How to Forget a Network on Mac?

How to Forget a Wi-Fi Network on macOS Ventura, Sonoma, or Later

Apple redesigned System Preferences into System Settings with macOS Ventura (13.0), so the navigation path is different from older versions. The steps below apply to macOS Ventura, Sonoma, and Sequoia. Check our how-to guides for other macOS-related tips.

Forget the Network You’re Currently Connected To

1. Click the Apple menu () in the top-left corner and choose System Settings.
2. Click Wi-Fi in the sidebar.
3. Click Details next to the network name you’re currently using.
4. Click Forget This Network.
5. Click Remove to confirm.

Your Mac disconnects immediately and removes the network from its known list.

Forget a Network You’re Not Currently Using

If you want to remove a saved network you’re not connected to right now:

1. Open System Settings → Wi-Fi.
2. Scroll down on the right side and click Advanced.
3. Find the network in the list. Click the menu button (…) next to it.
4. Choose Remove From List.
5. Click Forget to confirm.

How to Forget a Wi-Fi Network on macOS Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina (and Earlier)

On macOS Monterey (12) and older, the settings live in System Preferences rather than System Settings. The path is a bit more buried — and there’s a gotcha at the end that trips up a lot of people.

1. Click the Apple menu and choose System Preferences.
2. Click Network.
3. Select Wi-Fi in the left sidebar.
4. Click the Advanced button (bottom right).
5. In the Preferred Networks list, click the network you want to remove to select it.
6. Click the minus (–) button below the list.
7. Click OK to close the Advanced window.
8. Click Apply in the main Network window.

Don’t skip Step 8. The Apply button is what actually saves the change. If you close the window without clicking it, the network reappears the next time you open Network preferences — or after a restart. This single missed step accounts for a huge portion of “why won’t my Mac forget this network” complaints.

Quick Reference: Which Steps Apply to Your macOS

Not sure which macOS you’re running? Click the Apple menu → About This Mac to check.

Why Your Mac Keeps Reconnecting After You Forget a Network

You followed the steps. You clicked Apply. You restarted. The network is back. Here’s what’s actually happening.

The iCloud Keychain Problem

iCloud Keychain stores your Wi-Fi passwords and syncs them across all your Apple devices. When you delete a network on your Mac, if your iPhone, iPad, or another Mac still has that network saved, iCloud Keychain can push it right back.

The fix: forget the network on every Apple device you own — Mac, iPhone, iPad, and any other Mac on the same Apple ID. On iPhone and iPad, go to Settings → Wi-Fi → tap the (i) icon next to the network → tap Forget This Network.

If you want to go deeper, you can remove the Wi-Fi password entry from Keychain Access directly on your Mac:

Remove the Wi-Fi Password from Keychain Access

1. Open Keychain Access (find it in Applications → Utilities, or search with Spotlight).
2. In the search bar, type the name of the Wi-Fi network (the SSID).
3. Look for an entry with the kind “AirPort network password”.
4. Right-click that entry and choose Delete, or select it and press the Delete key.
5. Confirm when prompted.

This removes the stored password from your Mac’s local Keychain. If iCloud Keychain sync is enabled, you may need to do this on other devices too — or temporarily turn off iCloud Keychain sync during the cleanup.

For more Mac troubleshooting tips, browse the ChubbytIps how-to section.

The Apply Button (Older macOS)

On macOS Monterey and earlier, changes to the preferred networks list don’t save unless you click Apply in the main Network preferences window. It’s a separate step from clicking OK in the Advanced dialog. If you only clicked OK and closed the window, the change was never saved.

What to Do When “Forget This Network” Is Grayed Out or Missing

Three different situations can cause this — and the fix depends on which one applies to you:

1. Settings Are Locked (Admin Password Required)

On older macOS, network settings can be locked to prevent accidental changes. Look for a padlock icon in the bottom-left corner of the Network Preferences window. Click it, enter your Mac’s admin username and password, then click Unlock. The list should become editable. (Fing’s guide also covers this step if you want a visual walkthrough.)

2. Your Mac Is Managed by an Organization (MDM/Supervised)

Work Macs enrolled in mobile device management (MDM) may have Wi-Fi networks locked in place by your IT team. According to Apple, supervised devices may not have the option to forget certain networks. Contact your IT administrator — this isn’t something you can override yourself.

3. Your Mac Never Actually Joined the Network

You can only forget networks your Mac has previously connected to. If the network just appears in the available list but you’ve never joined it, the forget option won’t appear. Your Mac can detect the SSID but has no saved credentials to remove.

Alternative: Turn Off Auto-Join Instead of Forgetting

Sometimes you don’t want to forget a network entirely — you just want to stop your Mac from jumping on it automatically. Turning off Auto-Join keeps the saved password but puts you in control of when to connect.

macOS Ventura or Later

1. Open System Settings → Wi-Fi.
2. Click Details next to the network.
3. Toggle off Auto-Join.

macOS Monterey and Earlier

1. Open System Preferences → Network → Wi-Fi → Advanced.
2. Select the network.
3. Uncheck “Automatically join this network”.
4. Click OK → Apply.

The practical difference: forgetting removes the network and its password from your Mac entirely. Turning off Auto-Join keeps the password on file — you just have to manually select the network when you want to connect. If security is your concern (like before selling your Mac), forget it. If you just find it annoying to auto-connect somewhere, turning off Auto-Join is enough.

Forget Networks Before Selling Your Mac

If you’re selling or giving away your Mac, forgetting saved Wi-Fi networks is part of the cleanup — but there’s a step most guides miss.

When you connect to Wi-Fi during macOS recovery mode, your Mac stores that network’s password in NVRAM (non-volatile RAM). Erasing your drive and reinstalling macOS doesn’t clear NVRAM, so a new owner could potentially access your home network from recovery mode.

On Intel Macs, you can clear NVRAM manually:

1. Shut down your Mac completely.
2. Press the power button.
3. Immediately hold Command + Option + P + R simultaneously.
4. Keep holding for about 20 seconds (you may hear the startup chime twice, or see the Apple logo appear and disappear).
5. Release the keys and let the Mac start normally.

On Apple Silicon Macs (M1, M2, M3, M4 series), this manual reset isn’t necessary and doesn’t apply — Apple confirms that these Macs handle NVRAM differently and reset it automatically.

For a complete pre-sale checklist, Apple’s official guide covers what to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac. More device-prep tips are available in the ChubbytIps how-to section.

Power User Method: Remove a Network via Terminal

If you’re comfortable with the command line, macOS includes a built-in tool called networksetup that can remove saved networks without touching the GUI. This is useful for bulk removal or when System Settings isn’t cooperating.

Open Terminal (Applications → Utilities) and run:

sudo networksetup -removepreferredwirelessnetwork en0 "YourNetworkName"

Replace "YourNetworkName" with the exact SSID of the network (it’s case-sensitive). The en0 refers to the Wi-Fi interface — on most Macs this is correct, but you can verify yours by running:

networksetup -listallhardwareports

Look for the entry labeled “Wi-Fi” and note the corresponding Device name (en0, en1, etc.). The sudo command will prompt for your admin password.

The networksetup utility has been part of macOS since OS X Leopard, so this command works on any supported Mac. See the full list of commands by running man networksetup in Terminal.