When you connect to a Wi-Fi network on your Chromebook, Chrome OS automatically saves the network credentials and remembers the connection. By default, your device will automatically reconnect to this network whenever it is in range. While this is incredibly convenient for your home or office network, it can be frustrating if your Chromebook keeps automatically connecting to a slow, unstable, or public Wi-Fi network as you walk past a cafe or library.
How to Stop Automatic Wi-Fi Connections
You can easily tell your Chromebook to remember the password for a specific network, but prevent it from automatically joining that network without your permission.
- Click on the clock icon in the bottom-right corner of your Chromebook screen to open the Quick Settings panel.
- Click the gear icon to open the full Chrome OS Settings app.
- In the left-hand sidebar, click on Network.
- Click on the Wi-Fi section (click the word “Wi-Fi,” not the toggle switch).
- Click on Known networks to view a list of every wireless network your device has ever connected to.
- Find the specific network you want to stop connecting to automatically, and click on it.
- Locate the toggle switch labeled Automatically connect to this network and turn it off.
Once disabled, your Chromebook will still remember the password for this network. If you ever want to connect to it again, simply click the Wi-Fi icon in your Quick Settings and manually select the network from the list. It will connect instantly without asking for the password, but it will never force the connection on its own.
How to Completely Forget a Network
If you want to entirely delete the network and its password from your device so that it never connects again, follow steps 1-5 above. When you find the network, simply click the Forget button instead of clicking into the network settings. This completely erases the network profile from your Chromebook.