For those of you who own an Apple device that supports the new iOS 11, yesterday the company released their new operating system to users here in Malaysia and it brought along a lot of features that really enhanced the experience even for older devices. However, some changes have been made to the Control Center in the new update which is particularly targeted at the Bluetooth and WiFi controls.
When tapping on the two icons, it shows that it becomes disabled, however, this does not actually turn off the radio for both these features. They are left in the background running to keep features like the file transfer, AirDrop, geolocation services and communications with an Apple Watch intact. Now, this might seem like it’s not such a big deal, but we live in the age where an unsecured WiFi connection can lead to unwanted access into your devices, this also applies to the Bluetooth connection as well. This issue was found by security researcher Andrea Barisani who also mentioned that it is good practice to turn off both the WiFi and Bluetooth if you are worried about potential attacks and saving battery.
PSA: iOS 11 new control center WiFi and Bluetooth toggles don’t actually turn off their respective radios.
— Andrea Barisani (@AndreaBarisani) September 20, 2017
The two radios can be shut off but it requires you to go directly into the each individual settings menu and switch them off there. Let’s hope that in future updates, Apple would make this process easier or indicate to users that their WiFi and Bluetooth is kept on for a good reason.
