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A comment on iOS lets carriers add WiFi networks that you can’t remove or stop from joining.

Re:iOS lets carriers add WiFi networks that you can’t remove... by tdonovic on Tuesday April 04, 2023 @09:23PM (#35448051)
This is a very US centric way of looking at this. Currently sitting in a packed subway carriage in Busan, South Korea. There are carrier WIFI APs installed in every carriage. Their network is literally built to offload people onto wifi where possible, I presume to reduce congestion on not much or very directional spectrum in the tunnels. In this case, it makes perfect sense to push people onto their wifi. Not connecting to your own networks preferentially is a pita though. Seems like a really neat solution imo
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Re:iOS lets carriers add WiFi networks that you can’t remove... by 01100011 on Tuesday April 04, 2023 @09:34PM (#35448126)
Sort of. I can understand offloading to WiFi. I cannot understand preferring carrier WiFi hotspots over my own.
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Re:iOS lets carriers add WiFi networks that you can’t remove... by newZWhoDis on Tuesday April 04, 2023 @09:52PM (#35448257)
Fair criticism. But can you defend blocking the user from manually disabling these networks?

I’d understand if I got a pop up saying “add these networks for the best experience”, I accepted them, etc.

I would have (upon detecting this problem) just removed them and gone about my day.

The problem here is that you are forced to use them with no opt-in and no way to disable it.

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Re:iOS lets carriers add WiFi networks that you can’t remove... by stevehawk on Tuesday April 04, 2023 @10:08PM (#35448387)
I think most Americans on here are concerned that if they're at home, and their neighbor has a carrier sponsored wifi hotspot, then their phone may prefer the neighbors hotspot to their own home network. Things like this could disrupt talking to local devices (airplay, homeassistant, etc).
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Re:iOS lets carriers add WiFi networks that you can’t remove... by altairprime on Tuesday April 04, 2023 @10:27PM (#35448549)
I wish they’d install this in elevators here, too.
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Re:iOS lets carriers add WiFi networks that you can’t remove... by lxgr on Tuesday April 04, 2023 @11:55PM (#35449097)
My office building‘s elevators have 5G signal, which makes much more sense as it avoids a hard handover between SSIDs/networks (or Wi-Fi and mobile data), which in turn has a much higher chance of not dropping calls.
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Re:iOS lets carriers add WiFi networks that you can’t remove... by altairprime on Wednesday April 05, 2023 @10:09AM (#35454505)
I’d accept either, relative to what I have today, which is nothing.
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Re:iOS lets carriers add WiFi networks that you can’t remove... by kalleboo on Tuesday April 04, 2023 @10:42PM (#35448632)
I live in Japan and first noticed this "feature" when I'd lose connection as every time I'd walk past a FamilyMart convenience store (which you can find every 3 blocks or so) it would connect to "0000docomo" and then immediately lose connection as I kept walking. Although in my case, disabling auto-join works fine.

Why would they install WiFi repeaters and not just 4G/5G microcells on the trains?

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Re:iOS lets carriers add WiFi networks that you can’t remove... by Havoc on Wednesday April 05, 2023 @12:24AM (#35449297)
Cost seems like the most likely answer
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Re:iOS lets carriers add WiFi networks that you can’t remove... by rizwank on Wednesday April 05, 2023 @04:44AM (#35451159)
I suspect cell site density and that Wi-Fi infra doesn’t require the same regulatory permissions as a microcell. Wi-Fi is unlicensed.
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Re:iOS lets carriers add WiFi networks that you can’t remove... by kalleboo on Wednesday April 05, 2023 @05:08AM (#35451333)
Yeah I guess there may not be a regulatory framework for ambulatory cells
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Re:iOS lets carriers add WiFi networks that you can’t remove... by armatav on Tuesday April 04, 2023 @11:17PM (#35448852)
Why can't I remove the network from my phone then?

Makes "perfect" sense.

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Re:iOS lets carriers add WiFi networks that you can’t remove... by lxgr on Tuesday April 04, 2023 @11:53PM (#35449080)
I can see how it can be a very useful feature – but why not let users decide if they want to keep enjoying it, or opt out of it for whatever reason? I can think of many valid ones.
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