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

[sbailey4]

Agreed. If it was always like this, not a problem, but ten years one way to then change it to a compromising style?

When I’ve turned WiFi “off” I’ve found myself connecting to random unprotected networks. That’s a massive security issue.

Um calling BS on that one. Wifi does not randomly connect to "random unprotected networks" by itself.

Off should mean off. Simple.

It does, and disconnect means disconnect. Simple.

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

Yes, when you actually turn them off (via toggle) you are. But not when you disconnect (via control center)

 

[Rogifan]

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

Um settings app?

And to think just a few years ago iOS didn’t even have control center. How did all these people that constantly need to turn off WiFi and Bluetooth survive then?

 

[Michael Goff]

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

Correct. If you use the Control Center in iOS 11, it disconnects but leaves the radios on. And if you do turn them off, they turn on again at 5am.

 

[paradox00]

I greatly prefer it this way. I use the WiFi toggle to disconnect from terrible WiFi, and use to be annoying to realize that WiFi was still toggled off after significant use at home. Similarly, I never want my Apple Watch disconnected.

I absolutely agree the change is poorly communicated, and the option of the old functionality should still be there, but I think this is more in line with what a typical user (i.e., someone who probably doesnt read this site) wants to do with the toggle.

 

[Dave.UK]

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

For real?! When I turn something off, I expect it to be turned off. You can't get much more simpler then that.

 

[dBeats]

iOS 11 users can still completely disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for all networks and devices by toggling them off in the Settings app. A device can also be placed in Airplane Mode with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth disabled.

End of story. Thank you now please stop whining.

 

[apolloa]

But but but Apple doesn’t gave the resources for bug fixes and common sense buttons.... no.... it HAS to put the majority of its resources into making emojis and watch bands.. can’t forget about those watch bands!

And that is what some on this forum actually think....

I do think it’s misleading and stupid and a real battery drain to have these toggles not actually toggle anything bar an icon on and off!

 

[840quadra]

That is certainly true.

But I think I agree - if you toggle Wi-Fi and BT off.. they should be off. Until you, the user, decide to turn them on again.
That just makes sense to me.

But it doesn’t say wifi off, it has a wifi icon, and if you are on a wireless network, it states “disconnected from X”. It is working as intended, Apple just didn’t make the change well known.

Better communication would have avoided the issue / confusion.

Apple's reason was supposedly for people to use air drop, etc. Why cat a pop up dialog box ask to turn on wifi/bt when a user accesses air drop?

I am not sure what he question is here.

it sort of does. it says ‘not connected’

idk, i personally prefer the way it works now in control center.
it appears i may be in the minority though

I like it too, it actually gives us more options than we had before.

I understood how it worked because I read the buried documentation during beta. Apple should have better documented the change and made it apparent for users, or, make a toggle available to make the switch behavior match what it did in iOS 10.

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

Better documentation and notification (to users) would have solved much of this.

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

I like it too, but I also understood how it worked. You can still fully disable WIFI and BT. Perhaps they could have enabled a 3D Touch option to fully disable WiFi / BT.

But but but Apple doesn’t gave the resources for bug fixes and common sense buttons.... no.... it HAS to put the majority of its resources into making emojis and watch bands.. can’t forget about those watch bands!

And that is what some on this forum actually think....

I do think it’s misleading and stupid and a real battery drain to have these toggles not actually toggle anything bar an icon on and off!

It’s not a bug, it’s just not a well documented feature.

Actually it provides more functionality than the system did before. You can still fully shut off WIFI or BT from the settings app. Just wished they created a 3D Touch shortcut to actually fully shut of radios, like these buttons did before.

 

[daanodinot]

It's simply bad design. Illogical and unintuitive.

 

[Carnegie]

Different people use their iPhones in different ways, of course. For me, this change was welcomed. It gives me more flexibility - more granular control - when it comes to WiFi and Bluetooth. I now have a disconnect button (for each), which is what I want more often than not, as well as a way to turn either one off.

There was already, for those with 6S or later iPhones, a way to quickly turn either of those functions off (i.e. through force touching the Settings app icon). The buttons in Control Center represented, to some extent, a duplication of that ability. Now the buttons in Control Center provide a different option.

That said, I can understand why some would prefer that the Control Center buttons provide another way to quickly turn those functions off. But that wouldn't suit how I use my iPhone as well as the current set up does.

 

[Porco]

Apple should give us the choice. I preferred the toggles in CC meaning off. I respect that some people prefer it how it is now.

But there’s no good reason not to let us have both options in CC. It’s ironic that CC is more configurable than ever and yet removes an ability to do what the older, more limited CC allowed.

I’m glad the EFF have said what they have.

 

[NightFox]

It's Apple's first foray into quantum computing. Until we go into Settings, we have no way of knowing if wifi and BT are on, or off. In fact it is neither, and both at the same time. Wifi and BT are in a state of quantum superposition until we open Settings and their wavefunction collapses, revealing wifi and BT to be either on, or off.

 

[Websnapx2]

Apple really needs to fix the behavior of these toggles. I don't know why they thought changing the functionality was ever a good idea.

Because it actually IS a good idea. Most times I want to turn off Wifi is because the signal is bad and I want to force a switch to cellular. If I need everything off that is what Airplane mode is for. I hate when I turn off WiFi because there network I'm on is a bad one only to forget to switch it back on later and using up more data when I could have been using my home Wifi.

 

[iolairemcfadden]

I'm not (yet) upgrading to iOS 11 because of this. I've used the control center to turn on and off Wi-Fi for a few years not and feel its going to be a waste of time to go to show the desktop, get to the first screen, load the settings app, click over to Wi-Fi and then turn it off.

