Google may be on the verge of reversing one of its most talked-about Android UI changes, nearly four years after it first appeared.
When Google launched Android 12 in 2021, it did away with the separate one-tap Wi-Fi and mobile data toggles we all knew. In its place was a single, combined “Internet” tile. The logic behind this was that it would simplify connection management and prevent people from accidentally using up their data limit by forgetting to turn Wi-Fi back on. It sounded good on paper, but in reality it turned a quick action into a tedious, multi-tap task, frustrating many users.
A possible reversal of Android’s internet tile experiment
Instead of a simple tap, you suddenly had to open a separate internet panel and select your connection from there. Especially for power users, this felt like an unnecessary extra step that just slowed things down. People started complaining almost immediately, but Google stood its ground, arguing that the change was intended to stop people from unknowingly burning up mobile data.
For years the internet tile didn’t budge. Workarounds could be found using third-party apps or ADB technical commands, but these fixes typically failed with each new Android update. By the time Android 13 was released, most of these unofficial solutions had already stopped working completely.
That finally seems to be changing.
With the release of the Android 16 QPR2 source code earlier this month, developers have discovered evidence that Google is splitting the Internet tile back into separate controls. The Android Authority report revealed that Michael Bestas, a lead developer of LineageOS, found new code in the Android Open Source Project that adds different Quick Settings tiles for both Mobile Data and Wi-Fi.
According to the code, a new “Mobile Data” tile lets you switch cellular data directly with a tap, while a redesigned Wi-Fi tile includes a “pause and scan” feature. Interestingly, the Wi-Fi tile is still labeled “Internet” for now, which will likely make the transition from the combined panel easier for people. Internal evidence even suggests that the long-term goal is to return to a dedicated Wi-Fi-only tile.
Currently, these changes are hidden behind a hidden feature flag and are not active in the current public beta builds. That means you won’t see the individual switches on your phone just yet, and there’s still a chance Google could change its mind or delay the launch even further.
If this split actually makes it to stable devices, it would be a big win for user feedback. It’s a rare admission from Google that the “simplified” approach wasn’t actually better for everyone. Bringing back this direct one-tap control would make the Android interface feel much faster and more intuitive again. For anyone who’s been missing the old switches for the past four years, Android 16 could finally be the update that brings them back.
