Wi-Fi Assist, a feature that Apple released alongside the iOS 9 update in September 2015, has been a controversial one ever since it was added to iPhones.
Apple has previously responded to the concerns surrounding the feature, but even after more than a year, confusion still surrounds Wi-Fi assist, particularly on how it helps, or in some cases, harms users.
What Is Wi-Fi Assist?
According to the support page for the feature on Apple's website, Wi-Fi assist allows users to remain connected to the internet even if they are on a weak Wi-Fi connection. If a user is online while on a poor Wi-Fi connection, the iPhones that have the feature activated will use their cellular data to support the connection.
The feature, which works with most iPhone apps such as Apple Music, Safari, and Mail, will display a cellular data icon on the status bar of the device if it is activated. Wi-Fi Assist ensures that iPhone users are able to seamlessly continue their online work or play without interruption.
Concerns Surrounding Wi-Fi Assist
The major concern against Wi-Fi Assist is that it might eat up the user's monthly allocation of data, especially for users who have a limited monthly data cap.
Apple claims that users should only see an increase of a small percentage on their cellular data usage with Wi-Fi Assist turned on, denying that the feature has caused problems of using up too much data. Apple added that it will not activate when roaming charges will be applied, and when the users is downloading large apps.
Two examples of cases wherein Wi-Fi Assist turned out to be a disaster were reported in October 2015 and January 2016, as the feature led to a $5 million class action lawsuit against Apple and a $2,000 bill for a teenager.
How To Check If Wi-Fi Assist Is Under Control
There are several horror stories of Wi-Fi Assist leading to massive data usage and phone bills, but not all users are experiencing the same thing. Fortunately, there is a way for users to keep track of the data usage of Wi-Fi Assist and decide by themselves on whether to keep using the feature or to deactivate it.
To check how much data Wi-Fi Assist has used, users can go to the Settings app of their iPhone and select the Cellular option. They should then look for the Wi-Fi Assist feature listed in the succeeding menu. The amount of data that Wi-Fi Assist has used up will be listed there, from the last reset data and time shown under the Reset Statistics option below it.
The information shown will help users decide if they should turn Wi-Fi Assist off or continue taking advantage of the feature. In the case of 9to5Mac's Zac Hall, he only accumulated 55.1 MB of additional data usage from Wi-Fi Assist over a span of less than five months, which is a very low percentage of his monthly data allocation of 15 GB.
Users who decide to deactivate the feature can do so through the same menu, by tapping on the slider located beside the Wi-Fi Assist option.
