If you want to manage networks and connect to Wi-Fi in Windows, we are going to explain everything you need to know. From simply configuring the system to stop searching for networks, to explaining how to share the signal with other devices so that they can connect to the Internet without problems. We are going to show you step by step everything you should do. You can use both the system configuration itself, without having to install anything additional, and also use free applications that help you better manage your wireless networks. The goal is to get good coverage and for everything to work properly, without the dreaded outages appearing when browsing or using an application.

How to configure Windows so that it does not search for Wi-Fi

After explaining the main reasons that could push us to prevent Windows from continuously searching for wireless networks, we are going to explain what we must do to do so. It is a very simple procedure and for which we will not have to install any additional plugin. We are only going to use the configuration of the operating system.

The first thing we are going to do is go to Start, look for Services and access. There we will see a large list of operating system services that we will be able to modify. All of them will be configured as they come when installing the OS, unless we have made any changes. We can also simply access it with the Windows+R key combination and run Services.msc.

When we are at this point, we must look for the WLAN Auto Configuration service. We have to click with the right mouse button and click on Stop. Later we enter Properties and Startup type, which will be marked as Automatic, we change it to Manual.

Once this is done, we simply have to click Apply and we will accept the changes. From that moment Windows will not be searching for Wi-Fi networks automatically. We must also restart the computer for the changes to take effect correctly.

In the event that at any given time we want to return to the previous state, we want Windows to search for networks automatically again, we just have to follow the steps that we have explained again and, this time, we change to Automatic again. We accept, we restart the equipment and that’s it.

What to do so that Windows does not connect to a certain network

After having explained what we can do to prevent Windows from automatically searching for Wi-Fi networks, we are now going to focus on preventing it from connecting to a specific network. It is possible that we do not want it to automatically access a Wi-Fi to which we have previously connected or even an access point that we have at home.

This can also be easily done. It can be interesting for the same reasons that we mentioned before. It is especially useful so that it does not connect only to a certain network that the signal reaches us weak.

Windows Settings

If at some point we connect to a network and now we are not interested in automatically connecting, we can avoid it. To do this we have to go to Start, enter Settings, go to Network and Internet, click on Wi-Fi and access Manage known networks.

There we will see the list of all wireless networks to which we have ever connected. It does not matter if with open networks or have a password. What Windows does is store this information to connect quickly as soon as it detects it. It is interesting to save time, but sometimes we may not want this.

What we have to do is find the network to which we do not want to connect. It can be a Wi-Fi repeater, for example. We click on the name and a small box will be displayed where we will see the Stop remembering button.

Simply by performing this step, Windows will stop automatically connecting to that wireless network. It will delete all stored information, something that also includes the password. If in the future we want to connect again we will have to click on Connect and manually enter the password.

Therefore, by following these steps that we have indicated, we can also prevent Windows from automatically connecting to a specific network. It is an alternative if we do not want it to stop constantly searching for networks, but we are not interested in being able to connect to a certain network. It is a simple and fast process, which we can also easily reverse if at any given time we are interested in reconnecting.

Why prevent Windows from searching for wireless networks

This is an option that we have in the Windows operating system. We can ask ourselves why we want to prevent it from constantly searching for Wi-Fi networks and we are going to give the main reasons. It is useful in certain circumstances and can also prevent some problems that may appear.

Battery saving

One of the main reasons to prevent Windows from constantly searching for wireless networks is to save battery life. It is a reality that having Wi-Fi activated on a laptop while we are using the battery can affect its useful life and that it lasts less time.

Therefore, one of the reasons for wanting to configure automatic network detection in Windows is to make the battery last longer. In this way we will avoid excessive consumption that could affect us. This is something that can be especially worrying when using a laptop, which is most often used when traveling or anywhere far from a plug.

Security

We must also take safety into account. It is a very important factor in getting everything to work properly. If we connect to an insecure network we may have problems. We don’t really know who might be behind a public Wi-Fi.

We can then say that we can prevent Windows from automatically searching for networks so that one that may be insecure does not appear and we connect. In this way we will only enter the really reliable ones, those in which we give it to connect manually.

Avoid connecting to networks with worse coverage

We could also connect to a network that has worse coverage. This is common if, for example, we have repeaters nearby and, when constantly searching for networks, it connects to one that we are not interested in at that moment because it has a poorer signal quality and we may have problems.

We will also avoid this if we decide to configure Windows so that it is not constantly searching for wireless networks. This way we will always connect to the one that interests us the most, the one that can give the best signal at that moment.