Turning off wifi on laptop

When and How to Turn Off Wi-Fi

An MIT graduate who brings years of technical experience to articles on SEO, computers, and wireless networking.

Jonathan Fisher is a CompTIA certified technologist with more than 6 years’ experience writing for publications like TechNorms and Help Desk Geek.

In This Article

What to Know

• Windows computers: Turn off Wi-Fi in Control Panel or from the Windows taskbar.
• Mac computers: In the menu bar, select the Wi-Fi icon and move the slider next to Wi-Fi to Off.
• Phones: For iPhones, go to Settings >Wi-Fi. For Android phones go to Settings >Network & internet >Internet.

This article explains how to turn off Wi-Fi and why you might want to turn it off. Instructions apply to Windows and Mac computers, Android and iOS smartphones, and routers.

How to Turn Wi-Fi Off on Computers

In Windows 10 and earlier, disable Wi-Fi through Control Panel. Another option is to turn off Wi-Fi from the Windows taskbar. Select the Wi-Fi icon and then select Wi-Fi to disable it.

Laptops sometimes have a physical Wi-Fi switch on the front or side that, if turned to the off position, physically shuts off the Wi-Fi antenna, which is the same as disabling Wi-Fi through Control Panel. Move the switch to the On position to turn Wi-Fi back on.

To turn off Wi-Fi on macOS, go to the menu bar, click the wireless icon, then choose Turn Wi-Fi Off.

Some computers have the option to turn off Wi-Fi with a key combination. Look for a key with a wireless icon, then press either the Fn or Shift key and the wireless key to turn the Wi-Fi connection on and off.

How to Turn Wi-Fi Off on Phones

Smartphones provide a software switch in the Settings app that turns Wi-Fi off. For example, on the iPhone, this is in Settings > Wi-Fi. If you use a different phone or tablet, go to the Settings and look for a similar menu that says Wireless Networks, Network Connections, or Network & internet.

For example, on Android 12 devices, go to Settings > Network & internet > Internet and tap the Wi-Fi switch to turn it off.

How to Turn Off Wi-Fi From a Router

Disabling Wi-Fi from a wireless home router may not be as simple as doing so from a phone or computer. Some routers have a physical button that turns off the Wi-Fi. If your router does, press it to shut down the wireless signal immediately.

If that’s not how your router is built, access your router’s administrative console to turn off Wi-Fi. The process isn’t the same for every router. For example, on some Comtrend routers, go to Advanced Setup > Wireless > Basic and turn off the Enable Wireless toggle switch. On many Linksys routers, disable Wi-Fi as part of the Wireless Basic Settings by changing the Wireless Network Mode to OFF.

If your router lacks a built-in feature to turn off Wi-Fi, fully powering down the unit will turn off Wi-Fi. Shutting down the router disables any non-Wi-Fi functionality such as the wired connections.

Remove Adapters and Antennas to Disable Wi-Fi

If a computer uses a detachable Wi-Fi adapter (such as a USB stick), removing it disables its Wi-Fi radios. Follow the operating system’s recommended procedures for detaching these adapters. Improper removal can cause data loss.

Some wireless routers feature external, detachable antennas. Removing these antennas hinders the ability of the router to use Wi-Fi but does not stop Wi-Fi signal transmission.

Turn Down the Wi-Fi Power

Many adapters and some routers have advanced configuration options to control the transmitter power of the Wi-Fi radios. This feature allows administrators to adjust a network’s wireless signal range (often used to reduce power and signal strength when installed in small spaces).

If your router does not support turning off wireless, change the transmit (often called Tx) power to 0 to effectively disable Wi-Fi.

If your wireless router lacks features such as the ability to adjust Tx power or disable Wi-Fi, upgrade the firmware to install new administrative options. Consult the manufacturer documentation for the router model for details.

Decide Why You Want to Turn Off Wi-Fi

Before you turn off your Wi-Fi, decide why you want to turn it off. Reasons to turn off Wi-Fi include the cost and affordability of the service, the need for a Wi-Fi connection, or the security issues with a Wi-Fi connection. You may not need to disable your Wi-Fi; hiding it from others could solve the problem.

You could also turn off Wi-Fi to troubleshoot if there’s an issue with your network, like when a website won’t load. Another reason is if the available bandwidth on the Wi-Fi network is affected by the number of devices using it. Disabling Wi-Fi, in this case, could make not only your device faster but also the devices that are currently using the Wi-Fi.

If You Want to Stop Paying for Your Internet

Disabling Wi-Fi does not reduce the price of your internet bill unless you’re on a pay-per-usage plan. If you want to disable your internet service and not just turn off the Wi-Fi signal on your device or network, contact your internet service provider (ISP) and discontinue the service.

You Don’t Use Wi-Fi

Turn off or disable the router wireless signal if you’re not using it. Some homes don’t have any wireless devices, and a wireless signal in these cases serves no purpose.

