Windows 10: Disable automatic connection of a wireless network

Anonymous
2016-03-01T00:23:10+00:00

I have a number of available networks in my area but I wish to connect automatically only to my secured Home network. The problem is that one of the unsecured building networks is checked to connect automatically. I have tried to uncheck the box but it always comes back as "connect automatically". I keep getting hundreds of notifications that "UD Tower Network requires attention"  that are making me slightly insane. How do I turn off the connect automatically button for this network? WIndows 10, 64 bit

Original Title: Connect Automatically Network

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Windows for home | Windows 10 | Internet and connectivity

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Anonymous
2016-03-01T05:47:25+00:00

Hello Fred,

Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community.

Sorry for the inconvenience caused with Windows 10.

You may follow the below steps to turn off the “connect automatically” option.

  1. Press Windows key + A to open action center and click on All Settings.
  2. Now select Network and Internet.
  3. In the left panel, select Wi-Fi.
  4. Now in the right panel, select the option Change Adapter Options.
  5. The Change Adapter Options will open the Network Connections. You will find the network connection to which your computer or tablet is connected.
  6. Double click on the wireless connection to open the Wi-Fi status. Go to Wireless Properties.
  7. Under Connection tab, find out “Connect automatically when this network is in range“. By default it is enabled. To disable it, uncheck the option and tap ok.

Hope the information helps, do reply if you need further assistance.

Thank you.

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-02-06T12:25:06+00:00

    Thank you to Pieter Geerkens- your reply comes closer to the truth.

    "...The issue seems to be that the Microsoft responders are all working inside a domain with Group Policies set, while we are not. After considerable research, I seem to have found the answer by manually using netsh to set local Group Policies as shown here:..."

    Yes, I think that those of us with this problem are not part of any domains where group policies control our settings, access or other policies. I think we are all owners of stand alone laptops. The biggest problem, though, is that Microsoft wants to take away our ownership and control of our machines and decide for us what we need on our laptops. Microsoft push down updates, policies, and other settings as they see fit, and to hell with the individual owner.   ...  CUT

    I still have original Win7 and XP CDs. I do not much care about security as I have Bitdefender that does a great job. So, perhaps, I should downgrade to those OSs to solve my problem? I would GLADLY trade the new Win10 functionalities, which I do not much care for, in exchange for not having to reset my network each time I move from one room to the other or when I switch on/off my laptop.

    Is this the only solution to stop my laptop from connecting to the wrong network?

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-02-11T13:11:10+00:00

    From all my inquiries and research, I think that is indeed your only solution. However, I have bad news. I have tried to downgrade my Win10 laptop to Win7, and it is virtually impossible. Simply booting from a Win7 CD, and trying to format your hard drive (like older Win XP and Win7 laptops), doesn't seem to work. Some people tell me it is actually possible, but I haven't found a way to do that yet. It seems that Win10 is 'hard wired' onto the hard drive in some way- I just can't get it uninstalled and replaced. If you find a way to do it with a machine that has Win10 factory installed off-the-shelf, please let me know.

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-04-22T04:19:50+00:00

    Hi MS, this is really bad/surprising/astonishing/saddening that all new unsecured wifi connections are attached to automatically in Windows 10 and there is no workaround. Please fix this.

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-06-21T08:09:00+00:00

    My problem is that my computer is setting itself to automatically connect to wireless networks that my pc doesn't know the password to. So when i boot up my pc I have to manually connect to my wifi. I untick the auto connect to the other 2 networks but it immediately re-ticks them as soon as i close the available networks. I cant go into the settings to change via the wifi adaptor options as its saying i need to connect to the wifi option before i can change the settings, which i cant as it is trying to connect to wifis that it does not know the password to.

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