How to Forget a Network in Windows 11

This article explains how to forget a network on Windows 11. If you’re experiencing network connection problems, Wi-Fi network conflicts may be at fault. If you force your device to forget old network connections and remove them from Windows’ list of connections, that may fix your problem and allow you to get online again.

How Do I Completely Forget a Network in Windows 11?

When you connect to a network in Windows 11, it remembers it for the future. That may lead to issues (although rarely) and conflicts which interfere with your ability to connect to the internet. If a connection has been misconfigured, the information Windows 11 remembers about the connection can also cause problems.

You can have Windows 11 completely forget a network to fix those issues. Windows 11 will then treat the just-forgotten network as a brand new connection. It won’t try to connect automatically, and if you choose to join, it will treat it as a new network.

Here’s how to completely forget a network in Windows 11:

1. Click the network icon in the action center on the taskbar.
   

2. Click the network status button (top left).
   

3. Right-click the network you want to forget.
   

4. Click Forget.
   

   If you select the network you’re currently connected to, your computer will disconnect from the network immediately.

5. Windows 11 will remove that network from its list of connections.
   

How Do I Force a Network to Forget?

The list of networks in the action center Wi-Fi menu only includes networks currently in connection range, so you can't forget a network that's out of range. If you want to force a network to forget, and it isn't in the list, you can do so from the Windows 11 settings app.

Here's how to force Windows 11 to forget a network from Settings:

1. Right-click the network icon in the action center on the taskbar, and select Network and internet settings.
   

2. Click Wi-Fi.
   

3. Click Manage Known Networks.
   

4. Locate the network you want to remove, and click Forget.
   

How to Delete All Networks in Windows 11

If you want to remove everything and start fresh, you can do so by using the procedure from the previous section and clicking on each network. That can be time-consuming if Windows 11 has a lot of stored networks, but there is a faster option that uses the Command Prompt. Using this method, you can have Windows 11 forget every stored network at once.

Here’s how to delete all of the stored networks in Windows 11:

1. Open the Command Prompt.
   

2. Type netsh wlan delete profile name=* i=*
   

3. Press Enter and all known networks will be purged. The removed networks will be listed in the Command Prompt window.
   

Why Clear Networks on Windows 11?

If you aren’t experiencing problems, then clearing out your stored networks is entirely optional. Windows 11 automatically keeps the information about networks it has seen, making it easier to connect to networks in the future. The list can get too long, though, if your computer has been around and connected to many different networks. Corrupt or incorrect network information can also cause connection problems.

The main reason people clear networks on Windows 11 is to fix network problems on Windows 11. You may find your computer repeatedly connects to the wrong Wi-Fi network, or you are unable to connect to the network you want. You can often fix connection problems if you have Windows 11, forget the networks you don’t want to use, or forget a network you’re trying to join.

People sometimes have Windows 11 forget network connections because they don’t want the device to connect to the internet. For example, a parent may wish to lend a laptop to their child for homework purposes but prevent them from connecting to the internet to avoid distractions. A simple solution is to have Windows 11 forget the network connection, so the user must reenter the Wi-Fi password to establish an internet connection.