iOS 11 Control Centre Toggles Do Not Fully Disable Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
In a new support document published recently by Apple, it has been confirmed that iOS 11 Control Centre toggles do not fully disable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad (via MacRumors).
According to Apple, when you toggle the Wi-Fi or Bluetooth buttons in Control Center, your device will immediately disconnect from Wi-Fi and Bluetooth accessories although both will continue to be available, so you can continue to use the following features:
- AirDrop
- AirPlay
- Apple Pencil
- Apple Watch
- Continuity features, like Handoff and Instant Hotspot
- Instant Hotspot
- Location Services
This means that the Control Centre toggles in iOS 11 merely disconnect any connected accessories over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, instead of completely disabling connectivity. Furthermore, the Apple support documents highlights the following:
If Bluetooth is turned off, you won’t be able to connect your iOS device to your Bluetooth accessories until:
- You turn on Bluetooth in Control Center.
- You connect to a Bluetooth accessory in Settings > Bluetooth.
- It’s 5 AM local time.
- You restart your device.
If you want to completely disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for all networks and devices, follow these steps:
- To turn off Wi-Fi, go to Settings > Wi-Fi and turn off Wi-Fi.
- To turn off Bluetooth, go to Settings > Bluetooth and turn off Bluetooth.
Apple says that for the best experience on your iOS device, try to keep Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on at all times.