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Resolved Selecting a priority Wi-Fi Network
- Thread starter zulicheg
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Sure - it used to be easier, you could click and drag the known networks, but now you can't. So --
1. Open System Settings (Apple menu > System Settings).
2. Go to Wi-Fi.
3. Scroll down and click Advanced… at the bottom.
4. Under Known Networks, forget the networks in the wrong order:
• Click the three-dot menu next to a network.
• Select Forget This Network.
5. Rejoin the networks in the preferred order:
• Click the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar.
• Select your preferred network and enter the password if required.
• Repeat for other networks in priority order.
macOS will remember the networks in the order you connect to them, prioritizing the most recently joined ones.
1. Open System Settings (Apple menu > System Settings).
2. Go to Wi-Fi.
3. Scroll down and click Advanced… at the bottom.
4. Under Known Networks, forget the networks in the wrong order:
• Click the three-dot menu next to a network.
• Select Forget This Network.
5. Rejoin the networks in the preferred order:
• Click the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar.
• Select your preferred network and enter the password if required.
• Repeat for other networks in priority order.
macOS will remember the networks in the order you connect to them, prioritizing the most recently joined ones.
I have already done this, but in the list of networks they are still displayed alphabetically. Does this not affect the automatic selection of the network when connecting and they will be connected in the order they were added?
OK, some other factors might be in play - I have read the priority list is still remembered internally although it does not show it - not sure about that. I do know it connects based on these criteria)
1. The most recently connected network.
2. Networks with a stronger signal.
3. Previously joined private networks over public ones.
How about this - if you have network 1 that you almost-always want to connect to, and network 2/3 you connect to on special occasion, why not disable auto-join on network 2-3? They will be there if you want to select them. otherwise it just connects to network 1 all the time.
If that doesn't work, please describe your use case of how you decide you want to connect to the priority network vs. other networks available
1. The most recently connected network.
2. Networks with a stronger signal.
3. Previously joined private networks over public ones.
How about this - if you have network 1 that you almost-always want to connect to, and network 2/3 you connect to on special occasion, why not disable auto-join on network 2-3? They will be there if you want to select them. otherwise it just connects to network 1 all the time.
If that doesn't work, please describe your use case of how you decide you want to connect to the priority network vs. other networks available
My understanding is that the Mac will connect to whichever known network it thinks is best. And if you move the laptop around, it will change to another network if there is one significantly better than the current network.
In effect, the priority is the best performing network and you can't control that.
Two workarounds:
1. Only have one known network.
2. Turn off auto join (click the ... to see that option) for the networks you don't want - or even for all of them.
In effect, the priority is the best performing network and you can't control that.
Two workarounds:
1. Only have one known network.
2. Turn off auto join (click the ... to see that option) for the networks you don't want - or even for all of them.
donawalt observes:
"it used to be easier, you could click and drag the known networks, but now you can't"
Here's another example of Apple taking away options from the user.
Why the heck did they do this?
One used to be able to arrange the list of available networks in a "priority order".
Same for DNS connections.
But no more.
What's the reasoning behind this?
"it used to be easier, you could click and drag the known networks, but now you can't"
Here's another example of Apple taking away options from the user.
Why the heck did they do this?
One used to be able to arrange the list of available networks in a "priority order".
Same for DNS connections.
But no more.
What's the reasoning behind this?
MacOS and iOS won't switch to another network (SSID) unless they loose their connection to network they originally connected to.
Mmmhhhmmm. Unfortunately, that functionality was removed, or rather not brought forward, when Apple chose more OS UX consistency in macOS 12 Ventura (i.e., System Preferences to System Settings). You previously could:
Prioritize Wireless Networks for Your Mac | Macinstruct
Learn how to prioritize the wireless networks your Mac connects to.
Now it’s limited to only prioritizing (physical) connection type:
Change the order of the network services your Mac uses
On your Mac, if you connect to the internet or a network in several ways (for example, using Wi-Fi or Ethernet), you can change the connection order.
support.apple.com
Unless Apple restores the feature, that is indeed (as others have explained) your best route.
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