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How to delete an unwanted wifi network?

Removing an unwanted wifi network via System Preferences does not seem to actually get rid of it (at least not in OS X 10.6.8) because even after the network is deleted from the Preferred Networks list, it continues to appear in the Airport drop-down menu.

I've seen advice elsewhere that it can be removed fully by also opening Keychain Access (i.e., in addition to removing it in System Preferences > Network > Advanced), but when I attempted to do that I didn't see the unwanted network listed there, so that didn't help either.

How can I permanently remove this network?

(It's a non-secure network that I seem to somehow frequently end up on for reasons unknown -- i.e., when I check the Airport drop-down list -- even though I've started on a different secure network. So I would really like it to be gone.)

Thanks.

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.6.8), 1.83 MHz

Posted on Sep 30, 2014 6:41 PM

Reply
10 replies

Sep 30, 2014 8:09 PM in response to dymar

You cannot remove someone else's network, unless you can convince them to turn off their hardware.


What you need to do is specify YOUR network as a preferred network (or networks) so that your Mac chooses your preferred networks over the one you do not want to select.


Or convince the network owner to secure their network, so you cannot select it.


The keychain will ONLY save a password for a network, but it will not affect whether that network is seen on not. And since you say this network does not require a password, then keychain does not need to save anything for that network.

Dec 7, 2014 11:18 AM in response to dymar

I'm having this exact problem too, with one additional mystery (to me.)


It seems like my MBP will occasionally - all by itself - want to use one of the neighbors unsecured networks. I'm not making those changes, and I don't understand what is causing my MBP to select other networks. I usually notice this because my pages load slowly, then I find I have the neighbors network...


Must I delete all my Preferred Networks?


Thanks,


Greg

Sep 29, 2016 9:04 PM in response to kenfromhalifax

Is there any way to search for a specific network? I have a ton of some saved - it's the remnants of having used the computer for many years - and I'm looking for one specific network. I seem unable to use the search bar when I'm in the preferred network plane and I can't organize the list alphabetically. Thoughts? I could go one by one but that will take forever.

Sep 30, 2016 6:27 AM in response to oxband

oxband wrote:


Is there any way to search for a specific network? I have a ton of some saved - it's the remnants of having used the computer for many years - and I'm looking for one specific network. I seem unable to use the search bar when I'm in the preferred network plane and I can't organize the list alphabetically. Thoughts? I could go one by one but that will take forever.

Select an entry in the Preferred Networks list.


Now start typing the name of the network you want to find, and the list will start to find entries matching the letters you type.


It ONLY works when you type the network name starting with the beginning of the name.


If you wish to delete Preferred Networks "Whole Sale", then Select the 1st one, then holding the "Command" key, click on additional Preferred Network names until you have selected all you wish to delete, then press the delete key.


You can select a range, by clicking on the 1st, then hold the "Shift" key and click on the last entry (after scrolling if necessary", and the entire range will be selected. Then press the delete key.

How to delete an unwanted wifi network?

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