Apple iPhone - When off is on

Apple has confirmed that switching off your iPhone’s Bluetooth and WiFi does not actually switch it off.

12:03 26 September 2017

The on/off button in the control centre is not really meant to switch off your iPhone’s Bluetooth and WiFi. When set to “off”, both the wireless technologies will just disconnect from the things they’re currently attached to. That means you can disconnect your headset but your Bluetooth will not stop sending out and receiving signals.

 

The phone will not try to connect to any Bluetooth devices or WiFi networks. But both will automatically switch on as normal if the phone is restarted, the user moves to a new location, or it gets around 5am local time.

 

According to Apple’s documentation, this feature was designed with a specific purpose. The company said that it has made the decision so that various features will continue to work. It explained that while some people might turn off their Bluetooth because they want to unpair their headphones, for instance, they will still expect that their Apple Pencil will still be able to connect to their iPad.

 

Users can entirely disable the connections through the Settings app. However, Apple does not recommend such saying it’s a way to have “the best experience on your iOS device.”