I for one only like to have the services I use turned on. If I need to get an image to my wife (only a few times per month occurrence) we both turn on Bluetooth via the control center, airdrop the image and then turn it back off via the control center.

 

[canadianreader]

Wow I didn't know that...

 

[jntdroid]

Um calling BS on that one. Wifi does not randomly connect to "random unprotected networks" by itself.

Actually it can if you're on AT&T (no idea on other carriers). And oftentimes it's one of their public wifi spots. That reminds me I actually need to figure out a way to turn that off in iOS.

 

[apolloa]

But it doesn’t say wifi off, it has a wifi icon, and if you are on a wireless network, it states “disconnected from X”. It is working as intended, Apple just didn’t make the change well known.

Better communication would have avoided the issue / confusion.



I am not sure what he question is here.


I like it too, it actually gives us more options than we had before.

I understood how it worked because I read the buried documentation during beta. Apple should have better documented the change and made it apparent for users, or, make a toggle available to make the switch behavior match what it did in iOS 10.



Better documentation and notification (to users) would have solved much of this.



I like it too, but I also understood how it worked. You can still fully disable WIFI and BT. Perhaps they could have enabled a 3D Touch option to fully disable WiFi / BT.



It’s not a bug, it’s just not a well documented feature.

Actually it provides more functionality than the system did before. You can still fully shut off WIFI or BT from the settings app. Just wished they created a 3D Touch shortcut to actually fully shut of radios, like these buttons did before.

No it’s an extremely poor design, you can’t deny that. Android let’s you access the full settings and actually turn BT and WiFi fully off from its control centre screen, Apple doesn’t let you do either of those now...
It’s very very poor design ideology, yes they could have simply used 3D Touch but that would then be seen as fragmenting user experiences across devices.

 

[hasanahmad]

You disconnect yourself from wifi and bt without turning them off you use the control center, quick.

When you want to disconnect yourself COMPLETELY from wifi and BT, you turn them OFF in settings.

If you want WIFI to remain on without connecting to any router temporarily or you want BT on without connecting to any device temporarily, that is where control center comes in.

This is so obvious and EFF seems to be oblivious that this change was to give an option. those who really want security can just go to settings and turn it off completely

 

[wigby]

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.

This is one of those things that actually makes total sense once you know it or it is explained to you. They do show a message when you first toggle either radio off. The problem is that the message simply says you have disconnected from your current network which could mean different things to different people.

Since I rarely ever turn off either radio, this actually makes things easier for me. I think most people don't turn radios on and off constantly but for those that do, I can understand their confusion. Unfortunately, as we should all know by now, the majority rules when it comes to UI and customer preferences with iOS devices.

 

[78Bandit]

I greatly prefer it this way. I use the WiFi toggle to disconnect from terrible WiFi, and use to be annoying to realize that WiFi was still toggled off after significant use at home. Similarly, I never want my Apple Watch disconnected.

I absolutely agree the change is poorly communicated, and the option of the old functionality should still be there, but I think this is more in line with what a typical user (i.e., someone who probably doesnt read this site) wants to do with the toggle.

I would think a typical user would want to either turn WiFi off or completely disconnect from their current connection (the equivalent of "forget this network" in settings). This temporary disconnection is baffling. You can turn it off, but it automatically reconnects the next day or when you move around.

I've got a feeling the carriers talked Apple into this. My phone will connect to an AT&T WiFi connection anywhere, anytime without asking my permission which helps relieve cellular network congestion in urban areas.

 

[Rocko99991]

It says "disconnect" and disconnected state and disabled state have different icons! It's articles that say it's "broken" that are the problem. Tell users that the features have changed.

When you hit bluetooth is says OFF for a second. Off is off, except in Apples world.

 

[truthertech]

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.

Sure, yes it sounds to me like there are several ways Apple might make it more apparent to users if they are merely disconnecting from a device/wifi point, or if they are turning it off completely. What is out of proportion is the response, from some, yes I know it's largely Apple bashers, but there are others who are apopletic over Apple trying to accommodate what the vast majority of users want to do, i.e., disconnect, not turn off wireless connection. All Apple needs to do is give prompt, etc., or let you choose default in user settings. What is hilarious are those who are demanding Apple give options, but then criticizing Apple for too many choices, LOL.

 

[macfacts]

Because it actually IS a good idea. Most times I want to turn off Wifi is because the signal is bad and I want to force a switch to cellular. If I need everything off that is what Airplane mode is for. I hate when I turn off WiFi because there network I'm on is a bad one only to forget to switch it back on later and using up more data when I could have been using my home Wifi.

The idea is good but they should have used a different icon.

 

[840quadra]

No it’s an extremely poor design, you can’t deny that. Android let’s yoh access the full settings and actually turn BT and WiDi fully off from its control centre screen, Apple doesn’t let you do either of those now...
It’s very very poor design ideology, yes they could have simply used 3D Touch but that would then be seen as fragmenting user experiences across devices.

I am well aware of how Android works, and we simply we just disagree.

It’s a good design that is poorly documented. Like a few others have said, the added functionality over what iOS 10 had, is nice.

Honestly I would be fine if they restored the way these features worked in 10, so long as I could go into settings and issue quick disconnects. It’s dang nice to be able to detach from a wireless network quickly (to use Cellular) but still be able to Airdrop.

 

[wigby]

No it’s an extremely poor design, you can’t deny that. Android let’s yoh access the full settings and actually turn BT and WiDi fully off from its control centre screen, Apple doesn’t let you do either of those now...
It’s very very poor design ideology, yes they could have simply used 3D Touch but that would then be seen as fragmenting user experiences across devices.

Apple lets you do all of this from settings and part of this from control center. They chose the one that more users typically need quicker access to for the control center and the one used less often for the settings menu. It doesn't matter what Android does because you're really complaining about change more than design.