Is iOS 9 Wi-Fi Assist Eating Your Data?

Apple's iOS 9 comes with a handy feature that ensures app usability when you have a weak Wi-Fi signal. But there's one issue: it may be causing your cellular data usage to skyrocket.


Wi-Fi Assist is automatically toggled on when users download Apple's latest operating system. The feature, at face value, appears to be useful by automatically switching to a cellular network if a Wi-Fi signal is weak or unavailable. The issue, however, is that some users are seeing a significant uptick in cellular data usage, according to ZDNet.

Mobile users are encouraged to tap into Wi-Fi wherever possible to avoid eating into monthly data allotments. But Wi-Fi can be weak in certain areas, leading to hanging connections and exasperated smartphone users. So Wi-Fi Assist is helpful, but leaving it on means living with the possibility of gobbling up data, which could lead to throttled connections or the need to purchase more data.

Those who are worried can turn off Wi-Fi Assist via Settings > Cellular. Towards the bottom of the page, users will find the Wi-Fi Assist switch, which can be turned off.

The issue comes just a day after Beta News's Wayne Williams reported that he found a bug in iOS 9 that makes apps useless when on a cellular network. Williams discovered that the apps he intentionally blocked from using cellular data in iOS 8 could not use cellular data after he updated to iOS 9. Even after he tried to toggle the setting, Williams discovered that iOS 9 went back to the iOS 8 default. The issue left him with two unsatisfactory options: to restore his phone from a pre-iOS 9 backup (which he does not have) or set up his iPhone 6s as a new iPhone, forcing him to reinstall all new apps.

Apple launched iOS 9 earlier this month, and the OS, which comes with few design upgrades but a slew of under-the-hood updates, quickly topped 50 percent iOS market share.

Source: pcmag.com
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