WiFi in iOS 11 keeps turning on

If you're tapping the buttons in control center, it's a change whereby tapping the icons drops the current connection but does not shut WiFi (or Bluetooth) off; to do that you have to use the slide toggles in Settings.

This is quite handy as you can disconnect from a current troublesome WiFi network without having to remember to reenable it later.

From the iOS 11 manual for iPhone:

This behavior is also covered in more detail here:

Use Bluetooth and Wi-Fi in Control Center with iOS 11 - Apple Support

Codahaydn wrote:

Thank you. That will solve the “popping up” problem. Is there a solution to have the quick access page turn off the wifi for longer than just till “the next day” when it automatically turns back on?

The Control Center button does not turn off Wi-Fi at all. It has been repurposed to disconnect from the current network. I realize that this leaves only 3 ways to turn off Wi-Fi*, rather than 4, but I find the advantage to be able to disconnect from just one network to be much more valuable than the ability to turn off Wi-Fi with just two motions instead of 3, especially as I absolutely never turned off Wi-Fi except to disconnect from the current network in over 10 years of using iPhones.

Here's Apple's explanation of how it works: Use Bluetooth and Wi-Fi in Control Center with iOS 11 - Apple Support

* Ways to turn off Wi-Fi

1. Settings/Wi-Fi: OFF
2. "Hey Siri, turn off Wi-Fi"
3. Hold the HOME button, say: "Turn off Wi-Fi"

Here is the complete explanation: Use Bluetooth and Wi-Fi in Control Center with iOS 11 - Apple Support

But to make it even easier, the Control Center disconnects only the current Wi-Fi network, but leaves Wi-Fi on. Settings/Wi-Fi OFF turns it off completely. As does "Hey Siri, turn off Wi-Fi"

These are 2 different functions, for different purposes. Wi-Fi is important for location services. If it is off and you are indoors it won't be able to find you. Even outdoors, it reduces the GPS acquisition time and improves accuracy. So one option is to disconnect from the current network, but leave it on. If you use this feature it will reconnect at 6 AM local time. And it will still connect to other Wi-Fi networks if you use the Control Center button.

Turning off Wi-Fi completely is a feature that should be a very rare occurrence. There really isn't any good reason to turn it off, ever. So the fact that it takes one more step than just a local disconnect should not be a significant inconvenience.

No, not from Control Center. If you want it off longer, you need to go to Settings and turn it off there, or simply say, "Hey Siri, Turn Wifi off.

See, here is where the big misunderstanding is. You are making the assumption that the switch in Control Center is designed to turn wi-fi and Bluetooth completely off, they are not. They are designed to temporarily disable them. The switches in Settings are designed to turn them completely off. Therefore, if you need to turn them off completely, you use the switch in Settings. If you need to temporarily disable them, which some do under specific circumstances, then use the switches in Control Center. As far as Steve Jobs is concerned, besides being so tired of people dragging this man up from the grave, you are making their own determination of what he would think or not think. My opinion is similar to what Apple has already said about the use of the switches, why are people turning wi-fi and Bluetooth off anyway. I don't turn mine off at all, and no, they are not battery power hogs.

Apparently it happens on purpose (by design) with the newest iOS. If we disable WiFi and bluetooth from the control center, iOS turns it back on by itself a few seconds after the fact. So the actual switching off that I do frequently got more inconvenient and has to be done only through Settings. And this "toggle" feature which is totally useless for me, is on control center.

I just want to add my voice here and say that never have I ever seen such a huge screw up! What the **** is the control center good for after this change!? I am sincerely outraged that anyone thought this was a more useful feature. The rare occasion I connect to a weird WiFi and I want it disconnected, I also turn the whole thing off for some HOURS/DAYS (depending on how frequent I am at the place and if I want to delete the password from the phone or not). It's up to me to decide how long I want it off for! And to have my bluetooth switched on by itself when I think it's off, is an UNSAFE move! I almost thought my phone had been hacked!

I hope they fix this stupidity by next release! Great way to put me off iOS in general!

juliepandora wrote:

What is the control center good for after this change!? I am sincerely outraged that anyone thought this was a more useful feature.

You're outraged that someone has a different opinion than you do?

Apple's vision for the iPhone seems pretty clearly to be as an always connected device. It simply works better if you don't go turning radios off. And, generally, there's no reason to. However, there is frequently reason to disconnect from a flakey network.

You can still turn off WiFi and BT. Settings>WiFi and Settings>BlueTooth and no one will make you turn them on again. As you say you don't do this very often, it shouldn't be especially onerous to go to settings and turn things off. Or, ask Siri.

And to have my bluetooth switched on by itself when I think it's off, is an UNSAFE move! I almost thought my phone had been hacked!

What is unsafe? The fact that you didn't understand how the phone was functioning? I don't understand.

You can certainly submit your feedback here:

http://www.apple.com/feedback

dfgarland85 wrote:

They tell you to disable It but my WiFi cuts on by itself even after I have disabled It.

It’s starting to get on my last nerves. I can be in the car riding with my husband nowhere near a connection and it’s on and causing me to not be able to get directions then I have to turn It off.

I go to bed at night and wake up to be being on. I really wish they would fix this.

If you turn it off in Control Center, it will come back on. That is as designed.

Having wi-fi on is causing you to not be able to get directions? How is that happening. Having wi-fi on and not being near a connection does not affect cellular data.

Again, if you turn it off from Control Center, it will come back on at 5:00 am. Turn it off in Settings, and it will remain off. There is nothing to fix regarding it coming back on, nothing is wrong. That is the way it is supposed to work.

