1. Modify Wi-Fi Preferences

When your Android phone comes within range of a saved Wi-Fi network, it might connect to it without prompting. It does this by default. However, if you don’t want that to happen, you can tweak the Wi-Fi preferences on your phone by following the steps below. 

  1. Open the Settings app on your phone and navigate to Connections. Then, tap on Wi-Fi. 
  2. Tap the kebab menu (three-dot icon) in the top right corner and select Intelligent Wi-Fi. 
  3. Toggle off the switch next to Turn Wi-Fi on/off automatically.  Alternatively, if your phone is running Android 11 or higher, you can prevent it from connecting to specific Wi-Fi networks automatically. To do that, tap Turn Wi-Fi on/off automatically and use the toggles to set your preferences. 

2. Disable Adaptive Connectivity (For Pixel Phones)

Enabling Adaptive Connectivity on your Pixel phone allows it to switch between mobile data and Wi-Fi based on what you’re doing. While this does improve your phone’s battery life, you may find it annoying. Thankfully, it’s easy to disable it.

  1. Open the Settings app on your phone. 
  2. Go to Network & internet > Adaptive connectivity. Then, turn off the switch next to Adaptive connectivity.

3. Disable Wi-Fi Calling

Wi-Fi calling is a useful feature that allows you to make calls and receive texts even when your phone is unable to receive a cell signal. If you’ve enabled this feature on your phone, it could be the reason behind Wi-Fi turning on automatically.  To turn off Wi-Fi calling on your Android, open the Settings app and tap on Connections. Then, toggle off the switch next to Wi-Fi Calling. 

4. Disable Wi-Fi Scanning to Improve Location Accuracy

Aside from GPS, your Android phone uses nearby Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth devices to determine your current location with pinpoint accuracy. This can also cause apps and services to enable Wi-Fi on your phone. Here’s how you can stop that. 

  1. Open the Settings app on your phone and scroll down to tap on Location. 
  2. Tap Location services and toggle off the switch next to Wi-Fi scanning. 

5. Prevent Apps From Controlling Wi-Fi

Apps that are permitted to override your phone’s system settings can enable or disable services such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, location, and others without notifying you. It’s possible that one of these apps is causing your phone’s Wi-Fi to turn on automatically at times. If you don’t want that, here’s how you can stop apps from controlling Wi-Fi settings on your Android. 

  1. Launch the Settings app on your phone and go to Apps.
  2. Tap on the kebab menu (three-dot icon) in the top right corner and select Special access.
  3. Go to Wi-Fi Control to view a list of apps that can control Wi-Fi on your phone. Toggle off the switch next to an app to prevent it from turning the Wi-Fi on or off.

6. Reset Network Settings

Finally, if none of the above solutions work and you can’t figure out what’s causing the Wi-Fi to turn on automatically, resetting your phone’s network settings may be your only option. This will restore all network configurations on your phone to their default settings and fix the issue for good. To reset network settings on your Android:

  1. Open up the Settings app and go to General management.
  2. Scroll down to tap on Reset. Then, select Reset network settings. 
  3. Hit the Reset settings button and follow the on-screen instructions to finish the process.  Once you complete the above steps, your phone should no longer connect to Wi-Fi networks on its own.

Your Device, Your Rules

It can be inconvenient when you’re trying to stay offline and your phone connects to a Wi-Fi network on its own. If you don’t mind enabling your phone’s Wi-Fi manually, employ the above tips to stop it from turning on automatically on Android. Similarly, if you find that your Android turns on Bluetooth without your permission, there are a few ways to stop that from happening.