How-To

How to Forget a Wi-Fi Network on an iPhone or iPad

By Brian Burgess

Updated November 16, 2023

Need to forget a bad Wi-Fi network? If you’re using an iPhone or iPad, use this guide to clear out your Wi-Fi join list and stop rogue connections.

Your iPhone saves networks you’ve joined for easier access in the future. However, if you’ve previously connected to a network at another location, you might not want your iPhone or iPad to attempt to reconnect to it. Forgetting a network is also helpful in troubleshooting situations like App Store connectivity issues.

If you need to troubleshoot or stop rogue connections, you’re going to need to forget a Wi-Fi network on your iPhone. This will give you greater control over your iPhone’s connectivity, and the same instructions will work for your iPad, too. We’ll explain the process of forgetting a network on your Apple device below.

How to Forget a Wi-Fi Network on an iPhone or iPad

There are a number of reasons why you might want to forget a Wi-Fi network. For example, your iPhone or iPad could be connecting to a compromised network, exposing your data. Your device may have been connected to an open (and risky) network at a coffee shop or your downstairs neighbor’s network.

You might have multiple Wi-Fi signals on your own network and want to connect to a specific signal. You may need to troubleshoot app connectivity problems. Whatever the reason, forgetting a network on your iPhone or iPad is straightforward from the Settings app.

To forget a Wi-Fi network on iPhone or iPad:

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Select Wi-Fi from the list of options.
3. Tap the Info button next to the network you want to forget from the list.
4. Tap the Forget This Network option at the top of the screen.
5. Select the Forget button when the verification message appears.

Once you follow the steps, your iPhone or iPad will be disconnected from the network. Then, iOS will no longer attempt to automatically connect to the network again when it’s in range.

How to Reconnect to a Wi-Fi Network on an iPhone or iPad

If you need to reconnect to a forgotten network in the future when it’s in range, you can.

To reconnect to a Wi-Fi network on an iPhone or iPad:

1. Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Select Wi-Fi from the menu.
3. Choose the Wi-Fi network you want to join under the Networks section.
4. Type in the Wi-Fi network password and tap the Join button at the top or on the keyboard.

Keep in mind that once you connect, your iPhone or iPad will remember the network again, and you’ll need to follow the steps to forget it if it’s no longer needed.

How to Stop Automatically Joining a Wi-Fi Network on an iPhone or iPad

Sometimes, you might want to stop your iPhone or iPad from auto-joining a network you don’t want to be on. You can stop this behavior if you’re running iOS 11 or above (including all iPadOS releases).

To stop auto-joining a Wi-Fi network on an iPhone or iPad:

1. Open Setting once you’re within range of the network.
2. Select Wi-Fi from the menu and choose a Wi-Fi network.
3. Toggle the Auto-Join switch under the Forget This Network to the off position.

Managing Connectivity on iPhone

Sometimes, you need to troubleshoot a connectivity issue or want to prevent your iPhone or iPad from trying to connect to a compromised or congested network. In that instance, you can forget the Wi-Fi network on an iPhone or iPad using the above steps.

There are other devices you might want to forget networks on. For example, If you’re an Android user, check out how to forget a connection on Android. If you have a laptop, you may need to forget a Wi-Fi network on Windows 11 or need to forget a network on Windows 10.

If you are an Apple user, check out how to forget a Wi-Fi network on a Mac. And if a network password is changed, learn how to change your iPhone’s Wi-Fi password.