How to Turn Off Automatic Wi-Fi Connections
Computers and mobile devices work differently, but the process of disabling automatic Wi-Fi connections is simple to do on all of them.
On Windows 10
To disable automatic Wi-Fi Connections in Windows 10: The process is similar for Windows 8 and older versions of Windows.
On iOS
iPhone and iPad devices associate an option called Auto-Join with each Wi-Fi profile. When enabled, your device connects to that network automatically when it’s within range. To stop that from happening for any specific Wi-Fi profile: If you want your phone or tablet to quit asking you to connect each time you’re within range of a network you haven’t used before, such as an open network in a hotel or restaurant, go to the Wi-Fi settings page and disable Ask to Join Networks. If you keep it on, you’re prompted to connect to each network your device finds, so turning off the feature means you have to open this screen to manually select the networks you want to join.
On Android
To stop your Android device from auto-connecting to open networks: Select the Settings icon (the gear) next to the network to which you’re currently connected to forget the connection details so that you don’t auto-join the next time you’re in range.
Forgetting Wi-Fi Networks
Something else to remember beyond open networks is that your device may be set up to remember connections you used in the past, whether open or not. Saving network information is a great feature so that you don’t have to re-enter or reselect each network you want to reuse. However, if you want total and complete control over which networks you connect to, forget the network. Most devices have an option to delete the profile associated with the connection.
