Spyke
lemmy.zip

I have the opposite. I have never a reason to turn off Bluetooth, but always want to connect of disconnect devices. this is so much better than long pressing.

68
Albumreply
lemmy.ca

Yeah they built this UI on the assumption that people didn't turn off their BT generally. This is an improvement for me but I really don't see why they can't make it an option for people.

41
evoreply
sh.itjust.works

It's not an assumption. They obviously have telemetry that shows the vast majority of people never turn Bluetooth or WiFi off.

23
N4CHEMreply
lemmy.ml

...or maybe the people who turn off Bluetooth also tend to disable/block telemetry.

13

Unfortunately I suppose thats the equivalent of refusing to vote.

3

And that group is also an incredibly small outlier, and wouldn't be considered in their calculations.

2

Yeah I don't turn that off generally either but you're right the wifi panel has been like this for a bit and now it's consistent.

7
cobysevreply
lemmy.world

My wife's car is extremely aggressive. The second she turns it on, it steals my Bluetooth connection. I could be mowing my lawn, listening to music on my phone, then suddenly hear nothing, and it's because my wife got in her car and was suddenly blasted with my tunes.

I tell my phone to forget her car's Bluetooth connection, but then I'm constantly harassed by pop-ups on my phone every minute saying her car wants to pair with my phone. I can't get it to stop pinging me. It sees a Bluetooth device in range and then spams it, trying to connect.

So yes, I like to keep my Bluetooth off until I want to use it.

29

That's a temporary fix, because oop may drive that car at times as well. I have the exact same problem

10
lemmy.ca

Have a dig through the cars Bluetooth settings and see if you can delete the pairing from that end.

18
cobysevreply
lemmy.world

I've done that, but it still pings every Bluetooth connection it sees, whether it recognizes it or not.

Her car had some class-action lawsuit recently because its integrated satellite radio service was constantly pinging for a connection, whether you had the service or not. If the car wasn't driven in a few days, the battery would be completely drained. And you couldn't jump it yourself; it had to be towed to a shop so they could use some special machine to jump and charge it.

That issue has been settled, but now its Bluetooth is basically doing the same thing. Fortunately only while the car is on, but still.

13

Sounds like you need to give it something to connect to. Buy a cheap analog-to Bluetooth transmitter, charge it from the car and just never turn it off. You'd need to do some research to find one which doesn't go to sleep. If you need to use your phone in the car, just turn the transmitter off.

7

Hmm. Well that sucks.

Personally; I refuse to connect a phone to a car via Bluetooth. Too many reports of cars harvesting every available bit of info it can access from the connection and storing/uploading it inaccessible/immovable to the owner.

Aux cable, fm transmitter, or deal with the radio.

6

It's a pain if you share a car. Whoever starts the car gets to interrupt the other one's phone call.

3
saltescreply
lemmy.world

Sounds like your phone is top priority. Either clear it off the car or move her's up to the top spot.

5

Some cars it doesn't matter - it will attempt to connect to whatever device it sees.

If it happens to see his first, it connects.

I've seen these problems for years with integrated BT in cars. I hate it.

The best answer I've found is to pair, then turn off all connectivity within that Bluetooth connection on my phone.

3
illireply

Our car does this as well, but then when I get in it sometimes just refuses to connect automatically, so this actually helps me immensly.

2
lemmy.world

I turn it off daily. I have 2 phones and I don't want to connect my personal phone to my BT speaker at work. I can see where you're coming from though.

13
cm0002reply
lemmy.world

I don't want to connect my personal phone to my BT speaker at work

I'm confused, do you shuttle the same speaker between work and home or is work a separate speaker? If it's a separate speaker why don't you just delete it's pairing from your personal phone?

9
lemmy.ml

Supermarkets and malls etc, use Bluetooth beacons to track, and profile you. I'm always turning mine off, when in those kind of places.

8

I think this is the reason why Google implemented it. They already track you over Wi-Fi when you do not explicitly turn off the option, so Bluetooth is going the same route

2

Yeah. That's my use case as well. I rather liked this. Even if I want to turn off BT, this is just one small button more that's almost underneath the fingertip on my phone when you press the bt.

1

I was like you once until I got a speaker for the bathroom and now the wife and I fight over it...

If we both have BT on, the speaker will connect to the last phone which is almost always the wrong one... And then the yelling fest starts so the other turns it off

1
Uriel_Copyreply
lemmy.world

I hated that too, but buried in the'edit' list I still found separate toggles for WiFi and data (on Lineage OS)

9
Uriel_Copyreply
lemmy.world

When you edit your quick-access tiles. Mine has a little pencil if I expand the notification area fully. I have these choices, where 'Internet' is the annoying combined WiFi/data button, but the other two were in there and I just had to drag them out instead.

