How do I hide the hidden networks button?

[Brickman7713]

Hi There,
Does anyone know if there is a way to hide the hidden network button. See sceenshot

Thanks

 

[caperjack]

hi, what device are you using ,laptop ,or notebook, or tablet .
the only way I know is to set the router it belongs to don't broadcast ssid,you do this by going into the routers setting ,using its IP address usually shown on the bottom of the router ,I have never had to do this myself ,but I think from what I read ,it will still show the icon just no name,if that network isn't yours then iam not sure but I think there are other ways of blocking it,like setting wifi to only show secure or unsecure ,easiest thing is just google what you want and it should find answers and descriptions of what you want to do .

 

[oneeyed]

There is a solution if you always use the same Network. If you regularly change your wi-fi network, while travelling or something else, don't follow this procedure.

Open a Command Prompt as Administrator, and type :

netsh wlan add filter permission=denyall networktype=infrastructure
netsh wlan add filter permission=denyall networktype=adhoc
netsh wlan set blockednetworks display=hide
netsh wlan add filter permission=allow ssid=??? networktype=infrastructure   (replace ??? with your ssid)

The first 2 lines block all wi-fi networks. Meaning you can't connect to any of them anymore.
The 3rd line hides them.
The fourth line adds an allowed network, which will be the only one showing up.
Replace the question marks with the exact name of the network you usually connect to.

Here are the commands to reset everything back to default :

netsh wlan delete filter permission=denyall networktype=infrastructure
netsh wlan delete filter permission=denyall networktype=adhoc
netsh wlan set blockednetworks display=show

More information on netsh wlan at : Netsh Commands for Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) in Windows Server 2008

 

[broe23]

Hi There,
Does anyone know if there is a way to hide the hidden network button. See sceenshot

Thanks

Hidden, just means that it is not brodcasting an SSID. There is really no way to hide someone else's network Wif,that they seem to think that a Hiden SSID is going to not keep people from finding them.

It is like taking the house numbers off of your house. It is still physically there. Everyone can still see it.

 

[Brickman7713]

So there is no way not to show that button?

 

[caperjack]

So there is no way not to show that button?

I think there is but we need to know if that connection is yours or a neighbours ,or what

also you didn't answer any of the other question ,like what device you are using when you see this button

 

[Brickman7713]

Sorry about that, I am using a windows 8.1 pro Lenovo laptop. And the network is a hotspot coming from my Android tablet.

 

[caperjack]

thanks for the info ,now maybe someone has an answer because I sure don't ,didn't even know you could pick up a network like that,lol

 

[broe23]

So there is no way not to show that button?

Again, that is not a button. It is just a signal indicator, indicating that the wifi on your laptop, is picking up a wifi signal.

 

[broe23]

thanks for the info ,now maybe someone has an answer because I sure don't ,didn't even know you could pick up a network like that,lol

We have answered your question in the same way. Again, there is no way to hide a Network signal that does not have an SSID associated with it.

Also, adding the "lol" at the end, makes it appear that you think this is a joke. Unless you wish to be serious about your questions. You will not get ignored if you add a "lol", or treat a question or answer as some joke.

 

[caperjack]

thanks for the info ,now maybe someone has an answer because I sure don't ,didn't even know you could pick up a network like that,lol

We have answered your question in the same way. Again, there is no way to hide a Network signal that does not have an SSID associated with it.

Also, adding the "lol" at the end, makes it appear that you think this is a joke. Unless you wish to be serious about your questions. You will not get ignored if you add a "lol", or treat a question or answer as some joke.

the lol was meant at me, not you or the question ,sorry you miss read my posts ,the fact that I didn't even know that a computer could pick up a hot spot from a tablet is funny to me I guess ,lol ,

 

[Kari]

Although the question has already been answered, it seems that the OP has not fully understood the answers given. Let's try to clarify this:

• Windows 8 / 8.1 shows in Charms Bar / Connections all networks which are available, regardless if a connection to any of these networks is currently active and regardless if a connection to any of available networks has never been established.
• When a network is shown as Hidden, it simply means that the its SSID has been hidden in router / network settings. This does not mean that the network is not available, user can connect to this network if user knows the SSID and passphrase / key. Because the network is available although hidden, it will be shown.
• There's no other way to disable showing available WiFi networks than to turn WiFi off. User cannot select which of the available networks are shown and which not.

Kari

 

[adamf]

We have answered your question in the same way. Again, there is no way to hide a Network signal that does not have an SSID associated with it.

Yes there is. OneEyed answered it in post number 3.

• There's no other way to disable showing available WiFi networks than to turn WiFi off. User cannot select which of the available networks are shown and which not.

Kari

I just tested OneEyes answer and it works fine.


Edit - no idea why you would want to do it though....

 

[oneeyed]

We have answered your question in the same way. Again, there is no way to hide a Network signal that does not have an SSID associated with it.

Yes there is. OneEyed answered it in post number 3.

• There's no other way to disable showing available WiFi networks than to turn WiFi off. User cannot select which of the available networks are shown and which not.

Kari

I just tested OneEyes answer and it works fine.Edit - no idea why you would want to do it though....

It's used when you don't want your employees to connect to a wi-fi network other than the company's.

And yes my solution works, and the OP/others completely ignore it saying you can't hide them, when you clearly can...

Not sure why people completely ignore my posts sometimes when they actually include the answer... It's not the first time it's happened. Feels like I'm in the Twilight Zone or something, LOL. I debated with myself about posting screenshots with a before/after my solution, but since everyone seemed to continue to ignore my post I gave up.

Anyway here they are :
Before (notice there is a hidden network showing up) :

After (only one network shows, everything else is hidden) :

 

[Kari]

That is a good and valid solution for a work laptop, usually belonging to the employer. However for a private user who occasionally connects to different Wifi networks it is not very practical.

My previous post was and is targeted to these private users who need to / want to use different WiFi networks.