomenon that seems to infect, or maybe infest, the mentality of entire market segments on occasion, and it's really freaking annoying!

 

[skitidetdu]

What nonsense. It's trivial to actually turn off Bluetooth and/or WiFi and this provides a good function for the average user. The dumbing down of electronics users does more to hinder security.

I turn it off to save battery life when I don't need them. Guess no more...until the fix this stupid decision

 

[Rogifan]

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

Then make a better a battery that doesn't die in 4 hours!!

BT and WiFi are not major battery drainers.

 

[Xenomorph]

I kinda like how they work. I usually only "disconnect" from WiFi because I have a poor connection to the current AP and I want to switch to cellular.

Tapping the button drops my WiFi connection, but keeps WiFi turned on. I don't have to remember to turn it back on later.

That being said, I can ABSOLUTELY see how the new way can confuse or anger someone. It WAS a toggle to turn WiFi Off and On. Now it's not, but the button (and how you access it) looks the same.

Maybe Control Center can be updated so the user can customize the connection toggles:

Have it default to the old/standard On/Off toggle, and let me then hide that and add the new Connect/Disconnect toggle.

 

[mrzz]

EFF always feels the need to define things for everyone, even where they don't understand them. They've turned into a group that does nothing but complain and have given up on actually taking action as they use to.

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.

Really?? OK, I'm pretty sure some users don't care about battery life/security/... they will just keep everything switched on because someone decided it's good for them. I don't see a single benefit having wifi on while I don't need it .. surprisingly I can still decide myself when I really need it switched on or off .. and doing that via settings is super annoying. One of the worst decisions ever.

 

[s15119]

I turn it off to save battery life when I don't need them. Guess no more...until the fix this stupid decision

If you want them off, simply go into setting and turn them off. It's easy. There's an OLD tech acronym that seems appropriate. RTFM

 

[Rogifan]

So when I turn off bluetooth and wifi I'm actually not turning them off?

In control center it just disconnects whatever you’re currently connected to. It doesn’t completely turn them off.