Do you connect to a lot of different WiFi networks during the week? At home, at the office, in cafes and restaurants. If you live and work in a densely populated area, you may find that some of these networks are so close together that your Mac sees them all at once.
This is great, except for those times when your Mac is connected to a distant, weak, slow WiFi network while a faster one is much closer.
Fortunately, there is a way to control the networks your Mac connects to.
To do this, go to Network Preferences. You can access this from System Preferences by clicking on Network or WiFi in the system menu and selecting Open Network Preferences.
When you reach this screen, you will be shown information about your connection.
Note: Make sure WiFi is selected in the column on the left side of the window.
One of the most important things when it comes to controlling which networks you connect to is the “Automatically connect to this network” box. This works exactly as you would expect and offers an easy way to choose which networks you want to connect.
While this screen offers a little control over the WiFi connection, to get into the regular settings, tap on Advanced.
Here you have access to a lot of information.
If you have the “Remember networks this computer has joined” enabled, the list of preferred networks will be populated with every network you have ever connected to, old or new, current or not. This list grows quite quickly, especially if you travel. It is a good idea to clear the list of random networks, such as coffee shops, frequently to keep it organized.
To delete a network, select it and then tap the “-” at the bottom of the list.
This list can also help you control the networks your Mac connects to by checking the priority of the networks. You change the priority by clicking on the network and dragging it up and down in the list of preferred networks. The higher a network is on the list, the higher its priority. Move high-priority networks to the top of the list and leave the rest low.
The fewer networks you have on the list, the easier it is to control them.
You can also choose which networks your Mac automatically connects to by checking the box next to the name.
Remember to press OK to confirm the changes you made or Cancel to cancel any changes you made.
