How To Change Priority Of Wireless Networks In Windows 8

Windows 8 does not include the Wireless Profile manager that we’re used to in Windows 7. Of course there are many third-party tools to change the priority of the networks that you would like to connect to. But in this article, we’ll uncover how to do this without using any third-party tool.

First things first. As we know, if you have multiple networks in a single location then Windows will connect to wireless network based on its priority. Windows 8 automatically figures out the priority based on your behavior. For example, if you connect to a Wireless Network named as Network 1, this network is put at the top of the list. Now, when you switch from Network 1 to Network 2 with “autoconnect” check-marked, then this network is put at the top of the list. From now on, your Network 2 is the default connection that Windows will automatically connect to. You can always switch back to the reverse order if needed.

There’s also an alternative way to change the priority of wireless networks from the command prompt. You can view a list of Wireless Networks from command prompt using the below command:

netsh wlan show profiles

This command will output details related to your wireless networks. To change the priority, you’ll need the name of interface, and the name of the network you want to adjust the priority of. Once you note it down, enter the following command:

netsh wlan set profileorder name=”SSID name” interface=”WiFi” priority=1

From the above command, replace the “SSID name” with the name of network and “WiFi” with the name of your network interface. Once you do this and check back your profiles, then the new network will be set as the top priority. Type exit and hit enter to exit or simply close that command prompt window.

That’s it. Try it out.