Bluetooth won’t stay off

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Level 1

8 points

Bluetooth won’t stay off

Once upon a time, I could go into settings on my iPhone 6 Plus, and turn off bluetooth, and it would stay off. In fact, I had to actually go in to turn it on if I wanted to use it - something I’ve actually never done. It was always just off.

But now, I can’t get it to stay off. I have never used bluetooth on my phone. Ever. I don’t need it, and I don’t want it on. But every day - sometimes multiple times a day - I’ll open the control center and see that it’s on again. So, I have to unlock my phone and go into settings to ritualistically turn the bluetooth switch OFF, knowing I’m just going to have to repeat the process again later.

Is Apple planning to fix this? Nothing should ever enable a setting without the user’s knowledge or consent!

iPhone 6 Plus, iOS 12

Posted on Feb 27, 2019 7:43 AM

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Answer 1

deggie

Level 10

167,537 points

Feb 27, 2019 7:55 AM in response to Kwooda

It will only stay off if you turn it off in Settings, the switch in Control Center only temporarily turns it off. If you have ever used Personal Hotspot, in either direction, AirDrop, Continuity, Handoff, etc. it will automatically turn on when you are near the device you used it with.

As he said, there is no reason to turn it off either for battery or security reasons.

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Answer 2

Kwooda Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 13, 2019 9:57 PM in response to Kwooda

For those who are genuinely looking for a solution to this problem, here's what I have found:

The problem with Bluetooth not staying off appears to be related to Airplane Mode while charging. If the iPhone is left charging overnight, with Airplane Mode enabled, you can pretty much expect to see Bluetooth turned on when you open your phone in the morning.

Rather than use Airplane Mode, I turn off WiFi (and as you probably know, turning off WiFi through the Control Center is fruitless, as it is worse than Bluetooth, as this merely - and visually - temporarily disables WiFi, so turn it off through Settings), turn off cellular data (that you can do in Control Center), as well as Disable Notifications.

Now I can charge my phone. If it were possible to charge the phone with the power off, I would simply turn the phone off. But, you know, Apple has to be different. I happen to find sleep to be super important.

Anyway, hopefully this is helpful to anyone trying to dig through all the chaff to get to an actual solution. I was told by Apple support that a fix is in the works to keep Bluetooth off when you want it off, but only time will tell if that comes to pass. Oh, and if anyone tells you that security is not a good reason for turning anything off, just tell them to leave everything turned on, then.

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Answer 3

Kwooda Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 8, 2019 1:08 AM in response to Kwooda

Just wanted to post an update to say that it looks like Apple resolved the problem in their last update. Will continue to monitor it, but it looks like Bluetooth will now stay off when you turn it off, just as one would expect.

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Answer 4

Kwooda Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 7, 2019 8:21 PM in response to Philly_Phan

Well, Philly, you should be happy to know that I contacted support, and they informed me that this is a known issue that should be fixed in the next update.

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Answer 5

Philly_Phan

Level 7

20,737 points

Mar 7, 2019 7:15 PM in response to Kwooda

So you refuse to accept that Apple deliberately designed the IOS so that the iPhone functions in that manner. Well, whether you like it or not, they did.

By the way, you're really not paying attention. Battery and security are NOT justifiable reasons for turning Bluetooth off.

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Answer 6

deggie

Level 10

167,537 points

Mar 7, 2019 7:40 PM in response to Kwooda

If you have used your computer with your iPhone as a personal hotspot it saves that on each device so you don't have to go through the hassle of setting it up again the next time you want to use it. Same thing as saving the settings on your home WiFi. You could look at your network history on your Mac and delete the previous pairing and on your iPhone do Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings. You will have to reenter the passwords for any sites you previously used. If this does not work you would need to put your iPhone in Recovery Mode and save it as a new device and reload the macOS on your Mac.

You stated there are two good reasons to turn off Bluetooth, what are they? You do not save any power doing this and it is not a security risk. And turning on Do Not Disturb AND putting it in Airplane mode is redundant and not the way it is designed. I use Do Not Disturb nightly without going into Airplane mode and one important reason is to do an automatic backup to iCloud. I do still know people who might need to call me in the middle of the night and they are in my favorites so they can do so. I'm guessing there are no such people in your life. You might want to try turning off Bluetooth in Settings and then using Do Not Disturb but not Airplane mode and see if that changes the behavior.

I can assure you I am far from a millennial and so is Philly. The world has moved so far towards Bluetooth (remember the deleted headphone jack) that manufacturers really don't give turning it off much consideration. You can tell Apple you would prefer to be able to do so here: Feedback - iPhone - Apple

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Answer 7

Philly_Phan

Level 7

20,737 points

Feb 28, 2019 6:46 AM in response to Kwooda

It can't be done. If it's important to you, perhaps you should investigate other smartphones that function the way that you wish.

