mac won't forget a WiFi network

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Level 2

153 points

mac won't forget a WiFi network

HELP!

I have an Apple Time Capsule as my WiFi access point. I recently changed the network name but temporarily created a guest network with the old name so that devices like my Alexa, my weather station, my WiFi security cameras, etc., would continue to function until I could edit their configurations to connect to the new network.

Once I got all other devices reconfigured, I deleted the guest network from the Time Capsule and deleted it from my Mac's list of known networks. All WiFi devices now work just fine when connected to the new network but the old still shows up in my Mac, my two iPhones and my Apple TV. The main problem with that is that every time I open my MacBook Pro, it tries to connect to the old network rather than the new one. Of course, it can't connect since that network no longer exists, so I get an error and I then have to manually select the new network from among the available ones.

How do I get rid of it once and for all? I remember that there used to be an option to "forget network" but I don't see that anymore. BTW, I'm running Mojave 10.14.4.

Does anyone have any advice as to how to make the old network disappear forever?

Posted on May 8, 2019 6:14 AM

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Answer 1

Brian Shaw3 Author

Level 2

153 points

May 8, 2019 5:14 PM in response to Brian Shaw3

OK Bob, I just restarted. While the old network is no longer in the list of known networks in Network Preferences, it still shows up in the list of available networks from the menu bar. I think that the old network got back into the Network Preferences list previously because the Mac was selecting it first, even though it no longer even exists, i.e. by being automatically selected, it became a 'known' network again. I did discover, thought, that the new network had not been checked for 'auto join'; I turned that on before my reboot. So even though the old network still appears, it is no longer automatically selected. So the issue is no longer a problem, just annoying. As a reminder, the old network still appears on both my iPhones and Apple TV. And just to clarify, Airport Utility shows that the Time Capsule has guest network turned off, but the old network's name still appears in the guest network field, but dimmed.

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Answer 2

May 8, 2019 3:31 PM in response to Brian Shaw3

I cannot duplicate the error that you are reporting. Can you take us through the exact steps that you are using to remove the WiFi network from the list of known networks on your Mac?

After you removed the network from your Mac, did you remember to Shut Down the Mac, wait a minute, then start it up again?

Even in the unlikely event that the WiFi network cannot be deleted from the list of known networks, are you aware that you can change the order in which your Mac looks for networks.......so you can tell the Mac which network that you want it to connect to first, if there is more than one choice of networks?

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Answer 3

Brian Shaw3 Author

Level 2

153 points

May 8, 2019 4:53 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Hi Bob,

Thanks for your input. To remove the network, I opened Network Preferences from the drop down menu, clicked on the Advanced button to bring up the list, selected the network in question, clicked on the "-" button, clicked "OK" and then clicked "Apply."

I just looked again and discovered that the old network is back in the freakin' list! I just removed it again and will restart my Mac now to see if it is finally gone. If a resort was all that I missed, then I'm an idiot. Stay tuned.

P.S.: Yes, I do know how to rearrange network order, but since the old network wasn't there, I couldn't move it down the list.

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Answer 4

May 8, 2019 6:09 PM in response to Brian Shaw3

While the old network is no longer in the list of known networks in Network Preferences, it still shows up in the list of available networks from the menu bar.

It will continue to "show up" unless you also Shut Down your Mac or Restart your Mac right after you have deleted the network in System Preferences / Network and clicked Apply to save the changes.

You probably won't be able to delete the old WiFi network as a single action on the iPhone unless you can connect to the network. If you can actually connect......(I cannot when I test this)......then you can tap on Settings / WiFi. When the name of the network appears, tap on the blue "i" to the right of the network name, then tap Forget This Network.

Otherwise, you will have to tap on Settings / General / Reset / Reset Network Settings. The downside to this is that you will lose all of the settings that are stored for other WiFi networks that the iPhone has joined, so you will have to manually set up each network again when you want to connect to a different network.

I don't have an Apple TV handy to test, but if I did I would reset the Apple TV back to its original default settings and then set it up again.

Worst case, sometimes the AirPort router will save the old network names. The only way to completely erase things is reset the AirPort back to factory default settings and then set it up again. Be sure to perform a Factory Default Reset, not a Hard Reset (which does not delete older profiles or settings that you cannot see).

All bets are off if you are saving your passwords in iCloud. Strange things can happen after you delete a network, because the password is still stored in iCloud and the application can try to recreate the network name again.

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Answer 5

Brian Shaw3 Author

Level 2

153 points

May 8, 2019 6:40 PM in response to Bob Timmons

I think I figured it out! I have an Airport Express configured to extend my network. The guest network with the old name was still enabled on it even though it was off on the Time Capsule. I turned it off and restarted it. Now I'm going to restart the Mac to see if the old network finally goes bye bye.

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Answer 6

Brian Shaw3 Author

Level 2

153 points

May 8, 2019 6:47 PM in response to Brian Shaw3

Yup, that did it! Sorry to bother you, Bob, with a problem so easily resolved. I didn't even know that an Express could create a guest network when it is acting as an extender. Lesson learned.

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Answer 7

May 8, 2019 6:58 PM in response to Brian Shaw3

Glad you figured it out. You did not ever mention that you had an additional AirPort, so we took things at face value.

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mac won't forget a WiFi network

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