When you join a Wi‑Fi network, your computer, tablet or phone remembers
it. This is why you only have to select your home network and type its
security key once when you set up a new device, and why your mobile devices
connect automatically in places like cafes whose Wi‑Fi you’ve used
before.
Sometimes, when troubleshooting a problem, it’s necessary to ‘forget’ a
network to stop your device trying to reconnect to it.
Note: If these instructions don’t match your screen, you
probably have an older version of macOS. Using the latest software is
one of the best ways to protect your computer and data, so you should
upgrade macOS at your
earliest convenience.
- In the menu bar (at the top of the screen) click the Wi‑Fi
icon.
- Click Wi-Fi Settings.
- Click Advanced.
- To the right of each unwanted network, click the circle with three
dots and choose Forget This Network.
- Click the Start button and open Settings.
- In the sidebar, click Network & internet.
- Click Wi-Fi
- Click Manage known networks.
- Next to each unwanted network, click Forget.
- In the taskbar, click the Wi‑Fi icon (if you don’t currently have a
working connection, this will look like a globe).
- Click Network settings.
- In the sidebar, click Wi‑Fi.
- Click Manage known networks.
- Click the unwanted network, then click Forget.
- Repeat the previous step for any other unwanted networks.
Case study
Some open networks don’t actually offer Internet
access without logging in or paying. The EE Hub, for example, may broadcast
a network called EEWiFi that lets passers-by share the owner’s
broadband. But if you’re actually at home and join such a network by
accident, your device will show a captive portal
asking you to log in or pay.
Because your device remembers the network, it may connect to it in future,
sometimes in preference to your home Wi‑Fi. So the symptoms of being unable
to use the Internet and the captive portal appearing may seem to occur
randomly. The solution is to forget the network.