Sometimes you may not be able to see the network you want to join because the name has been hidden (not broadcasted) by the network administrator. Next, you will learn how to join such networks on your iPhone. Once you have joined such a network, the next time you come in contact with that network it will join automatically without asking. You can also tell your iPhone to ask every time it joins a network; we show you how to do that as well. Sometimes you may want to erase or forget a network. Say you were at a one-time convention and want to get rid of the associated network—you’ll learn that here, too.
Why Can’t I See the Wi-Fi Network I Want to Join?
Sometimes, for security reasons, people don’t make their networks discoverable and you have to manually enter the name and security options to connect.
As you can see in Figure 5-1, your list of available networks includes Other. Touch the Other button, and you can manually enter the name of a network you would like to join.
Figure 5-1. You can manually enter the name of a Wi-Fi network, select the security type, and click Join.
Type in the Wi-Fi network Name, touch the Security tab, and choose which type of security is being used on that network. If you are unsure, you’ll need to find out from the network administrator.
When you have the information you need, enter it along with the proper password and this new network will be saved to your network list for future access.
Reconnecting to Previously Joined Wi-Fi Networks
The nice thing about the iPhone is that when you return to an area with a Wi-Fi network you previously joined (whether it was an open or a secure, password-protected, network) your iPhone will automatically join the network without asking you again. However, you can turn off this automatic-joining feature, as described next.
Ask to Join Networks Main Switch
There is a main Ask to Join Networks switch, which is set to On by default. Known networks are joined automatically, this only takes effect if no known networks are available. With this switch set to On, you will be asked to join visible Wi-Fi networks. If networks are available that are not known to you, you will be asked before being connected.
If the switch is set to Off, you will have to manually join unknown networks.
Why might you want to turn off automatically joining a network?
This could be a good security measure if, for example, you don’t want your kids to be able to join a wireless network on the iPhone without your knowledge.
Ask to Join and Ask to Login Switch on Each Network
Sometimes, you may find that a particular Wi-Fi network has additional switches that override the main Ask to Join Networks switch. Tap the little blue arrow
next to the network name to see details about this Wi-Fi network. Auto-Join and Auto-Login are set to On by default.
To disable Auto-Join or Auto-Login, tap each switch to set it to Off.
Forget (or Erase) a Network
If you find that you no longer want to connect to a network on your list, you can Forget it— i.e., take it off your list of networks.
1. Tap the Settings icon.
2. Tap Wi-Fi to see your list of networks.
3. Tap the small blue arrow
next to the network you want to forget in order to see the screen shown here.
4. Tap Forget this Network at the top of the screen.
5. You will be prompted with a warning. Just touch Forget and the network will no longer show up on your list.
