Automatic Wi-Fi connections on Mac can be useful in certain situations. However, if for some reason you wish to prevent Mac from automatically connecting to a specific Wi-Fi network, in such cases, especially on older macOS versions, you need to delete the saved Wi-Fi network and password to stop the device from auto-connecting to Wi-Fi.
Prevent Mac from Auto-Connecting to Wi-Fi
Follow the steps below to prevent Mac from automatically connecting to a specific Wi-Fi network:
First, open the System Preferences window by clicking the Apple menu => System Preferences.
On the left panel, find and select Wi-Fi, then choose the Wi-Fi network you want to modify from the Network Name box.
Uncheck the option Automatically join this network, and from now on, Mac will not automatically connect to this Wi-Fi network in the future.
Additionally, if desired, you can configure the order of Wi-Fi networks to inform your Mac about the ones you prefer to connect to over others. Mac will attempt to connect to available Wi-Fi networks based on the order you've chosen, prioritizing those at the top of the list.
This article by Mytour provides a step-by-step guide on preventing Mac from automatically connecting to specific Wi-Fi networks. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below the article. In case your Mac encounters issues with Wi-Fi connection, check out the article on fixing Wi-Fi connection issues on Mac here.
