Why Does Your Mac Keep Changing Wi-Fi Networks?
If you have connected to multiple Wi-Fi networks in the same location (such as a 2.4GHz network, a 5GHz network, and a guest network), macOS will automatically attempt to connect to the one it perceives as having the strongest signal. This can be incredibly frustrating if it constantly switches you to a slower network or drops your connection during a video call while switching.
To fix this, you need to configure your Mac to prefer your primary network and prevent it from automatically joining the others.
How to Stop macOS from Auto-Joining Specific Networks
The easiest way to fix this issue is to tell your Mac to “forget” the auto-join preference for the networks you do not want to use automatically.
- Click the Apple Logo in the top-left corner of your screen.
- Select System Settings… (or System Preferences on older versions of macOS).
- Click on Wi-Fi in the left-hand sidebar.
- Make sure you are connected to the network you actually want to use.
- Scroll down to the bottom of the Wi-Fi settings and click the Advanced… button.
- You will see a list of Known Networks.
- Find the name of the network that your Mac keeps incorrectly switching to.
- Click the More (three dots) icon next to that network.
- Uncheck the option for Auto-Join.
Alternatively, if you never want to use that network again, you can select Remove From List to completely forget the password and settings.
By disabling Auto-Join on the secondary networks, your Mac will stay firmly connected to your preferred Wi-Fi connection until you manually choose to switch.