6

What's even more infuriating is that the panel is blue even if both wifi and cell network are tuned off!

4
lemmy.world

I would turn your yelling around: Do you honestly believe the vast majority of users need more than just that functionality, which beelines you into connecting to a specific Wi-Fi over toggling anything on or off?

Much like the Bluetooth menu, these changes are driven by the fact that the vast vast majority of users only ever need to access a quick "connect to this BT device" or "I want to connect to this Wi-Fi" menu. Never anything else.

It sucks as a power user, but at least for me I could find individual toggles when editing the quick panel.

-3

So now what would you do if the data were to show that the vast majority need fast access to a menu to swap which BT device is connected, but only few ever turn it on or off?

Wouldn't it make sense to have the connect menu available quickly, and the on/off deeper in the configuration, just like you say it but the other way around?

Of course, 10+ versions ago the devs expected the toggle to be used frequently. But unless our users are a very skewed sample, fucking nobody (if you round it) ever does. Same with toggling data.

0
clgohreply
lemmy.ca

That's a major improvement. Nobody turns off Bluetooth.

It's now easier to check or disconnect devices.

-35
MeDuViNoXreply
sh.itjust.works

Location and Bluetooth are constantly off for me, my phone is lucky if it isn't in airplane mode.

22
mcmoorreply

Solely for battery lmao. I don't know if it even matters anymore but it's an old habit

-8

Yes we do. I have Bluetooth off 95% of the time, unless I'm using headphones

10
sh.itjust.works

I like the way Nothing OS does it. Tapping the icon toggles Bluetooth on/off, and tapping the text/rest of the button opens the popup.

42
DNOSreply
lemmy.ml

The fuck.... now i understand why the hell sometimes it opens me that annoying window ... It works the same on miui

15
yeehawreply
lemmy.ca

But the wifi button still pisses me off. I want my separate LTE data toggle back.

12
Uriel_Copyreply
lemmy.world

I actually have separate buttons for WiFi and data but they were buried in the 'edit' list

5
Uriel_Copyreply
lemmy.world

I thought Lineage OS was pretty close to AOSP, interesting to discover the things which have been added

2
Pantherinareply
feddit.de

Yes the buttons and the "long press power button on display off for flashlight" both small but soo useful things

3

Lineage OS based on Android 11. Pressing the icon toggles Bluetooth. Pressing the text opens popup. It works the same way also for wi-fi, mobile data and DND.

1
lemmy.world

The way it works right now on my phone is you tap it to turn it on and off and then you long hold to open the setting.

I'm going to be peeved if that goes away in favor of OPs process...

10

Yeah, long-pressing to open the menu makes intuitive sense regardless of whether you open the menu more than toggle.

2
lemmy.world

I don't want to go conspiracy theory, but in my opinion it feels like a dark pattern to increase the time people have Bluetooth on. I believe they did the same thing with success for Wi-Fi. If I recall correctly, even when you are not connected to a device, Google can estimate your location based on what Wi-Fi networks you are in proximity to and something to varying degrees might work for Bluetooth as well which is why they also roll the feature over to the Bluetooth toggle

39

I could never go back to wired earphones though, they were way too annoying

1
clgohreply
lemmy.ca

Not at all. That's what people want. Nobody turns off Bluetooth.

-31
N4CHEMreply
lemmy.ml

That's not what people want, that's why this post exists and it has 69 comments so far.

5

And the most upvoted comment agrees with me.

-1

Then why do I have non-tech people in my life complaining about these toggles within toggles?

For those that want it always on, they could do so just as easily before the update that adds a layer of obfuscation. This is not about what people want.

1

If you wanted that, you'd simply just leave Bluetooth toggled on and take it off your top quick toggles.

1
JWBananasreply
lemmy.world

They already do that regardless of the state of those toggles. You have to turn that off in a different spot.

The main Bluetooth and Wi-Fi toggles otherwise just stop your device from actively associating/pairing with other devices. They do not control the radios.

6
evoreply
sh.itjust.works

Wut. Why would they bother when your cellular connection is constantly pinging all towers to literally triangulate your location? Why do something much more complicated to get data they already have?

The real answer is they are a multi billion dollar company with telemetry. Obviously, the vast majority of people never turn off WiFi or Bluetooth. Most people want quick access to connect to a WiFi network or Bluetooth device, not to toggle either off.

5
macattackreply
lemmy.world

I believe that Wi-Fi points are more accurate than towers especially when they're sharing the information with indoor retailers

10
clgohreply
lemmy.ca

It's just a usability improvement. Virtually nobody turns off Bluetooth.

