Temporarily disconnect WiFi and Bluetooth from iOS 11 Control Centre

Over this week, I’ve been constantly asked by a couple of friends over why the iOS 11 Control Centre doesn’t “turn off the radios”. 

So here’s the thing: iOS 11 puts WiFi and Bluetooth to sleep mode when the little blue dots turn grey on the control centre. With WiFi & Bluetooth disconnected the radio’s are still on but they aren’t actively looking for connections. 

They aren’t turned off, so AirDrop and AirPlay still work without being connected to a WiFi network. 

Another thing that I was asked was that if the WiFi and Bluetooth are temporarily disconnected will the connect to known connections automatically when they come near one? As in you walk into your room and you’re automatically connected to the Bluetooth Speaker, even if the control centre indicates the bluetooth to be inactive. Nope, this doesn’t happen. When the Bluetooth and WiFi are inactive, they don’t connect to known connections automatically. 

Turns out this is not a bug, but a feature, and arguably a good one. I have been trying out iOS 11 since the first beta, when it rolled out in June, earlier this year. Not once did I notice that the WiFi and Bluetooth wouldn’t turn off, the change in the implementation is pretty seamless and this doesn’t affect the battery life in any way.