Wi-Fi Assist - expensive data charges

It makes sense - Apple was solving a problem many of us probably didn't know existed - With wi-fi assist Apple uses your phones cellular network to boost your connectivity. And why not? A good cellular connection is just as fast as some wi-fi networks. The issue I have with it is Apple didn't warn us. My bill last month was higher than I expected from data overage charges. It took me a while to figure out what changed, but I think this is it. It's great Apple is speeding my access up, but I wish they had made the impact of this new feature clear.

If you want to turn this feature off it's pretty straight forward; just a little hidden. First go to settings, then to cellular, scroll all the way to the bottom of the cellular page (all the way) and you will see Wi-Fi Assist right above the reset statistics link. Slide the wi-fi assist button to the left and it will be turned off.

While you are on the cellular page go ahead and look at all the apps that use a cellular connection. Do all those apps need to have access to your cellular network? If not, you can turn off cellular access for the apps you can afford to only give access via wi-fi. For example I only down load movies and tv shows when I am on wi-fi. Things like that.

Hopefully turning off wi-fi assist and limiting some of your apps access to cellular will help keep your data access charges reasonable too.