as far as i know, it doesn't, so what does "not permanently" mean? if you switch off the wifi at night, it doesn't do anything, but then you can't vacuum either, but if you have the wifi active during the day and only vacuum then, it should work. vacuuming at night won't work because it will have problems with the card, and you won't be able to send it to individual locations. and i wouldn't use it completely without wifi anyway, there are too many bells and whistles involved in using wifi that it would be almost ridiculous for the price....