Skip to main content

iPhone & iPad: How to disable Wi-Fi Auto-Join

One of the most annoying things about Wi-Fi are those offered by big corporations. Local Starbucks or library have terrible cell reception? Join the Wi-Fi network. However, a separate location might have better or faster cell reception than what the Wi-Fi offers.

This is when you’d typically just forget the network or turn off Wi-Fi entirely. Luckily, there’s a way around this by dialing what is known as Wi-Fi Auto-Join. What this does is only connect to that specific network when you go into Settings and tap it yourself.

iPhone & iPad: How to disable Wi-Fi Auto-Join

  1. Go into Settings > Wi-Fi.
  2. Find the Wi-Fi you’d like to disable Auto-Join with.
  3. Tap the “I” that resides next to the Wi-Fi name.
  4. Toggle the Auto-Join toggle to off.

For scenarios like this, you’ll need to turn off the feature on a per-Wi-Fi basis. By default, Auto-Join is enabled. However, your setting will sync over iCloud. So, if you have Auto-Join disabled on iPhone, it will propagate to your iPad, Mac, and other Apple devices signed in to your Apple ID, as well.

For more help getting the most out of your Apple devices, check out our how to guide as well as the following articles:


Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news:

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Manage push notifications

notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications
notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications