Contents
In this guide we will explain 4 ways to forget and manually delete a saved Wi-Fi network profile on Windows 10 to prevent your PC to automatically connect to it.
Every time you connect to a Wi-Fi network Windows 10 saves the password, security mode and other settings.
The primary goal behind this is to free you from entering the security key each time you connect to this hotspot or just reboot your PC or laptop.
Your PC can store an unlimited number of saved Wi-Fi network profiles that you have ever connected to.
You may no longer remember what kind of hotpot is ‘tp-link123’ but the profile will still be saved. And in particular cases you might want your computer to forget some of them.
Why Delete Wi-Fi Network Profiles?
You may run into some situations when you really need it:
- you want to delete the name of the Wi-Fi network you don’t use anymore
or that no more exist (for instance, if you renamed your Wi-Fi on the router, moved to another place or changed the job); - you wish to forget a dangerous or insecure Wi-Fi hotspot not to connect to it again by mistake in the future. For example, some Open neighbor network configured to sniff traffic and steal sensitive personal data – your content, account credentials and banking cards requisites;
- you goal is to hide a secret network and the fact you were connected to it;
- other mysterious intentions 🙂
The Easiest Way to Forget a Wi-Fi Network on Windows 10
I think, this common method will suit the majority of Windows 10 users. Follow the steps:
- Click the Network icon on the lower right corner of the desktop:
- Right-click on the network name.
- Select Forget:
Method #2. Forget a Wi-Fi Network from Settings App in Windows 10
Frankly, I don’t know why you might want to use this method except the situation if you still have a very old build of Windows 10 for some reason.
As you may know, the method #1 was brought to us by Fall Creators update released on October 2017.
Do the following:
- Right-click the network icon in the Taskbar.
- Select Open Network and Internet Settings.
- Click Wi-Fi in the right pane of the Settings.
- Click on the Manage known networks link:
- Select the right profile and click Forget:
Method #3 for Geeks and Admins: Use Powershell or CMD
If you don’t know, you can forget the wireless network using command line or powershell.
All you need to do is:
- Open powershell or command prompt. The best way to do it in Windows 10 is right-click the Start button and select Windows PowerShell.
- type netsh wlan show profile and press Enter. Now you will see all the profiles saved on the current computer. Find the one you wish to get rid of.
- now when you know the exact wi-fi name type
netsh wlan delete profile name=”wifi-settings.com“
Method #4: Delete a Saved Wi-Fi Network Profile via Windows 10 Registry Editor
Some people love to modify the registry. And deleting a wireless profile is a marvelous opportunity!
Here is what you do:
- Open the registry editor. You need to press Win+R, type regedit and click OK.
- Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\NetworkList\Profiles\
- Check the ProfileName value in each subkey under Profiles and find the key related to the Wi-Fi network profile you want to delete.
- Right-click it and select Delete to delete a whole registry key. In such a way you will remove all information about a certain wireless network and make your PC really ‘forget’ everything about it.
That’s it.
In the comments you may tell us which way of deleting Wi-Fi network profiles you prefer and why. Enjoy using Wi-Fi!
thank you very much for this information
If you are experiencing issue with saving Wi-Fi profiles (Windows asks for password on each connect) – try removing everything from “C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Wlansvc\Profiles\Interfaces”.
It helped me.