How To Remove a WiFi Network on an iPhone

Dealing with an iPhone that keeps trying to reconnect to WiFi networks it’s already “forgotten” or just generally acting wonky with WiFi can be pretty frustrating. Sometimes, the issue isn’t just about forgetting the network — it’s also about stopping that pesky auto-join feature that’s probably sneaking in and reconnecting without permission. If your WiFi keeps jumping back or you’re trying to tidy things up so your device only connects to the networks you really want, this guide might save a few hours of hassle.

1. Forget a WiFi network on iPhone

This method is all about removing the network from your device memory so it won’t connect automatically anymore. It’s useful when a network is just being stubborn or if you’ve changed your password and want to clear out the old info.

Doing this involves the Settings app, which is usually straightforward, but sometimes the network still tries to reconnect — especially if auto-join is enabled. So, after forgetting it, double-check that auto-join is off to stop that from happening again.

Here’s what you do:

Open the Settings app.
Tap on WiFi.
Look for all the networks listed under your WiFi options. You’ll see their names and the (i) icon next to each one.
Find the network you want gone and tap the (i) button beside it.
Tap on Forget This Network. It might throw up a confirmation—hit Forget on the popup.

Note: Sometimes, this doesn’t seem to work immediately. On some setups, the network stubbornly stays in the list even after forgetting — probably a bug or some cache weirdness. A quick restart of your iPhone can help clear things up and make sure it sticks.

2. How to Turn Off Auto-Join for a WiFi Network

If you don’t want to forget the network outright but just want to prevent automatic connections, disabling auto-join is the way to go. This is especially handy if you want to connect manually sometimes but don’t want the device to just hop on every time it’s in range.

This method helps because it prevents your iPhone from connecting in the background, saving battery and reducing connection surprises.

Here’s how:

Open Settings.
Select WiFi.
Tap on the (i) next to the network you want to modify.
On the next screen, turn off the toggle for Auto-Join. This means your iPhone won’t try to connect to that network automatically anymore.

Sometimes, toggling off auto-join doesn’t seem to work immediately — other times, a reboot helps. Also, keep in mind that if you reconnect to that network later, you’ll need to disable auto-join again if you want to keep it from auto-connecting.

3. How to Reconnect to a WiFi Network on iPhone

If you changed your mind after forgetting or disabling auto-join, reconnecting is straightforward. Sometimes, even after forgetting a network, your iPhone remembers the password or credentials and just reconnects if auto-join is enabled. Turning auto-join back on can make this easier or simply selecting the network manually does the trick.

To get back on a network:

Open Settings and tap WiFi.
Scroll through the list and find your desired network.
Tap on the network name and enter the WiFi password if prompted. Once you type it in and hit Join, it should reconnect.

Once connected again, the iPhone will remember the network and usually reconnect automatically in the future, provided auto-join is enabled.

It’s funny how some networks seem to just stay lingering in the background forever, even after forgetting. Of course, that can be a bug on iOS, or maybe the device just caches stuff weirdly — not sure why it works, but a restart or toggling WiFi off and on can fix it.

Summary

Forget a network directly in WiFi settings to block automatic reconnects.
Disable auto-join if you want to keep the network saved but prevent it from auto-connecting.
Reconnect manually by selecting the network and entering credentials.
Sometimes, a quick restart helps seal the deal.

Wrap-up

WiFi management on iPhone can be a little quirky, especially with how stubborn some networks can be. But generally, forgetting networks and disabling auto-join does the trick. Just keep in mind that iOS updates or bugs might cause some weirdness, so a reboot or toggling WiFi can often solve lingering issues. Hopefully, this helps clear up that constant reconnecting nonsense — works for a lot of setups, and that’s what counts.