How to Forget a Wi-Fi Network on Mac and Reconnect Fresh

Every Wi-Fi network your Mac joins is remembered forever: home, office, hotels, that café from two years ago. Most of the time this is convenient, but a remembered network can also cause trouble — your Mac clings to a weak signal, joins the wrong network, or keeps reusing damaged settings that make the connection unreliable. Forgetting a network wipes its saved password and settings so you can join again completely fresh. This guide shows how to forget networks on modern and older macOS, how to stop auto-joining networks you still need saved, and how to remove networks synced from your iPhone.

Quick Answer

Open System Settings, then Wi-Fi. Click Details beside the network name, choose “Forget This Network,” and confirm. To remove a network you are not currently connected to, scroll to the Known Networks list in the same Wi-Fi settings, click the more-options button beside it, and choose “Forget This Network.” The Mac deletes the saved password and settings; rejoin later by selecting the network and typing the password again.

Why You Would Forget a Network

Forgetting is the standard first fix for several everyday problems:

• Stubborn connection faults. A saved profile with outdated security settings or a bad address assignment makes the same error every time. Forgetting forces a clean start.
• The router password changed. If the saved password no longer matches, the Mac may fail silently or loop. Forgetting and rejoining with the new password is the fastest cure.
• Too many similar networks. In flats and offices, several same-named or neighbouring networks compete. Removing the ones you never use stops the Mac hopping to a weak signal.
• Privacy and tidiness. A long list of old hotels and airports is a record of where you have been. Pruning it costs nothing.
• Selling or lending the Mac. Forgetting your networks before handing the Mac over protects your passwords.

Forget the Network You Are Connected To (Modern macOS)

These steps apply to macOS Ventura and later, including the current versions:

1. Open System Settings from the Apple menu.
2. Click Wi-Fi in the sidebar.
3. Find your connected network at the top and click the Details button beside it.
4. Click Forget This Network at the bottom of the panel.
5. Confirm by clicking Remove (or Forget) in the warning dialog.

Your Mac disconnects immediately and deletes the saved password. To reconnect, click the network name in the Wi-Fi list and enter the password as if it were brand new — because to the Mac, it now is.

Forget a Network You Are Not Connected To

You can also remove networks in range that you joined in the past:

1. In System Settings, then Wi-Fi, scroll below your current connection to the list of available and known networks.
2. Hover over the network you want to remove and click the more-options (…) button or right-click its name, depending on your version.
3. Choose Forget This Network and confirm.

Remove networks that are out of range

To clear old networks you cannot currently see (the hotel from last year):

1. In Wi-Fi settings, scroll to the bottom and click Advanced.
2. The list shows every remembered network, including your preferred order.
3. Select a network and choose Remove from the (…) menu, or click the minus button where shown.

Apple’s Wi-Fi settings guide on Apple Support describes how known networks and auto-join behave on current macOS versions.

Forget a Network on Older macOS (Monterey and Earlier)

If your Mac runs an older system with System Preferences:

1. Open System Preferences, then Network.
2. Select Wi-Fi in the left list and click Advanced.
3. In the Wi-Fi tab you will see the Preferred Networks list.
4. Select the network and click the minus (–) button below the list.
5. Click OK, then Apply.

Just Stop Auto-Joining Instead

Sometimes you want to keep a network saved but stop the Mac jumping onto it automatically — a neighbour’s open network your Mac once joined, or a slow airport network:

1. In Wi-Fi settings, click Details beside the network.
2. Switch off Auto-Join.

The password stays saved, so you can still join manually with one click, but the Mac will never connect on its own. This is also the right setting for networks with sign-in pages you only use occasionally.

Networks Synced from Your iPhone

If your Mac and iPhone share an Apple account with iCloud Keychain on, Wi-Fi passwords sync between them. Forgetting a network on the Mac removes it from the Mac; on some setups the network may return when it syncs again from another device where it is still saved. If a forgotten network keeps reappearing:

1. On the iPhone, open Settings, then Wi-Fi, tap Edit in the corner, find the network under Known Networks, and delete it there too.
2. Then forget it once more on the Mac. With the network gone from both, it stays gone.

If your goal is fixing drops rather than tidying, note that forgetting and rejoining is step one of our wider guide on fixing Wi-Fi that keeps dropping on a Mac — work through it if a fresh join does not cure the problem.

What Forgetting Does Not Do

Forgetting a network is a gentle, narrow action, and it helps to know its limits. It does not change the router, reset your IP address while connected to other networks, or remove VPN configurations — if your connection problems persist on every network, the cause lies elsewhere (the wider fixes in our dropping-Wi-Fi guide cover those). It also does not delete the network from the router’s own list of past connections, which only the router’s admin pages control. Think of forgetting as giving the Mac amnesia about one network, nothing more — which is exactly why it is safe to try early and often.

Common Mistakes and Helpful Tips

• Forgetting without knowing the password. Forgetting deletes the password permanently. Check you know it (or can see it in the Keychain Access app under the network’s name) before you remove your only connection at a remote location.
• Expecting “forget” to fix a dead router. If every device in the house fails on the same network, the fault is the router or the line — forgetting on the Mac changes nothing.
• Confusing Forget with switching off Wi-Fi. Forgetting is per-network and permanent until you rejoin; the Wi-Fi toggle is global and temporary.
• Removing your employer’s network accidentally. Work networks may need certificates reinstalled by IT. When in doubt on a managed Mac, ask IT before forgetting.
• Leaving Auto-Join on for public networks. For safety, set open public networks to not auto-join, or forget them after each trip.

Conclusion

Forgetting a Wi-Fi network on a Mac takes under a minute: Wi-Fi settings, Details, Forget This Network. It is the cleanest reset for connection problems tied to one network, the proper way to respond to a changed router password, and good housekeeping for networks you will never use again. Keep the password handy before you start, rejoin fresh, and your Mac treats the network like a brand-new friend.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does forgetting a network delete the password forever?

Yes, from that device. If iCloud Keychain syncs the network from another of your Apple devices, it may return — delete it on the other devices as well to remove it completely.

Will forgetting a network affect other devices in my home?

No. Other phones, tablets, and computers keep their own saved copies. Only the Mac you perform the steps on forgets the network (plus any Apple devices it syncs with via iCloud Keychain).

I forgot my home network and now I cannot rejoin. What do I do?

You need the Wi-Fi password. It is often printed on a sticker on the router, in your provider’s app, or visible on another device already connected — on an iPhone, Settings, Wi-Fi, tap the network’s info button to reveal it after Face ID.

Can I forget all networks at once?

There is no single button, but the Advanced list in Wi-Fi settings lets you remove remembered networks quickly one after another. A full network-settings reset also exists, but it removes VPNs and other configuration too, so use the list method.

What is the difference between Forget and turning off Auto-Join?

Forget erases the password and settings entirely. Turning off Auto-Join keeps them saved for manual use but stops the Mac connecting automatically.