Why Does My Mac Ask to Join Networks?
If you take your MacBook to a coffee shop, airport, or hotel, you might be constantly bombarded with a popup notification asking if you want to join an available, unsecured Wi-Fi network.
macOS is programmed to aggressively scan for open networks whenever you are not actively connected to a known Wi-Fi access point. While Apple designed this to be helpful, it is incredibly annoying if you are intentionally working offline, using a wired Ethernet connection, or tethering to your iPhone via USB. It is also a security risk to blindly join open networks. You can stop macOS from constantly prompting you.
How to Disable the “Ask to join new networks” Prompt
You can turn off this aggressive network polling directly in your Wi-Fi settings.
- Click the Apple Logo in the top-left corner of your Mac’s screen.
- Select System Settings… (or System Preferences on older macOS versions).
- In the left-hand sidebar, click on Wi-Fi.
- Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the Wi-Fi settings page and click the Advanced… button.
- Look for the toggle switch labelled Ask to join new networks.
- Toggle the switch to the Off position.
- Click the Done or OK button to save your changes.
From now on, if your Mac disconnects from your home or office network, it will quietly remain disconnected. You will no longer receive popups advertising every random hotspot in the area; you must manually click the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar to select a new network when you actually want one.