5 ms·

I was all prepared to be very irritated. Especially if I could not disable them. But disabling does work for me. And according to the documentation[0] these

I was all prepared to be very irritated. Especially if I could not disable them. But disabling does work for me. And according to the documentation[0] these networks wouldn't get selected in preference to my home network anyway. My blood pressure is dropping a bit. Assuming these are actually authenticated networks as described, then I don't know if this is any worse than allowing the phone to use the cellular signal. Same provider. If your phone is hopping onto one of these while at home, I guess check your home wifi signal strength because it's probably dropping out? [0] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202831 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202831

newZWhoDis 4y ago
On my device these hotspots show up under “My Networks” Disabling (switching auto-join to off) also does not work, most of them switch back on a few minutes later. This seems to be carrier-dependent from the comments thus far. I disagree based on my reading of the documentation, these are treated as identical to your other networks. The only benefit is my home network is usually louder, but that’s the rub it doesn’t always work and devices routinely switch. In my case I noticed this in a condo, so the physical distances are less
- cxie 4y ago
  I can understand the frustration this issue might cause, especially if your device keeps switching to these managed networks despite having a stable home Wi-Fi connection. It seems like there might be a difference in behavior based on the carrier, which complicates the situation further.
  - newZWhoDis 4y ago
    I strongly believe these carrier networks should only be added to “my networks” as a permission-gated prompt, and also be deletable. Would solve this whole thing I think
650REDHAIR 4y ago
If I make a new SSID with the name of an xfinity/att/Verizon hotspot would that means every up to date iPhone user would automatically connect to it?
- rootusrootus 4y ago
  No, unless you have found an exploit for EAP-SIM, Passpoint, etc.
  - jiveturkey 4y ago
    i didn’t think ios had the capability to enforce any specific auth method for any specific SSID. you’re saying it does?
    - seraphsf 4y ago
      Yes. These managed networks require EAP-SIM (or something similar).
    - geocar 4y ago
      You can use an MDM solution/Apple Configurator. I do this so (among other things) my iPhone connects to my home network and won't connect to my young friend's wifi "pineapple" or even suggest it's an option when he thinks I haven't turned peoples internets upside down over twenty years ago...
    - wpm 4y ago
      For a managed network? Absolutely.
- colechristensen 4y ago
  Yes.
  - seraphsf 4y ago
    No. That’s not how it works. These managed networks require a specific secure authentication from the carrier itself.
mihaaly 4y ago
If we trust the providers and manufacturers and we know that they are careful and with the best intentions then there may be no problem, but hey, they force things, they do secretive things, some even mislead and scam us, they eroded the trust in them themselves collectively! I do not feel comfortable not knowing what wifi network my device will connect to the next minute along some opaque incentives of an organization I have no control or insights about. What if I have resources or devices in a specific wifi network that I rely upon and they hop over to something else because they want to? I have serious doubts about this move. To me even the hidden direct wifi communication switched on silently allowing two Apple devices communicate each other in the vicinity was a drastic move. We watched some movie on Apple TV and suddenly interrupted with the message and confirmation code display that my second neighbours MacBook Air wants to connect to my Apple TV. "How did he connect to my network?!", came the panic. I have important and confidential data available on my local network (with passwords, but still, one barricade was broken already!). Luckily the guy was aware of this new ""feature"" (more like a nuisance) and so now it is turned off on my Apple TV. The trust is eroded a lot.

newZWhoDis 4y ago

On my device these hotspots show up under “My Networks” Disabling (switching auto-join to off) also does not work, most of them switch back on a few minutes later. This seems to be carrier-dependent from the comments thus far. I disagree based on my reading of the documentation, these are treated as identical to your other networks. The only benefit is my home network is usually louder, but that’s the rub it doesn’t always work and devices routinely switch. In my case I noticed this in a condo, so the physical distances are less

cxie 4y ago
I can understand the frustration this issue might cause, especially if your device keeps switching to these managed networks despite having a stable home Wi-Fi connection. It seems like there might be a difference in behavior based on the carrier, which complicates the situation further.
- newZWhoDis 4y ago
  I strongly believe these carrier networks should only be added to “my networks” as a permission-gated prompt, and also be deletable. Would solve this whole thing I think

650REDHAIR 4y ago

If I make a new SSID with the name of an xfinity/att/Verizon hotspot would that means every up to date iPhone user would automatically connect to it?

rootusrootus 4y ago
No, unless you have found an exploit for EAP-SIM, Passpoint, etc.
- jiveturkey 4y ago
  i didn’t think ios had the capability to enforce any specific auth method for any specific SSID. you’re saying it does?
  - seraphsf 4y ago
    Yes. These managed networks require EAP-SIM (or something similar).
  - geocar 4y ago
    You can use an MDM solution/Apple Configurator. I do this so (among other things) my iPhone connects to my home network and won't connect to my young friend's wifi "pineapple" or even suggest it's an option when he thinks I haven't turned peoples internets upside down over twenty years ago...
  - wpm 4y ago
    For a managed network? Absolutely.
colechristensen 4y ago
Yes.
- seraphsf 4y ago
  No. That’s not how it works. These managed networks require a specific secure authentication from the carrier itself.

mihaaly 4y ago

If we trust the providers and manufacturers and we know that they are careful and with the best intentions then there may be no problem, but hey, they force things, they do secretive things, some even mislead and scam us, they eroded the trust in them themselves collectively! I do not feel comfortable not knowing what wifi network my device will connect to the next minute along some opaque incentives of an organization I have no control or insights about. What if I have resources or devices in a specific wifi network that I rely upon and they hop over to something else because they want to? I have serious doubts about this move. To me even the hidden direct wifi communication switched on silently allowing two Apple devices communicate each other in the vicinity was a drastic move. We watched some movie on Apple TV and suddenly interrupted with the message and confirmation code display that my second neighbours MacBook Air wants to connect to my Apple TV. "How did he connect to my network?!", came the panic. I have important and confidential data available on my local network (with passwords, but still, one barricade was broken already!). Luckily the guy was aware of this new ""feature"" (more like a nuisance) and so now it is turned off on my Apple TV. The trust is eroded a lot.