Another reason to disable Wi-Fi is when the network has a slow Wi-Fi connection. When Wi-Fi is slow, turn off the Wi-Fi on your tablet or phone and use your mobile carrier’s network for faster speeds.

It’s a Security Risk

If you’re not using your Wi-Fi or don’t need to use it, disable it if you’re concerned about security.

If your Wi-Fi is on all the time, and you never changed the default SSID or default router password when you first installed the router, it’s not hard for a neighbor (or someone sitting outside your home) to access your network by cracking your wireless password.

To keep your Wi-Fi on and have better security, change the wireless password to something more secure and block unknown devices by setting up MAC address filtering.

Another option for increased security instead of disabling Wi-Fi from the router is to disable it from the device. For example, if you use your phone or tablet in a hotel or coffee shop and are concerned that someone nearby may be snooping on your internet traffic, disable Wi-Fi on the device to ensure that none of your data is transferred through the network.

You Want to Hide the Wi-Fi

If you don’t want to disable Wi-Fi from your router but instead want to hide it so that it’s hard for someone to connect to your network, hide the SSID, which is the name of your network. The Wi-Fi doesn’t turn off when you hide or stop broadcasting the SSID. Hiding the SSID makes it difficult for uninvited guests to find and connect to your network.

On Android, open Settings and select Connections > Wi-Fi Calling, then turn off Wi-Fi Calling (flip the toggle off of blue to gray). On iOS, open Settings and select Phone, then turn off Wi-Fi Calling. Turning off Wi-Fi Calling on an iPad or Mac requires going through the FaceTime settings.

On iPhone, open Settings > Wi-Fi > the information button («i») next to the Wi-Fi connection > turn off Private Address. On Android, open Settings > select Connections or Network & Internet > select the gear icon next to the network. Select MAC address type > Use phone MAC > turn your phone’s Wi-Fi off and back on again.

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How to Turn Wi-Fi On of Off in Windows 11

This post shows students and new users how to turn a WiFi connection on or off when using Windows 11 PC.

By now, you know a thing or two about WiFi. If not, here’s a brief overview; WiFi is a wireless technology that allows your computer, smartphone, and mobile devices to connect to the internet.

Turning off WiFi will disconnect your PC from the internet without any other network connections to your computer. There are multiple ways to turn on or off WiFi on computers. Some computers have a WiFi button on top of the keyboard area, and others on the side.

The physical WiFi switch on your computer allows you to turn off or turn on your WiFi connection quickly. There’s also another way to turn off WiFi from Windows; we’ll show you how.

Turning WiFi on and off in Windows 11 hasn’t changed much. Similar to other versions of Windows, the process is still the same.

To get started with turning WiFi connections on and off in Windows 11, follow the steps below:

How to turn off or on WiFi on Laptop

As mentioned above, multiple ways exist to turn on or off WiFi on Windows 11. One way is using your computer’s WiFi button.

If your laptop has a physical WiFi button, you can quickly turn on or off the WiFi connection simply by toggling the button to the On or Off position or tapping it to disable or enable it.

How to turn on or off WiFi on Windows 11

If your computer does not have a physical WiFi switch or button, you can turn off or on WiFi in Windows 11. Windows 11 shows you app icons on the taskbar in the notification area.

You can see volume, Bluetooth, WiFi icons, and others. The taskbar should look similar to the one below:

If you don’t see the WiFi signal icon on the taskbar, simply press the Windows key + A on your keyboard to show Windows Quick settings.

The Quick Action settings pane will appear. On the settings, click the WiFi option on the list of settings to open the WiFi connection settings.

When the WiFi connection shows up, click the Disconnect to disconnect from the WiFi network.

To connect to WiFi, use the same icon on the taskbar above. Then when a list of available WiFi networks shows up, select the one you want to connect to and type in the correct password to join it.

How to turn WiFi on or off in Windows 11

Sometimes, you may want to disable WiFindows WiFi, not just disconnect completely. You can do that via the Windows System settings pane.

Windows 11 has a centralized location for the majority of its settings. From system configurations to creating new users and updating Windows, all can be done from the System Settings pane.

To get to System Settings, you can use the Windows key + I shortcut or click on Start ==> Settings, as shown in the image below:

In the System setting pane, select Network & Internet. From there, you can quickly disable and enable WiFi by toggling the button to the On or Off position.

Click the Advanced network settings below to turn the WiFi adapter on or off.

Then select the WiFi adapter and click Disable. If it’s already disabled and you want to enable it, click Enable.

That will turn off the WiFi in Windows 11. You can now exit the settings pane, and you’re done.

Conclusion:

This post showed you how to turn WiFi on or off in Windows 11. If you find any error above, please use the comment form below to report.

Richard W

I love computers; maybe way too much. What I learned I try to share at geekrewind.com.

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