-20

What

I have literally never turned it on

It wastes battery and offers literally no benefit whatsoever

1

Bluetooth give a lot more information about your surrounding (what device your phone detect or connect, for how much time, distance from objects, etc.), not only from your phone alone, but from other people phones who have bluetooth on and e.g. never disable any tracking from google services too. And the Mac address for bluetooth never change, so any device (and tracking company) will know you is forever you. Bluetooth is a privacy nightmare, and this is totally a dark pattern. People not knowing what they're doing is of course a thing, but it seems just a usual bad practice by google, who like to manipulate especially not tech-savvy people

4
sbv
sh.itjust.works

I was just grumbling about this today. It's one of those little changes that might help someone, but interrupts a flow that worked well for me.

30
lemmy.zip

Can we talk about how space inefficient the UI is? It takes up the entire screen to essentially show 6 buttons. And I bet like the Internet toggle that it moves the buttons around when it detects new networks

22
Michalreply
programming.dev

It's actually 9 buttons + DONE button. Each device has the option to connect to it by clicking its name, or enter Settings by tapping on its gear icon.

4
blackn1ghtreply
feddit.uk

That was my first thought. Which skin of Android is this?

1
lorkanoreply
lemmy.world

This is not a skin, it's a pure android probably on pixel device

7
blackn1ghtreply
feddit.uk

Ah right! I'm a fair few versions behind now so didn't recognise it.

2

I think Android 12 is where this was introduced, and 13 where they made the buttons even bigger

2
lemmy.world

I prefer this. I've been annoyed by having to go to the settings every time I wanted to swap device I want to connect to. I rarely turn off BT anyways.

13

Before it was a single tap to turn Bluetooth on/off, and a tap+hold to open the Bluetooth settings (or any quick setting tile in your notification tray). Maybe you just didn't know about that feature but the old way was 100% better.

13

Going through the comments, I think it's clear to conclude this should be a choice to configure this tile. Some people prefer single tap to turn off, some don't

11
slrpnk.net

I honestly thought this was my own doing and was about to go insane when I couldn't find the setting to revert this. Why on earth would they do this.......

9

I've felt this a lot over the years. Regressions in interface designs happen here and there, and I feel it's just people justifying their jobs. We have to change this, and that, and EVERYTHING, to keep it fresh. Where in reality, sometimes only some things need changing.

11

I put buttons on screens for people at work and I'm imagining the fury that would rain down on me if I put 2 buttons in place do a normal thing that was once one button. I would never hear the end of it.

6

What version are you on? 15? I'm on 14, and for me it's as it ever was. Also, can you replace it by editing the Shortcuts? I was able to replace the Internet thingy with separate toggles for Mobile Data/WiFi by doing that.

8

Uh, this is kinda awkward, but I actually use a Gnome extension to be able to use KDE Connect.

Edit: Oh, wait, I read KDE instead of KDE Connect. Well, ignore the above, then.

1

I'm on 14 but on a Pixel 8 and it's like OP shows now. Clicking the button on the quick menu just opens the screen OP is showing instead of turning off the BT radio like it did on my previous phone, which was also on Android 14.

For some reason, certain features and UI changes don't happen for every device even if they're on the same version of the OS. Like every phone maker has their own tweaked version of it for their specific phone, and it's not a universal experience for everyone just being on Android.

3
lemmy.blahaj.zone

I mean, sure, but both lineage and the stock rom on pixels should be reasonably close to stock Android, compared to stuff like, for example, MI UI.

1

The "stock" rom offered by Google's own devices seems "enhanced" to the stock android given to any other device. But even between them, there are odd differences. My sister has a Pixel 7, just 1 iteration behind mine, and on the same OS version; but the UI isn't exactly the same. I can see special apps not being for hers, like Gemini (and even features of Gemini I do not have but the 8 Pro does); but for the basic settings menu and quick menu and shit to be different is weird as hell.

2

Yeah, dunno what Google's on. I've noticed that on my brothers pixel, it's not possible to deactivate the visual guide in the bottom of the screen for gesture navigation. The option just doesn't appear in his settings. It's all a bit silly.

1
lemmy.world

I'm on 14 on a Google pixel 6 pro. I tried what you suggested but there's no option to alter it, but thanks.

3

Fuck Google's recent changes to the quick settings panel, really. Especially now that One UI 6 didn't revert those changes like it was done with One UI 5.

7

And then they don't toggle where you want to toggle (a connect / disconnect on each device) so you have to tap and guess or open settings anyway

7
kbin.social

This was my thought. I often turned my Bluetooth off while trying to switch devices because of habits from the Wi-Fi

1

I appreciate the consistency. I've turned off Bluetooth accidentally too.

1
lemmy.ca

?

Does it not turn on Bluetooth before opening that menu?

It does for me.

Bluetooth on: single tap turns it off.

