Ivan H

Q: Set preferred Wi-Fi network in my preferred order on iOS6

My iPhone is running iOS6.1.3.  It has approved connection to two nearby Wi-Fi networks.  But it too often connects to the less preferred Wi-Fi network, instead of the most preferred one. 

 

Is there a way to set the preference order of Wi-Fi networks for my iPhone on iOS 6, like a Mac on OS X 10.8?

iPhone 4S, iOS 6.1.3

Posted on Jul 1, 2013 10:59 PM

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Q: Set preferred Wi-Fi network in my preferred order on iOS6

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  • by Dskillic ,

    Dskillic Dskillic Mar 11, 2015 11:56 AM in response to TJBUSMC1973
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 11, 2015 11:56 AM in response to TJBUSMC1973

    Thanks Mr TJBUSMC1973,

    I admittedly did not read the terms of use and was unaware that Apple does not monitor this. I wasn't trying to anger people in this forum, more trying to get some actual feedback from Apple on the subject as it is apparent this has been an on going issue for several years based on the timeline of this forum. I will be careful to phrase my comments more appropriately in the future.

  • by frankxiv,

    frankxiv frankxiv Mar 17, 2015 8:22 PM in response to Lawrence Finch
    Level 2 (424 points)
    iPhone
    Mar 17, 2015 8:22 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

    Not quite. It actually follows the steps listed here: How iOS decides which wireless network to auto-join - Apple Support

     

    When iOS evaluates SSIDs to auto-join, it prefers known networks, higher levels of security, and stronger relative signal strength (RSSI).

    iOS will try to connect to networks in this order:

    1. The private network it most recently joined
    2. A private network
    3. A hotspot network

    If iOS finds more than one network, it evaluates SSIDs by security level and chooses one based on the following order:

    1. Private network: EAP
    2. Private network: WPA
    3. Private network: WEP
    4. Private network: Unsecure/open
    5. Hotspot network: HS2.0/Passpoint
    6. Hotspot network: EAP
    7. Hotspot network: WPA
    8. Hotspot network: WEP
    9. Hotspot network: Unsecure/open

    If iOS finds multiple networks of identical type and security level, it chooses the SSID with the strongest RSSI.

    Auto-joining after a restart

    After a restart, iOS Wi-Fi credentials are available only after you unlock your device.

    On iOS 7 and earlier, if a device is restarted near both open and secure networks, the device auto-joins the open network because secure network credentials aren't available until the device is unlocked.

    After a restart on iOS 7 and later, the iOS won't auto-join an open network first because it waits until after the device is unlocked.

  • by RJax1211,

    RJax1211 RJax1211 Apr 14, 2015 4:26 PM in response to frankxiv
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 14, 2015 4:26 PM in response to frankxiv

    The really sad thing is Android devices all have a WiFi manager bakee in that let you remove stored WiFi settings and set the preference order. I like the IOS and Apple's gear; but I wish they'd stop trying to hide everything.

  • by DebeeG,

    DebeeG DebeeG Jul 1, 2015 8:27 AM in response to RowdyAudi
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 1, 2015 8:27 AM in response to RowdyAudi

    Great idea!  I did just that and hopefully it works.

  • by Boemski,

    Boemski Boemski Aug 6, 2015 12:59 PM in response to Monsignor Paolo
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Aug 6, 2015 12:59 PM in response to Monsignor Paolo

    Thanks for sharing this tip! It worked for me!

  • by John Prokos,

    John Prokos John Prokos Nov 9, 2015 8:31 AM in response to TJBUSMC1973
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Desktops
    Nov 9, 2015 8:31 AM in response to TJBUSMC1973

    Apple does participate. When they read something they don't like they remove it.

  • by Lawrence Finch,

    Lawrence Finch Lawrence Finch Nov 9, 2015 8:41 AM in response to John Prokos
    Level 8 (38,071 points)
    Mac OS X
    Nov 9, 2015 8:41 AM in response to John Prokos

    John Prokos wrote:

     

    Apple does participate. When they read something they don't like they remove it.

    WRONG. Apple does not participate. There are moderators ("hosts") who maintain order, but they have no relationship to Apple's development or engineering teams, and they do not read posts or responses unless a post is reported to them by a regular user-member for review. They will then read the actual post and decide if it violates the Terms of Use. Any user with more than 150 points has a button to report a potential TOU violation.

  • by John Prokos,

    John Prokos John Prokos Nov 9, 2015 9:01 AM in response to Lawrence Finch
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Desktops
    Nov 9, 2015 9:01 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

    In every practical sense you are correct.

  • by deggie,

    deggie deggie Nov 9, 2015 10:01 AM in response to John Prokos
    Level 9 (54,647 points)
    iPhone
    Nov 9, 2015 10:01 AM in response to John Prokos

    You could have saved some typing by just going with, "You are correct".

  • by John Prokos,

    John Prokos John Prokos Nov 9, 2015 11:10 AM in response to deggie
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Desktops
    Nov 9, 2015 11:10 AM in response to deggie

    You could have saved yourself some typing too.

  • by deggie,

    deggie deggie Nov 9, 2015 11:12 AM in response to John Prokos
    Level 9 (54,647 points)
    iPhone
    Nov 9, 2015 11:12 AM in response to John Prokos

    Nah, I enjoyed that typing.

  • by John Prokos,

    John Prokos John Prokos Nov 9, 2015 11:41 AM in response to deggie
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Desktops
    Nov 9, 2015 11:41 AM in response to deggie

    The point is Apple employees are moderators therefore they do participate/involve themselves in these conversations. Any editing or deletion is an involvement. Saying they never have and never will is just silly.

     

    However,


    If your point is that these forums aren't an Apple-User to Apple-Company line of communication… that's generally understood by everyone here,,, and it's snarky when "High Level" contributors repeat it over and over to users who are obviously frustrated, and looking for "community support" here in the forums. Instead, they find unpaid Apple missionaries who are loathe to complain about any Apple product for fear of annoying their master (how does this point system benefit you again?). I think many users would like to see a group effort to put pressure on Apple to fix what's broken. It's not effective when many people try to explain their apparently disparate issues using the "proper channels". Using those channels, we are individuals. Here, we are a community.. Power to the People!

     

    Seriously.

  • by deggie,

    deggie deggie Nov 9, 2015 11:44 AM in response to John Prokos
    Level 9 (54,647 points)
    iPhone
    Nov 9, 2015 11:44 AM in response to John Prokos

    Except Lawrence said they get involved to moderate and never said "never have and never will". So he wasn't the party that said anything "silly".

  • by Daniel Stonek,

    Daniel Stonek Daniel Stonek Jan 9, 2016 7:05 AM in response to trentbrown
    Level 1 (19 points)
    Apple TV
    Jan 9, 2016 7:05 AM in response to trentbrown

    What about WE (I mean US, the users) decide what order to set?

     

    Teach us, warn us, let us decide!

  • by robertfromplainview,

    robertfromplainview robertfromplainview Mar 26, 2016 1:42 PM in response to Dskillic
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mar 26, 2016 1:42 PM in response to Dskillic

    I was able to set my wifi priority by changing my network name to begin with 001 and the result is my network went to the top of the list.

    I read that Apple wifi priorty is alphbetical and this did it.

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