ARG1978 wrote:

Has this issue been addressed in the new iOS update 11.1???

Seems to happen anytime WiFi is detected by phone.

There is NOTHING to address in iOS 11.1 as it relates to Wifi/Bluetooth functionality. You either turn it off in Settings > Bluetooth or Settings > Wifi (turn off completely) or you toggle them to disconnect from last connected to network or device in Control Center. That's it. If you're waiting for a fix, you're going to be disappointed because it's working exactly as Apple intends it to work.

If your Wi-Fi doesn't stay off if you go to Settings/Wi-Fi and turn the switch to OFF then your phone is seriously broken; make a genius bar appointment to have it diagnosed. I have tested this extensively, and my Wi-Fi stays off once I turn it off. For example, I turned it off last night at 10 PM, and it was still off at 9 AM. and is now off still at 11:30 AM.

If you use the button in Control Center it definitely will NOT stay off; it is working as intended. The Control Center button just disconnects from the current network, it does not turn off Wi-Fi. This has been explained many times in this thread, and also it this Apple Knowledge Base article: Use Bluetooth and Wi-Fi in Control Center with iOS 11 - Apple Support, which has also been posted several times in this thread.

ARG1978 wrote:

So, you're saying they want WiFi to be toggled off from control center but, not really be turned off...? That doesn't seem like Apple logic. If so, why did it never function like that before??? Even so, it doesn't work from Settings either. Still kicks back on somehow. Seems to be when WiFi routers are detected which, seems to me indicates the antenna was never really off to begin with. In addition, this may also be the case with Bluetooth...?

Yes, that is what Apple is doing now. Toggle off from the network or device, but not turn off the radios entirely. The logic is that location services and most other services work better if Wifi and Bluetooth radios are on continuously. This change is extremely smart and logical. It simply requires you or anyone else to change your method for turning them off than you did before. Though why people turn them off and on and off and on is simply not necessary. Wifi only connects when you tell it to connect (or you have set to connect automatically to previously connected networks in settings - a setting you can turn off, by the way). It won't connect to anything you don't want it to connect to, including a bluetooth device, unless it's on and within range of your phone.

If turning completely off in settings (not control center) isn't functioning on your phone, your phone is defective and needs to be evaluated by Apple.

• Unlock the phone
• Open the Settings app
• Tap Wi-Fi
• Tap the on-off switch to turn it off.

When I do this is stays off. I've tested it for 2 days, and it stayed off. If yours doesn't after following this procedure your phone has a problem. Make a genius bar appointment to have it looked at.

Bweeps wrote:

Apple, it is super annoying to have to constantly turn off my WiFi or Bluetooth. If I wanted it on, I’d turn it on myself. I don’t use any of the features where they might be “handy”, and I feel like my phone is at risk because of these “helpful” features you forced on everyone.

Another one who hasn't read anything in this thread and doesn't understand how settings work. Sigh..........

If you don't ever use Wifi or Bluetooth (though it's really not a good idea to do so), you never have to constantly turn them off if you turn them off in Settings, not Control Center.

saba12m wrote:

Apple needs to change this back, I want to be able to permanently turn Wifi and Bluetooth off!

YOU CAN PERMANENTLY TURN OFF WI-FI. Just not in the Control Center. That button now has a different, very valuable function, to disconnect from the current network and still leave Wi-Fi on. I use it almost daily. You still have THREE ways to permanently turn off Wi-Fi, although for the life of me I have never seen any reason to turn it off. Mine has been on for every iOS device I have ever owned for 10 years.

• Settings/Wi-Fi - OFF
• "Hey Siri, turn off Wi-Fi"
• Hold the HOME button and say: "Turn off Wi-Fi"

All of these will turn off Wi-Fi forever, unless you explicitly use one of them to turn it on.

See: Use Bluetooth and Wi-Fi in Control Center with iOS 11 - Apple Support for more details.

1. You are not talking to Apple. Only other users.

2. Most of those other users know that if you turn Wi-Fi off it stays off forever.

3. Most of those other users know that if you don't want to be asked go to Settings/Wi-Fi and turn off ASK TO JOIN NETWORKS.

4. If Wi-Fi comes back on for you, or asks you to join networks, that means you are not turning it off in one of the FOUR ways Apple provides to turn it off:

Settings/Wi-Fi: OFF

"Hey Siri, turn Wi-Fi OFF"

Hold the HOME button "Turn Wi-Fi OFF"

Hold your finger on the Settings icon and choose "Wi-Fi" from the floating menu.

5. Most of those other users know that the button on the Control Center does NOT turn Wi-Fi off. It disconnects from the current network, but leaves Wi-Fi on. They know this because they have seen: Use Bluetooth and Wi-Fi in Control Center with iOS 11 - Apple Support and/or read the Apple Recommended post at the top of every page. Using this FEATURE means that Wi-Fi is still available for improving the accuracy of location services, and, if your phone is lost or stolen you have a better chance of finding it.

BTW, BRAVO for you to have unlimited LTE. I don't, but I have a plan that provides more than I need. My Wi-Fi is 20 times faster than the fastest possible LTE speed. Makes a real difference for HD video. And most carriers that offer "unlimited" LTE are not truly unlimited, and they also limit the speed to well below maximum LTE speeds. Have you checked your LTE speed? Mine is typically 10 Mbps, and goes as high as 20 Mbps.

You also would know everything in this, my post if you had bothered to read the first few posts, especially the Apple Recommended post at the top of every page in this 68 page thread that was posted almost a year ago.