Is there a way to ignore the neighbour's wifi AP?

Technology and Internet
#1

Whenever my router drops connection to the net, my computer/ipad/whatever persists in connecting to my neighbour’s telstra air/fon and I don’t want it to. Its worse than useless. and when the router reconnects, I don’t get it back.

I have told computer/ipad/etc to forget the connection but the next time theres an issue, away we go. The thing is, you don’t know that you’ve been kicked next door, and everything is slow as a wet week, and you start getting cranky about your RSP and its not them at all.

So, is there any way to permanently forget a connection?

#2

Google is your friend.

Tried this? macos - How do I "blacklist" a wireless network on my Mac? - Ask Different

Not sure if this will sync to the iPad, can only try.

#3

I know on macOS and iOS I can “forget this network” and check “don’t connect automatically”.

#4

I don’t see a “don’t connect automatically” on my iPad, but I do have the slider for Joining known networks automatically already off, which means that the Fon and Telstra Air networks should never be joined, but it happens anyway.

#5

@andyb it doesnt work for ipad, I’ll take a look at the macbook and mini, thanks.

#6

While I’ve heard of iOS devices connecting to open, unsecured, Wi-Fi networks before — that the owner swears black and blue that they have never connected to before, or even seen — I’ve never had this particular problem personally, so I have a hard time believing that you iOS device will connect, totally unprompted, to an open unsecured network that just happens to be in range, especially if you have the setting to Ask to Join Networks turned off.

But once you’re connected, have you tried turning off auto-join as per this Apple support article?

#7

Of course you do. It doesnt “just happen to be”, its my next door neighbour.

Lets forget about it eh? The others have made suggestions which I have rechecked and if you dont believe me… meh.

#8

On your Mac have you checked what order of priority your wifi networks are in? I wonder if the fon network has priority over your own. I’m thinking if you put your own at the top of the list that it might sync the priority across your devices

#9

Yes I have done that but it doesnt sync. Its OK, I’ll deal with it as it arises each time. At least it doesnt happen all the time. She doesnt keep her router on 24/7

#10

Last suggestion… What if you deactivate Telstra Air on your Telstra Gateway? I’m thinking if you opt out it won’t be able to connect to Air hotspots

#11

But that’s what I’m saying — iOS devices don’t just connect to random unsecured networks because they have nothing better to do. Spontaneous connections to open unsecured networks isn’t a thing; at some point, you would have told your device to connect to a “Telstra Air”, “Fon”, or whatever wireless network you find your iOS device connecting to when your Wi-Fi isn’t available.

While there’s no way on iOS to display the list of networks your device has connected to, you can reset network settings which will wipe all of the known wireless networks from your device.

From that point on, provided you’re not using iCloud Keychain to sync known Wi-Fi network passwords between devices, your iOS device will only connect to networks that you explicitly tell it to, either by entering the password if it’s a secured network, or by tapping on the network name in the list.

Given that wireless networks are remembered by name and not by some other technical identifier, if you connect to any other wireless network named “Telstra Air” or “Fon”, at any point, then yeah, whenever your own wireless network isn’t available, it will look for alternatives. And hey, presto — it will connect to your neighbour’s Wi-Fi named the same thing, even if you’ve never connected to it before, although I’d have to test if security settings play a part (i.e. will it automatically connect to an unsecured version of “Telstra Air” if the only other “Telstra Air” Wi-Fi network you’ve connected to was secured? Not sure on that one.)

#12

I can imagine how this would happen - e.g. if the AP has a default SSID and is open or has a default password, and the iOS device in question previously connected to an identically named AP/SSID when originally setting up an identical AP at their address…

#13

You can “forget the network” so this clears it from the system to avoid automatically reconnecting. At least that works for me.

#14

Yeah I know, I’m just saying I can see how it would happen.

#15

Ask your neighbour to turn of Telstra Air in their setting modem?

Maybe use the suggestion that having it on means they are sharing their download speed with anyone connected via Telstra Air with their modem?

#16

Done a ‘Reset Network Settings’ on the iOS device?

I’ve seen similar wifi difficulties or bizarre behaviour in the past. Things such as a reluctance to connect to a known network found to be a result of flipped bits in user data - full device wipe and set up from scratch, problem disappears. Restore backup, problem reappears. Ergo, problem is with user data. Sledgehammer approach but it’s an approach.

#17

My devices do exactly this - all the time. I constantly find myself wondering why my cellular data isn’t working, usually while at the shops attempting to log in to a banking app on my iPhone, only to discover it’s connected to the nearest local “Internode” network.

Yet, I’ve never once told it to connect to an open network called “Internode”. “AppleWiFi” at home, “showroom” at work, and the family surname at the ex-partners place, but that’s all.

It shouldn’t happen, but it does. Doesn’t seem to be any reason for it, but I sure wouldn’t mind knowing if there is.

#18

Which telco are you with, out of interest? And you can be absolutely certain you’ve done a “Reset network settings” and it still happens?

Obviously there’s a reason for it — computers do what they’re told. When it doesn’t seem like it, it’s because we don’t know or understand the reason, not because there isn’t one.

#19

Vodafone.

And I have reset the network settings many times, although not in a while. It hasn’t been a huge issue, just a curious observation. After a while I just started switching WiFi off when not at home.

The phone itself is probably overdue for a complete erase and restore, probably if I decide to take it to iOS 12, so I’ll see what happens after that.

#20

And have you always been with Voda? Only reason I ask is some carriers can push out profiles that contain Wi-Fi networks that your device will then join automatically, which might lead to a case described here by yourself and the OP. I haven’t heard of that specific thing happening with Internode, but it’s a possibility.