Here’s the scenario: You’re happily using a Wi-Fi connection which suddenly drops out or goes out of range (not an uncommon event if you’re away from home) and your iPhone doesn’t know what to do about it — you have to disable Wi-Fi or find a new network manually. With Wi-Fi Assist switched on, the iPhone falls back on a cellular connection automatically, so you don’t have to stop whatever it is you’re doing.
If you’re already running iOS 9 and you’ve upgraded to the most recent beta 5 version of the software, head to the Settings app and open the Cellular menu to find the Wi-Fi Assist toggle — obviously you will incur data download charges if you switch it on, but you do get a warning on screen before your iPhone makes the switch. If you don’t have much data allowance left you might find it easier to just switch to another Wi-Fi network.
For more on the new software heading to iOS devices, read our comprehensive hands-on with iOS 9. Among the new features coming down the pipe are a Split View mode for multitasking on an iPad, a new app called News for reading updates from your favorite publications, more proactive features inside Siri and a big upgrade for the Notes app. Another native app getting extra functionality is Apple Maps — iOS 9 brings public transit directions to the app for the first time.
