iPhone Wi-Fi, better activated or deactivated? The normal thing is that we leave the house and, when we move away, the iPhone loses this connection and opts for mobile data. However, it might be more appropriate disable this connection and do it completely from settings (if you do it from the control center, you will only leave it in standby).
While there are some benefits to not doing this which we will also cover in this article, there are four basic reasons why it is advisable to disable it. For security reasons in particularsince some cybersecurity experts have said so.
1. To save battery, even if it's not much
This is perhaps the reason to be taken with caution because the difference in consumption depends a lot on the type of use made of the iPhone. However, however small it may be, Any mobile phone tends to consume a little more when the Wi-Fi is left on without having a connection to a network.
This is basically because iPhone constantly searches for a network to connect to. So this is a background process that is not always necessary in the end. In situations where we need to save iPhone battery by being far from an outlet, this is one more idea to take into account.
2. To improve device performance
As per the above, a background process not only results in greater battery consumption but also implies a reduction in performance. An iPhone, regardless of its age, is more than capable of a process like this not involving a drastic reduction in performance, but ultimately it allocates power to it, so to a certain extent , it makes sense to avoid it.
Although, in reality, what matters most in this sense is the performance of the Internet connection itself. Generally, a mobile data connection tends to be slower or even unstable. This is even more true if we are moving and passing through areas with low coverage.
However, often a data connection is generally faster than any open Wi-Fi network which can be found in cafes, shopping malls, airports and other places. And that’s without taking into account security, which we will talk about specifically in the next point.
3. To prevent your iPhone from getting infected with malware on public Wi-Fi networks
This is where cybersecurity experts fully come into play. Many people, individually or in groups, have spoken about it over the years. One of the many examples comes from INCIBE (Spanish National Cybersecurity Institute). They, like others, assert that Public Wi-Fi networks are often vulnerable.
Because yes, the iPhone is a very secure device, but ultimately exposing yourself to public networks means open the door to cyberattacks with which they can access your browsing history and, therefore, obtain confidential data if you access banking and similar services.
In this sense, it could appear a alert message on iPhone when we connect to an unsecured networkwhich should not be ignored. According to Apple's own instructions, it is not recommended to connect to networks using older protocols (WPA/WPA 2, WPA personal, WEP, TKIP, etc.).
4. To ensure you only connect to the networks you want
If we want to have a conscious use of the iPhonewe always have to choose which networks to connect to. Continuing with all of the above, if we let the device automatically connect to networks, we lose control and knowledge of the action.
Therefore, in the end, it is always convenient to decide which network to connect to. Because although it is true that the iPhone does not connect to public networks without authorization, it is possible that in the past we connected and it remembered and connected automatically.
It also makes sense to leave it on
In life, everything is not black and white, there are grays too. In this happy medium, we cannot help but say that Even if only occasionally, it's also worth leaving Wi-Fi on. Although ultimately the decision is yours and you must evaluate whether the cons outweigh the strengths.
The main advantage of maintaining Wi-Fi connection is be able to connect more quickly to known networks and that they do not have to be public or insecure. But if you allow us another view, this will also save mobile data if you do not have unlimited tariff and avoid the fear of having spent data when we are at home for forgetting to connect to the Wi-Fi network.
An older version of this article was originally published on 12/5/2023.
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