How to DISABLE (or enable?) Wi-Fi Sense in Windows 10

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

People have worked themselves into a frenzy, but I have discussed why I think this has been blown out of proportion. Although you should have selected whether or not you want this feature enabled when you first set up Windows 10, if you want to check your settings and change them either to share or lock yourself down, here are some instructions for you!


First, get in to Windows 10’s Wi-Fi settings. Simply use the search bar at the bottom of the new Start Menu and type wifi, then click “Change Wi-Fi Settings.”



If your Wi-Fi is enabled, you will see a list of available networks – at the bottom of that are two lines of text, click the one that says Manage Wi-Fi Settings.


From there, you can enable or disable sharing by simply using the toggle marked “Connect to networks shared by my contacts” (this is a two-way sharing option, so if this is set to off, you are not sharing).



If you switch it ON, that’s where the real control comes in to play. First, you will have the option of which contacts you want to share with. Maybe you have a ton of people in Facebook you wouldn’t want to share with, but maybe your Skype contacts are limited to close friends and family? Choose who you want to share with by checking the boxes (and remember, just because you’re sharing access to everyone on Facebook doesn’t mean they’re going to connect. Your friends who live a thousand miles away can’t magically access your files – this only allows them to connect to your wireless network if they’re physically close enough to connect!).



Lastly, remember that you still have full control over the networks you share. If I have 2 Wi-Fi networks in my home, many routers support features like this now. Perhaps even different bands, like 802.11G, N, or AC? I might have one that is private and one is for my guests. I can choose whether or not to share each network, individually. Below the checkboxes we saw above to share with Outlook, Facebook, or Skype contacts will appear a list of your networks. Clicking on each network will allow you to “Forget” it from your computers entirely (this will remove it from all of your connected Windows 10 computers), or you can Share it with your contacts.



There you have it! Wi-Fi Sense in Windows 10. Not so scary, is it?