Forgetting a Wi-Fi network on your Mac is one way to tackle the problem. Other methods involve changing the network priority or instructing your Mac not to auto-join a specific network.
Forget Wi-Fi Networks From Your Mac Preferences
You can instruct your Mac to forget any previously-saved Wi-Fi network from the Network Preferences pane. However, be warned, doing so also means you must manually re-enter the network’s password if you want to reconnect to it at a later time.
If you use iCloud Keychain, forgetting a Wi-Fi network will also remove that network from any other Apple devices you use.
Instead of forgetting a Wi-Fi network, it’s usually better to change your network priorities to make sure your Mac connects to better networks instead. We’ll show you how to do that below.
But if you still want to go ahead and forget a Wi-Fi network on your Mac, here’s how to do it:
Click the Wi-Fi icon on the menu bar and choose Network Preferences. If you don’t see the status icon, open the Control Center, expand the Wi-Fi control, and click Network Preferences. Select Wi-Fi on the sidebar and click the button labeled Advanced. Under the Wi-Fi tab, choose the network you want to delete and select the Minus button. Select Remove to confirm.
How to Change the Wi-Fi Network Priority on Your Mac
Rather than forgetting a Wi-Fi network from your Mac and losing its password, you can choose to set the network at a lower priority. That way, you can choose any other nearby Wi-Fi networks to take precedence, so your Mac connects to them instead.
Here’s how to edit the network priorities for your Mac:
Visit the Network Preferences pane, select Wi-Fi on the sidebar, and select Advanced. Under the Wi-Fi tab, drag any unwanted hotspots down the list of saved Wi-Fi networks. Your Mac will always give preference to hotspots higher up the list. Select OK.
Disable Auto-Join for Wi-Fi Networks on Your Mac
If you want to stop your Mac from connecting to a specific Wi-Fi network automatically, but would rather keep its login details intact, simply prevent it from auto-joining that network. Here’s how to do that:
Open the Network Preferences pane on your Mac. Then, select Wi-Fi on the sidebar and click Advanced. Under the Auto-Join column, uncheck the box next to the network you want to stop auto-joining. Select OK.
Forget, Change Priority, or Stop Auto-Join
Forgetting Wi-Fi networks on your Mac is quick and easy, but doing that also deletes related passwords. So you might want to consider lowering the priority or deactivate the auto-join functionality instead. And if you have the time, you can also choose to troubleshoot any unstable Wi-Fi connections so it doesn’t matter if your Mac connects to them in the future.
