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Turning Off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in iOS 11's Control Center Doesn't Actually Turn Off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (vice.com)

Posted by msmash on from the apple-things dept.

An anonymous reader shares a Motherboard report: Turning off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when you're not using them on your smartphone has long been standard, common sense, advice. Unfortunately, with the iPhone's new operating system iOS 11 - which was released to the general public yesterday - turning them off is not as easy as it used to be. Now, when you toggle Bluetooth and Wi-Fi off from the iPhone's Control Center -- the somewhat confusing menu that appears when you swipe up from the bottom of the phone -- it actually doesn't completely turn them off. While that might sound like a bug, that's actually what Apple intended in the new operating system. But security researchers warn that users might not realize this and, as a consequence, could leave Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on without noticing. Numerous Slashdot readers have complained about this "feature" this week.

3 of 226 comments (clear)

  1. And the point then? by SeaFox · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Besides cutting off access to those radios to apps, what would be the purpose of turning them off now if it doesn't really turn them off?

    1. Re:And the point then? by BradleyUffner · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Presumably, cutting off app access would save power, as the OS could tightly manage the connecting polling while "off". Even though the radios are still on, they could be automatically cycled down, and only brought back up periodically to poll for "important" stuff, saving power. Of course, Apple is the one decided what counts as "important".

    2. Re:And the point then? by Okind · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Besides cutting off access to those radios to apps, what would be the purpose of turning them off now if it doesn't really turn them off?

      How about theft?

      For a smartphone there may not be a reason, seeing you always carry it with you. But for clunkier items like tablets, an always-on transmitter of a radio signal is a godsend for thieves everywhere. Now they can use a simple scanner to locate items to steal.

      In fact, this is the reason you should turn your transmitting devices off (not standby) when you leave them out of sight in your locked car. It prevents them from being stolen.