Windows Phone 8.1’s new Wi-Fi settings reveal auto turn-on feature

Windows Phone 8.1. While features like Action Center get a lot of the attention, we’ve repeatedly mentioned that there will be lots of small changes throughout the OS. Those changes are the real nitty-gritty that will make your everyday experience much more fulfilling.

Today, we have some new Wi-Fi Settings that are part of the beta SDK, but are actually hidden. Developer David S. sent us in these screenshots after unlocking the feature in that SDK. Windows Phone Central has since independently verified their authenticity as a forthcoming feature in 8.1.

The feature is not groundbreaking, but useful for many. Users will be able to turn off Wi-Fi for a pre-set duration, ranging from 1 hour, 4 hours, 1 day or manually. Afterwards, the Wi-Fi will pop on automatically. That feature could be useful if you know you’ll be away from home for a few hours, or if you’re at the movies.

Can you think of other instances where you could use this? Let us know in comments! For more, check our our full feature list:

Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007, when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and watches. He has been reviewing laptops since 2015 and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, ARM processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.