Wi-Fi Assist in iOS 9

Bradley Chambers, commenting on a new feature in the latest beta of iOS 9 that will allow the iPhone to switch to cellular data when a Wi-Fi connection gets weak:

This is going to be huge for Siri. One of the places that I typically use Siri is backing out of the driveway at home or the parking lot at work. Wi-Fi is just strong enough in both of those locations to stay connected, but have a hard time transmitting data. To a user, Siri is not working, but in reality it’s just a poor Wi-Fi connection.

This is likely my single biggest gripe with iOS currently.

Here is what happens; you walk out of your home and the Wi-Fi signal effectively drops toย โ€œone barโ€. It can see the network, but it doesnโ€™t have a strong enough signal to transfer data. The iPhone will just sit there spinning not knowing what to do. This happens to me a few times per day as Iโ€™m leaving my driveway and pulling into my parking spot at Coalwork.

Iโ€™ve simply turned Wi-Fi off on my iPhone and recently bumped up my data plan. Iโ€™d much rather just be on LTE all the time. Iโ€™m happy to see this as an option in iOS 9 but I donโ€™t really know why it isnโ€™t something thatย โ€œjust worksโ€.

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