Nowadays, free Wi-Fi network is available everywhere like shopping malls, coffee shops and airports. You might have connected those free networks in your MacBook for an emergency use to browse the internet. However, your device will remember the network name/password and connect automatically whenever you are nearer to that place. In this article, we will explain how you can instruct Mac to forget previously connected Wi-Fi networks or disable auto-join to prevent automatically connecting to known networks.
Auto-Join Vs Forgetting Network
Actually, you have two options in Mac to avoid automatically joining a previously connected network.
- Remove the current or previously connected network name from your device or instruct Mac to forget the network. You need to manually enter Wi-Fi password again when connecting next time.
- Disable auto-join option to prevent automatic connection while keeping the network name in the list. This will show a notification and ask your permission whenever a known network is available for connection.
Both auto-join and remove/forget network options are available in the same settings page in Mac. So, you can choose one of the options easily.
Remove Currently Connected Wi-Fi Network
- Click the Apple logo and go to “System Settings…” menu.
- Go to “Network” section and click on “Wi-Fi” option. Alternatively, you can directly go to “Wi-Fi” section from the left sidebar.
- Mac will show your current W-Fi network with a green dot and “Connected” status.
- Click on the “Details…” button showing against your currently connected wireless network.
- Turn off “Automatically join this network” option to disable auto-joining next time.
- Otherwise, click on “Forget This Network…” button showing at the bottom of the screen. Confirm your action by clicking on “Remove” button to delete the network name.
Note that disabling auto-join will still keep the current connection while removing network will disable the current Wi-Fi network and disconnect your internet.
Forget Previously Connected Known Network
In most cases, you want to remove one of the known networks which you have connected previously.
- Go to “Apple logo > System Settings… > Wi-Fi” section.
- Below your currently connected network, you will see “Known Networks”.
- Click the “More” icon (three dots in a circle) and select “Forget This Network…” option. Click “Remove” button on the pop-up to delete the network name from known list.
- You can also click on the “Auto-Join” option to disable it.
Note: For removing personal hotspots, first connect to the network and then click on the “Details” button. From the pop-up you can forget the network or disable automatic joining.
Follow the steps if you do not see the network name in the “Known Networks” list:
- Scroll down to the bottom of Wi-Fi settings page and click “Advanced…” button.
- On the pop-up you can see the complete list of previously connected Wi-Fi names under “Known Networks” section.
- Click on “More” icon against the Wi-Fi name and select “Remove From List” option.
- Confirm the deletion by clicking on “Remove” button.
- Otherwise, click on “Auto-Join” option to disable automatic rejoining to that network.
