How to keep Mac and iPhone from syncing network selections

Question

How to keep Mac and iPhone from syncing network selections

My employer issued me a RAP (Remote Access Point) that extends the office wireless network into my home over my broadband connection. It is protected with a WAP-2 password. This is very useful because when I work from home I have access to servers inside the office network. However, my iPhone insists on connecting to the same network as my Mac. I don't want my personal iPhone on my office network. But when I tell the iPhone to forget the network, my Mac also forgets it, so I have to re-enter the password eery time I want to use it. How can I keep Wi-fi selections from one device from being passed to the other?

Posted on Apr 21, 2015 12:04 PM

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Answer 1

jeffd55

Community Specialist

Apr 24, 2015 12:47 PM in response to Rick Montgomery

Hi Rick,

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.

Your iPhone and computer logging in to and out of the same Wi-Fi network sound a lot like the expected actions if you have iCloud Keychain activated.

iCloud Keychain keeps your Safari website usernames and passwords, credit card information, and Wi-Fi network information up to date across all of your approved devices that are using iOS 7.0.3 or later or OS X Mavericks v10.9 or later.

From this article:

Frequently asked questions about iCloud Keychain - Apple Support

Regards,
Jeff D.

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Answer 2

May 19, 2015 8:25 PM in response to jeffd55

Yes, I understand that it's somewhat normal but I would like to keep it from happening. Here's the problem: my office network blocks access to certain games (particularly EA's SCRABBLE app) and some websites (including everything in the .mil TLD), which creates problems for me. In order to play SCRABBLE on my lunch break, or to get to some websites, I have to log out of the office network. The only way Apple gives me to do this is to "forget" the network or to turn off Wi-Fi altogether. Turning Wi-Fi off degrades Location Services, and causes me all manner of problems when I go home because I live in a cellular dead zone. Forgetting the network means every time I want my Mac to connect to the office network, I have to re-enter the WAP key - and then the next time I'm at the office I have to forget the network again. Neither of these is an acceptable alternative.

I can control whether contacts, to-do lists, calendars, email accounts, etc., sync between my phone and my Mac; it seems I should be able to control whether or not wi-fi settings sync just like I can control whether everything else syncs or not.

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