{"id":183546,"date":"2016-01-25T15:47:47","date_gmt":"2016-01-25T21:47:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/itblog.lcisd.net\/?page_id=183546"},"modified":"2016-01-25T15:47:47","modified_gmt":"2016-01-25T21:47:47","slug":"how-to-forget-a-wi-fi-network-in-mac-os-x","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/itblog.lcisd.net\/?page_id=183546","title":{"rendered":"How to Forget a Wi-Fi Network in Mac OS X"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u00a0\"OS<\/div>\n
Mar 9, 2014<\/span><\/div>\n
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\"ForgetOnce a wi-fi network has been joined in OS X, the Mac will default to joining that network if it\u2019s within range and available again. This is undeniably convenient for joining our home, work, and regular wireless networks, but it can be a nuisance when the Mac rejoins a network that you no longer want to connect to. While setting the wi-fi network priority is one option<\/a>, another option is to have the Mac \u201cforget\u201d the network, preventing it from automatically rejoining again. This is particularly helpful if you live or work within an area that has open networks available that you do not accidentally want to join.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Forgetting a wi-fi network in Mac OS X is very easy, though the option is a bit more hidden than some users may expect. Fortunately, like the iOS counterpart<\/a>, learn to drop a network once and you won\u2019t have to wonder how to do it again in the future.<\/p>\n

Removing a Wireless Router from the Preferred Networks List in OS X<\/h3>\n

This will forget the chosen wi-fi network(s), preventing the Mac from automatically joining it again when within range.<\/p>\n

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    1. Pull down the Wi-Fi menu icon and choose \u201cOpen Network Preferences\u201d, or go to the \u201cNetwork\u201d preference pane from \uf8ff Apple <\/span>menu<\/span><\/span><\/a> and System Preferences<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/ol>\n

      \"Open<\/p>\n

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        1. Select \u201cWi-Fi\u201d from the network panel sidebar<\/span><\/span><\/a>, then click the \u201cAdvanced\u201d button in the corner<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/ol>\n

          \"Go<\/p>\n

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            1. Go to the \u201cWi-Fi\u201d tab and find the router\/network to forget under the \u201cPreferred Networks\u201d list<\/li>\n
            2. Select the network and then choose the [-] minus <\/span>button<\/span><\/span><\/a> to remove (forget) the wireless network<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/ol>\n

              \"Remove<\/p>\n

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                1. Confirm to forget the wi-fi network by choosing \u201cRemove\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/ol>\n

                  \"Remove<\/p>\n

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                  1. Repeat as necessary for other wifi <\/span>networks<\/span><\/span><\/a> to forget<\/li>\n
                  2. Click \u201cOK\u201d, then exit out of System Preferences, choose \u201cApply\u201d if asked<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    Once a wireless network has been forgotten, OS X will no longer join it automatically \u2013 even if it is the only network available.<\/p>\n

                    If you change your mind, the forgotten network(s) can be re-joined or remembered again simply by choosing it from the wi-fi menu <\/span>bar<\/span><\/span><\/a> selection.<\/p>\n

                    This is worthwhile to use for dropping public networks without wi-fi encryption, forcibly<\/span><\/span><\/a> forgetting a dual-band router channel that has a flaky connection, and it\u2019s also handy for when a bandwidth hungry Mac continuously joins an iPhone HotSpot<\/a> that has a limited data plan just because it\u2019s located nearby.<\/p>\n

                    Though it\u2019s fairly simple, being several layers behind preference panels has made this less-than-obvious approach to forgetting wireless networks a fairly common complaint from Windows users who have recently switched to the Mac <\/span>platform<\/span><\/span><\/a>. An easy way to prevent that confusion would be to add a menu bar option to drop networks from anywhere, but for now all versions <\/span>of <\/span>OS <\/span>X<\/span><\/span><\/a> work as described above.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                    \u00a0 Mar 9, 2014 Once a wi-fi network has been joined in OS X, the Mac will default to joining that network if it\u2019s within range and available again. This is undeniably convenient for joining our home, work, and regular<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"simple-restrict-permission":[],"class_list":["post-183546","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itblog.lcisd.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/183546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itblog.lcisd.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itblog.lcisd.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itblog.lcisd.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itblog.lcisd.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=183546"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/itblog.lcisd.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/183546\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":183549,"href":"https:\/\/itblog.lcisd.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/183546\/revisions\/183549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itblog.lcisd.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=183546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"simple-restrict-permission","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itblog.lcisd.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fsimple-restrict-permission&post=183546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}