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Answer 8

deggie

Level 10

167,537 points

Mar 6, 2019 6:32 PM in response to Kwooda

A couple of questions:

Do you have any other Apple devices (iPad, computer, etc.)

When you go into Settings to turn off Bluetooth are you next going into Control Center to put your iPhone in Airplane mode?

Why are you putting it in Airplane mode?

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Answer 9

deggie

Level 10

167,537 points

Mar 7, 2019 6:18 AM in response to Kwooda

I would suspect that at some time you have used Continuity/Handoff or your iPhone as a personal hotspot. Why don't you use Do Not Disturb instead of going through all of that? Why BT off on your computer?

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Answer 10

Philly_Phan

Level 7

20,737 points

Mar 7, 2019 5:32 PM in response to Kwooda

CAUSE I DON'T USE IT AND I DON'T WANT IT ON.

Then you're going to have to turn it off every day. That's not rocket science. This is the way that the iPhone works. Apple designed the IOS so that BT functions this way to satisfy the needs and desires of a vast majority of iPhone users. Neither Apple nor any other successful business will inconvenience the majority of their customers to satisfy the illogical demands of one user. Perhaps if you investigate, you can find a smartphone manufacturer that will put your desires above that of all of the rest of their users.

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Answer 11

deggie

Level 10

167,537 points

Mar 8, 2019 10:29 AM in response to Kwooda

I wouldn't have a problem with Bluetooth only having the temporary disconnect in Control Center and drop the setting. I use the Personal Hotspot, Airdrop, Continuity, Handoff, AirPods, etc. quite a bit and I really don't want to set it up from scratch every time I use it. And since there are no valid reasons to have them off, other than maybe OCD, no it doesn't bother me. And Apple has always been a company that decides what people should be doing with a device and how they should do it. Notorious for it in fact. If you aren't comfortable with this then you chose the wrong smartphone. Does it bother you that you have absolutely no way to control the Near-Field-Communication (NFC) chip in your iPhone? It is always on. You can't turn it off. As I said I hope for your sake what Apple told you is correct and you are satisfied when a future update "fixes" this for you. But be sure to check the behavior of your phone after you use it as a hotspot for your computer. You can do a search here and find a number of posts here regarding the phones behavior after doing this. I never claimed it was a religion, I always said it was a smartphone. Most people that I know that use Windows PCs never run into this behavior. I believe if someone purchases an iPhone and a Mac and does not use Personal Hotspot, AirDrop, Continuity, and Handoff probably don't run into this. And no, I didn't take anything you wrote personally (otherwise I wouldn't have provided some suggestions) and I'm not at all offended you don't use the way I do. I have a bit of OCD myself (got it from my mother). Good luck to you with iOS 12.2, hope it works. One other suggestion if it doesn't, get your iPhone tested there may be a hardware issue with your chipset.

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Answer 12

deggie

Level 10

167,537 points

Feb 28, 2019 12:54 PM in response to Kwooda

Settings > Bluetooth > Off

If it comes back on it is because you are or have used something that requires it.

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Answer 13

Kwooda Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 28, 2019 6:44 AM in response to Philly_Phan

I want it off, because it’s a wireless communication channel that I’m not using, and because I’m the customer and that’s what I want. Sorry I wasn’t looking for the Bluetooth Always On feature.

In case you missed it, the PROBLEM is: bluetooth doesn’t stay off.

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Answer 14

Kwooda Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 3, 2019 4:29 AM in response to deggie

As I mentioned, I have never used Bluetooth. In fact, I put the phone in airplane mode and turn off notifications at night before going to bed, and in the morning, I turn on my phone to see that Bluetooth is enabled. I have no Bluetooth devices. I do not use Bluetooth. I have never used Bluetooth. The only thing I do with Bluetooth on my phone is turn it off. Every single day. Because it won't stay on.

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Answer 15

Kwooda Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 6, 2019 10:21 PM in response to deggie

I have just the iPhone and a MacBook Pro. Bluetooth is off on the computer (and it stays off). On my iPhone, I go into SETTINGS to turn Bluetooth off. I have no other Bluetooth devices. I put my phone in airplane mode and turn off notifications through the Control Center before going to bed at night, and I put the phone on charge. In the morning, when I go to turn airplane mode off and turn on notifications, I see (in the Control Center) that Bluetooth is already enabled. So, every morning, I have the extra step of having to go into Settings to turn Bluetooth off. It seems to be turning itself on, somehow, when it is done charging. The phone doesn't move during the night, and there's no one else here, so it's not like something is coming within proximity of my phone at night. Something about charging the phone is causing Bluetooth to turn on by itself, even while in airplane mode. It's some kind of weird problem with the phone, and I guess there isn't a fix for it, but it didn't used to happen in the past before I upgraded the O.S. I think it started happening when I went from iOS 10 to iOS 11, because I was hoping it would be fixed in iOS 12, but it's still happening.

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Bluetooth won’t stay off

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