Connecting to wrong network automatically

Question

Level 1

8 points

Connecting to wrong network automatically

I have my own wifi network in my house and have it password protected and set as my default. Everything has worked fine for a long long time. I automatically connect each time I wake up my machine. Then someone in my neighborhood started another network named with the default 'linksys' and no password protection. Now, for whatever reason, when my machine wakes up or starts from a restart it immediately connects to this linksys network automatically. I then have to manually switch networks in the Airport pull down menu to my network, it then scans for it and connects.

Any ideas on how I can either hide the unwanted unknown network forever or somehow set something so I don't connect to is automatically?

MacBook Intel, Mac OS X (10.6.6)

Posted on Mar 28, 2011 2:22 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

Bob Timmons

Community+ 2024

Level 10

159,266 points

Mar 28, 2011 2:33 PM in response to jimhuie610

Open System Preferences (gear icon) on the dock

Open Network

Click on Airport on the left and then Advanced at the lower right

Make sure that the name of your wireless network appears first at the top of the connection list. If it's not at the top, drag it there.

Click any other networks that you no longer need to highlight them, then click the - (minus) button at the bottom of the connection list to delete them.

Make sure there is a check mark next to "Remember networks this computer has joined"

No other boxes should be checked

Click OK, then click Apply to save your changes

Reply

Answer 2

jimhuie610 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 1, 2011 7:07 AM in response to Bob Timmons

Thanks. This info pointed me to the error. I had re-installed my router at one point and re-named it the same name as before. There were two with that name in my list and I can only assume that the current active network was the one towards the bottom of the list and therefore the crappy network superseded it. In any case, it's connecting properly.

Reply

Answer 3

Dec 7, 2016 3:38 AM in response to jimhuie610

..usual problem is that "device" is too close to WiFi router and the "device" because of network congestion switches to most reliable network as such as "furthest" network available and suitable for maintaining its connection.

For example joining order list has prio to conection but device is too close to first in order network and switches to first next and then to first next and so on until it settles down on some un-congestion-ed router network channel.

hope it helps 🙂

cheers

Reply