Bluetooth off: single tap turns it on and opens that menu so you can select a device to connect to. (it still connects to the last connected device automatically) From there tapping back or tapping beside it closes it.

Been that way for several years now. (Samsung A54, and A52 prior to this one)

7
Boneheadreply
kbin.social

Not on my Pixel 8. Single tap on the Bluetooth button only opens the Bluetooth connection screen with a separate toggle to actually turn on Bluetooth once you're in there. Google likes to do things the hard way.

5

I just drag down from the top of the screen, and tap the Bluetooth button. That's it. The Bluetooth connection screen pops up, but that doesn't turn on Bluetooth. I have tap the toggle to actually turn on Bluetooth, just like OP describes. I have a Pixel 8 with stock Android 14.

1

I don't like it, but I like it more than the old way of holding the button down to get to the menu. I do hate that the "see all" menu doesn't just expand the current menu, it takes you to the old menu. There's definitely hints of windows95 creeping into Android.

6

this entire quick actions shade was redesigned either for children or for elders

the space now used for 4 quick actions could fit 12 quick actions before

5

I think however this is just based on how the average user interacts with this toggle. Very few users actively turn off their BT, ever, as they have frequent situations where they want their BT to just work immediately.

OTOH, this means that in some cases, they need to swap which device to connect to, hence opening the menu on the first tap.

5
lemm.ee

They need to add a way to quick toggle it, maybe a double tap or hold.

4
yeehawreply
lemmy.ca

Tap and hold should bring this menu up. Tap should just toggle it. It's stupid.

10
Elkendersreply
feddit.uk

Isn't this how it used to work? I hate the double toggle too.

3

Yuuuup

I was literally mini ranting to my partner about it yesterday. I keep my bluetooth off unless I'm actively using it so it's annoying. Hold still brings you to the bluetooth settings.

What's even more annoying is aside from the internet, every other bubble is a toggle on mine so you're now mixing actions on the same looking icons.

Edit: apparently I missed the little tiny arrow in the corner, that should tip me off of the entire different behaviour

0

This is part of why is think stock android is now trash. I'll stick to oem skins for now

3

I thought this was only on graphene, as a way to confirm your wanted Bluetooth radio turned on. As a general Android update, it makes no sense

3

my phone does single tap to toggle and tap on the down arrow or longpress for settings page

2

You're not wrong, but you just reminded me to setup some Tasker events to manage my BT enabled state.

2

It's so Google can keep tracking you via Bluetooth and WiFi, which they hope you forgot to turn off said tracking option in settings, and they are making it difficult to turn off all the way.

0
lemmy.world

So, maybe a weird question, but what are you doing with your phone exactly that you need to turn on Bluetooth on a daily basis?

-1
lemmy.zip

I sometimes use Bluetooth headphones but turn off Bluetooth to save battery.

7
V0lDreply
lemmy.world

I will never understand wireless headphones as a concept. They seem objectively worse in every way.

Lower sound quality, more battery intensive, have to be charged, less comfortable, easier to drop and way easier to lose. Also, makes you look like you're talking to yourself all the time

-1

Sound quality is sufficiently indistinguishable in quality for me, battery lasts way longer than I need, more comfortable because I don't have a cable being snagged on things, never dropped or lost them, and if you can't see my over-ear headphones then no wire is going to help you.

Additionally I can connect to multiple devices (computer and mobile) and I can get up and walk around as I need and not lose audio.

5

I thought some of these things initially, but then I noticed I wasn't constantly accidentally getting the cord hooked on things and yanking them out of my ears all the time. That bit has been super nice. Plus I have a pair that sounds absolutely fantastic...no issues with sound quality. Maybe I'm just a klutz, but freeing yourself of wires is super nice.

Note that if you only use headphones in a stationary position, a wire isn't very obtrusive. But if I'm doing something like laundry, the dishes, cleaning up, getting some exercise, or even just being seated at my computer (where I would always forget I had wired headphones on and I would yank them off when I stood up), going wireless has been great.

HOWEVER, one of the biggest downsides to wireless headphones has been gaming. The latency makes them unusable for that purpose imo. We just aren't there yet in terms of that tech.

3

I went - kind of - wireless so I’ll never break another connector in my phone and I can change clothes (for work) all day long. My buds are physically connected to each other but not to my phone. Perfect set-up of compromises when I travel and work. (Sony WI-C310)

1

This was pointed out already that I could just unpair my personal phone to my speaker, but I have 2 phones. I have a speaker at work both are paired to. So every day I turn bluetooth off so when I turn my speaker on I'm not announcing connection to my personal phone because it violates cell phone policy. Because it announces connection to both, I turn bluetooth off before I go inside. Since I have a work phone, I'm good to use that one, just not my personal phone.

1