can i tell my laptop which wifi network to use?

[mopinko]

every time i close the thing, it comes up talking to a network that blows. i guess it is my main router, which for some reason is super balky.
running on my timemachine wifi it is fine. go figure.

for about a week after the last system update it held on to the right network, then back to this bs.

is there a way to lock on, or to make this the first choice, or something?

[NYC_SKP]

1. Tell it to ignore other networks?

You have to do this one by one.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

8. that is the surest way.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. Dunno about Macs, but my Windoz machines go for the strongest signal...

but I can easily pop up a little window to change the connection and set a primary connection.

I would assume Macs have something similar.

[NYC_SKP]

3. Also...

Turn off "ask to join other networks"?

Not sure if that's an option as I'm in dentist chair on iPhone,

😷

[OnyxCollie]

4. There's a dialog button for "Ask to join new networks" in Network preferences.

What other networks are you joining? A neighbor's unsecured WiFi?

[mopinko]

5. no, on my lan.

i am not positive what the set up is, so i am no sure if this is the primary network, or a secondary router in the house.
dont know why a primary router would be balkier than a secondary, but that is what it seem to be.

i guess i could track this down, but i would still like to just lock it on that router.

[mopinko]

6. ok, think i might have found it.

i'm so lazy sometimes. with such a great brain trust here, it seems easier to ask my friends. my resident tech expert has left the building, so i get a little tied up in knots about these things sometimes.

anyway, in network preferences you can drag the networks into the order that you want them to hit. dragged the one i wanted to the top, and the one it keeps grabbing to the bottom.
will see how that goes.

you guys are the best, tho.

[NYC_SKP]

7. PS, the latest update caused a problem, and I found a fix:

http://osxdaily.com/2014/10/25/fix-wi-fi-problems-os-x-yosemite/

I went through the first steps only, "1: Remove Network Configuration & Preference Files", and it cured the problems on my shiny new MBP and my older Air.
The problems weren't there before, appeared on both machines around the same time.

Fix Wi-Fi Problems in OS X Yosemite
Oct 25, 2014 - 208 Comments

Wi Fi Troubleshooting in OS X Yosemite

Some Mac users who upgraded to OS X Yosemite have discovered a variety of wireless network connectivity issues, ranging from dropping wi-fi connections, to an inability to connect to the outside world despite being connected to a wifi router, even suddenly and strangely slow internet speeds. These network issues seem to occur most often on Macs that have updated to OS X Yosemite from Mavericks rather than those who performed a clean Yosemite install, which could suggest the issue has to do with improper network setting and preferences, or even a corrupted file somewhere. That’s a good thing, because it should mean a resolution is fairly easy to implement, as we’re about to show you.

http://osxdaily.com/2014/10/25/fix-wi-fi-problems-os-x-yosemite/