For security purposes, many corporate offices and highly secure home networks intentionally hide their Wi-Fi network’s SSID (the network name). Because the router stops broadcasting its name to the world, your devices cannot simply scan for it and connect by clicking it in a list. You must manually type the exact network name and password to join.
While Windows 11 allows you to connect to hidden networks, it occasionally suffers from a frustrating bug where it “forgets” to automatically reconnect to the hidden network after a system reboot or waking from sleep mode. To force Windows 11 to aggressively and automatically connect to your hidden network the millisecond it boots up, you can configure the wireless profile directly using the netsh command-line utility.
Step 1: Manually Connect to the Network Once
Before we can modify the profile, Windows needs to have successfully connected to the hidden network at least once to save the security credentials.
- Click the Wi-Fi icon in your system tray.
- Click the arrow next to the Wi-Fi symbol to see available networks.
- Scroll to the bottom and click Hidden Network.
- Check the box that says Connect automatically, then click Connect.
- Type the exact SSID (Name) of the network, click Next, and enter the password.
Step 2: Open an Elevated Command Prompt
To modify the deep system settings for how Windows handles this specific wireless profile, we need administrator access to the command line.
- Press the Windows Key, type
cmd. - Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
- Click “Yes” on the User Account Control prompt.
Step 3: Find Your Network Profile Name
First, let’s verify that Windows saved the profile correctly.
- Type the following command and press Enter:
netsh wlan show profiles - Look under “User profiles.” You should see the name of your hidden network listed there (e.g.,
Corp_Secure_Net).
Step 4: Force the “Non-Broadcast” Connection Flag
Now, we will inject a specific parameter into that profile telling Windows that this network does not broadcast its name, and therefore Windows must actively search for it on every single boot.
- Type the following command, replacing
YOUR_NETWORK_NAMEwith the exact name of your profile from Step 3 (keep the quotation marks):netsh wlan set profileparameter name="YOUR_NETWORK_NAME" connectionMode=auto nonBroadcast=yes - Press Enter.
If successful, the command prompt will output: Profile “YOUR_NETWORK_NAME” on interface “Wi-Fi” updated successfully.
How This Works
By default, Windows aggressively scans the airwaves for the names of saved networks. Because your network is hidden, Windows scans the air, doesn’t see the name, assumes you aren’t at the office, and gives up.
By setting nonBroadcast=yes, you are instructing the Windows 11 wireless adapter to actively shout the name of the hidden network into the void every time the computer boots up. If the hidden router hears its name being called, it will respond and establish the connection instantly, permanently solving the failure-to-reconnect bug.