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iOS 13: How to switch WiFi networks from Control Center

iOS has a lot of small changes in addition to the headline features like Dark Mode. This includes updates to Control Center. In addition to toggling WiFi and Bluetooth, you can now switch networks and connect to new devices from within the Control Center platter.

Control Center has always offered toggles to connect/disconnect from WiFi and Bluetooth.

Remember: access Control Center on iPad Pro and iPhone X series devices by swiping down on the right-hand side of the screen. For older devices, Control Center is available by swiping up from the bottom edge of the display.

What’s new in iOS 13 is that you can go a level deeper and see a list of nearby WiFi networks/Bluetooth devices without having to dive into Settings.

To change WiFi networks quickly on iOS 13:

  • Open Control Center.
  • Long press on the four-icon platter (which features Airplane Mode, Mobile Data, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth buttons) in the top left to expand it.
  • Now, long-press on the WiFi icon.
  • This reveals a secondary screen listing the Wi-Fi networks in range. The currently connected Wi-Fi network will be at the top of the list.
  • To switch networks, simply find the network you want to join and tap to connect.

If you try to connect to a network for the first time that requires a password, you will be kicked out of Control Center and taken to the appropriate panel in Settings. After the password is saved, you can switch networks without leaving Control Center at all. Unsurprisingly, the expanded Bluetooth feature is similar.

To connect to Bluetooth devices in iOS 13:

  • Open Control Center.
  • Long press on the four-icon platter in the top left to expand it.
  • Now, long-press on the Bluetooth icon.
  • You can now see all known Bluetooth devices. Tap to try to connect. There’s a button to jump to Bluetooth settings in the Settings app if you need to do more than simply connect and disconnect.

If you actually dig into Settings, you’ll notice that iOS 13 also offers new options and behaviors for joining known Wi-Fi networks. You can change Ask to Join preferences for both Wi-Fi networks and for personal hotspots, independently.

You can access all these features on iPhone and iPod touch running iOS 13, or on the iPad running iPadOS.

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