How to configure the priority of WiFi networks in Android

Imagine that you have in the house two WiFi access points, one from the router and another in your living room, which acts as a repeater, and makes the signal that you don’t just get as far away from the appliance network has a good intensity for your devices when you’re there. Now imagine that you have entered into the house and before you go, the last network that you have connected was the repeater of the room. That means that each time you enter the house that will be the first network to connect to by default, but since the entry of the house you have no signal from the repeater and want to connect to the router. You could do this manually, but in its place you can prioritize the WiFi connection on your Android and let him do it alone by yourself.

How to set the priority to WiFi in Android

The function to set the priority to WiFi in Android a long time ago that it is included within the operating system, but for some strange reason Google still has not made available to the common users. This means that there is a native form of do it, but yes it can be done with a app of third-party or a custom ROM.

Set the priority to WiFi with an app

For the first case we are going to recommend an app called WiFi Prioritizer.

Download

Once downloaded and installed, the app we will be asked to access location permissions to know where we are at all times. Once you’ve granted, this will be the first thing that we see:

Main screen of WiFi Prioritizer

In this case we have two configured networks (my home, where I am at the time of writing this article, and that of my office). To set the priority of the same, it is sufficient to press on the button next to the network name and drag up or down to change the order.

With this already would be enough for WiFi Prioritizer works by itself, but if you want to tread more carefully you can press the button

in the top right corner of the screen. There you’ll have access to the settings of the application. From this menu we are interested in two sections. The first of them is Signal Strength to Connectthat will allow us to set the minimum signal intensity to connect to a network:

Setting the minimum intensity of a signal to connect to a network

The second is Signal Strength to Disconnectthat will allow us to set the minimum signal intensity for WiFi Prioritizer us to disconnect automatically from the network:

Setting the minimum intensity of the signal for disconnecting from a network

Once established these parameters, we can let the application take care of everything herself.

Set the priority to WiFi with a ROM

If you have a custom ROM installed on your terminal, such as, for example LineageOS, accounts with the function to prioritize wireless connections natively. To make use of it in your phone you’ll need to follow the following steps:

1. Open the settings of the phone.
2. Enter in the section of wireless networks, or network and Internet (the name may change depending on the manufacturer).
3. Tap WiFi.
4. Click on the button for more options (three vertical dots).
5. Enter the Priority option WiFi.
6. Configure it according to your needs.

You should be able to configure aspects that are very similar to those which we have seen with WiFi Prioritizer, such as the intensity of the signal minimum to connect and disconnect, or to what networks are going to allow or prohibit connections.