A closer look at Wi-fi Settings

In this lesson for macOS Mojave, I look at the different Wi-Fi settings a Mac has including how to prioritize networks, remove networks, ask to join networks the Mac finds, and more.

Accessing Wi-Fi Settings
To access the Wi-Fi settings, you need to open System Preferences. One way of doing this is selecting System Preferences under the Apple Menu. Once System Preferences is open, click on the Network Preference Pane. To the right in the window that opens will be all the ways your Mac can connect to a network. I am going to focus on Wi-Fi, so you’ll want to select this in the list.

Selecting a Network
To select a network, click on the drop-down menu next to Network Name. Elect a network from the list. If the network requires a password, you will see a lock. If your network you want to access is hidden or not public, select Join Other Network at the bottom and type in the network name and password. Once you are connected, you will see a green dot in the list next to Wi-Fi. You can also set if you want your Mac to join the selected network automatically.

Ask to Join New Networks
If you want your Mac to ask to join networks that are unknown to your Mac, select Ask to Join New Networks.

Accessing Wi-Fi Options in the Menu Bar
To select Wi-Fi networks from your Menu Bar, select Show Wi-Fi Status in Menu Bar. You will see the strength of the network as well as be able to join another network. If you hold down eh option key and click on the icon in the Menu Bar, you will also be able to run diagnostics as well as see more information about the network.

Prioritizing Preferred Networks
When you have more than one network available to you, you may want to set which network your Mac connects to. To do this, click on Advanced… In the slider that drops down will be all your preferred networks. These are networks that you’ve connected to before. To make one a higher priority than another, just drag it toward the top. This will tell your Mac to connect to the prioritized network automatically in the future.

Adding and Deleting Preferred Networks
To add a network to your Preferred Networks, click on the ‘+’ a the bottom. To remove a network, select it and click on the ‘-‘. You can also deselect Auto-Join for any network, this will remember the network, but it won’t automatically join it.

Require Administration Authorization for Changes
You can set if you want to require administration authorization to create computer-to-computer networks, change networks, and turn Wi-Fi on an off.

See this Lesson Action
To see this lesson in action, take a look at the video above.