Wi-Fi does not re-enable on location change

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Level 1

25 points

Wi-Fi does not re-enable on location change

i understand in iOS 11 the WiFi disable is intended to disconnect from networks until you walk or drive to a new location (amongst other reasons).

Does this actually work for anybody? Every morning I go into my office and disable Wi-Fi (they block email, but I use the network from time to time). When I drive back home, the WiFi never re-connects to my home network, I have to manually enable it again.

Is my reading of this feature wrong? Surely it should turn back on and re-join my home network without further interaction? My home is about 4 miles from my office. Does the distance need to be greater for this to work perhaps

iPhone 8, iOS 11.2.6

Posted on Mar 12, 2018 12:27 PM

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Answer 1

CarlAVII

Community Specialist

Mar 13, 2018 11:40 AM in response to Jemster

Hey Jemster,

Thanks for using Apple Support Communities. I can see that you're having issues getting Wi-Fi to reconnect after being disabled when in a new location. I understand how inconvenient it can be to have to manually manage your connection, but I'd be glad to help make sure this is working as expected. Just to be sure, are you initially disabling Wi-Fi from the Settings app or the Control Center? In order for this to work as expected, you'll want to disable Wi-Fi from the Control Center. When using your Settings app, it completely disables Wi-Fi until you manually re-enable it. This is a crucial difference in how this is designed to work, and the link below can explain more.

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

Disconnect from Wi-Fi networks

Open Control Center and tap . The icon will dim and your device will disconnect from any network that you're connected to.

While Wi-Fi is disabled, auto-join for any nearby Wi-Fi networks will also be disabled until:

You turn on Wi-Fi in Control Center.

You connect to a Wi-Fi network in Settings > Wi-Fi.

You walk or drive to a new location.

It's 5 AM local time.

You restart your device.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

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Answer 2

Jemster Author

Level 1

25 points

Mar 13, 2018 11:57 AM in response to CarlAVII

Hi Allen, thanks for the reply.

I am disabling using Control Centre, the icon goes dim (well, goes from a blue to a white background) to show it is in the disconnected mode. I am aware that turning it off in settings is different and will result in WiFi being fully disabled, but I’m not using that method.

The bit I can’t get working is that it does not re-enable when I ‘walk or drive to a new location’. This doesn’t seem to work at all, I always have to re-enable manually when I go home in the evening. can anybody confirm this does actually work for them?

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Answer 3

Jemster Author

Level 1

25 points

Mar 16, 2018 10:52 AM in response to Jemster

i hate to bump a topic, but is there nobody else who uses this feature? Or does it ‘just work’ for them and re-enable when they travel anywhere?

I’ve got 2 devices and neither of them seem to work but I can’t find anybody else mentioning it, working or not ... but it’s a hard topic to search for. Any input is welcomed.

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Wi-Fi does not re-enable on location change

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