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Command Prompt Wi-Fi Secrets: Add, Delete, Connect, All in One Article!
In certain situations, you might need to manually add Wi-Fi profiles, connect to specific Wi-Fi networks via the command prompt, or even set it up as an executable file for one-click addition.
This tutorial will guide you step-by-step through this process.
Adding and Connecting to Wi-Fi Profiles Using Command Prompt
Step 1: Open Command Prompt as Administrator
- Type
cmdin the Windows search bar. - Right-click on “Command Prompt” and select “Run as administrator”.
Step 2: Create a New Wi-Fi Profile
- First, you need to create an XML file containing the Wi-Fi network details. Here’s an example of an XML file:
- Open Notepad, copy the following content, replace it with your wireless network information, and save it as a .xml file.
XML
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<WLANProfile xmlns="http://www.microsoft.com/networking/WLAN/profile/v1">
<name>NetworkName</span>name>
<SSIDConfig>
<SSID>
<name>NetworkName</span>name>
</span>SSID>
</span>SSIDConfig>
<connectionType>ESS</span>connectionType>
<connectionMode>auto</span>connectionMode>
<MSM>
<security>
<authEncryption>
<authentication>WPA2PSK</span>authentication>
<encryption>AES</span>encryption>
<useOneX>false</span>useOneX>
</span>authEncryption>
<sharedKey>
<keyType>passPhrase</span>keyType>
<protected>false</span>protected>
<keyMaterial>Password</span>keyMaterial>
</span>sharedKey>
</span>security>
</span>MSM>
</span>WLANProfile>
The following lines of code can be inserted between </span>MSM></span>WLANProfile>.
<MacRandomization xmlns="http://www.microsoft.com/networking/WLAN/profile/v3">
<enableRandomization>false</enableRandomization>
<randomizationSeed>779804917</randomizationSeed>
</MacRandomization>
These lines of code are used to configure the MAC address randomization feature in the WLAN profile. Specifically:
<MacRandomization xmlns="http://www.microsoft.com/networking/WLAN/profile/v3">: Defines the XML namespace for MAC address randomization.<enableRandomization>false</enableRandomization>: Disables the MAC address randomization feature. If set totrue, randomization is enabled.<randomizationSeed>779804917</randomizationSeed>: Sets the seed value for randomization, used to generate random MAC addresses. You can set your own numeric value.
These commands are primarily used to control whether the device uses a randomized MAC address when connecting to a WLAN, to enhance privacy and security.
- Replace
NetworkNamewith your Wi-Fi network name andPasswordwith the network password.
Step 3: Save the XML File
- Save the XML file to a location on your computer, for example,
C:\WiFiProfile.xml.
Step 4: Add the Wi-Fi Profile
-
- Use the command to add the Wi-Fi profile to your computer.
netsh wlan add profile filename="C:\WiFiProfile.xml"
Open Notepad, write this command, save it as a .bat file, and place it in the same folder as the configured XML file. Note the file saving location for the command. You can then directly double-click the executable file to add the wireless network.
netsh wlan add profile filename="D:\WiFi-GUESTWIFI.xml"
Save this line of code as a .bat file. Like this, you can automatically add Wi-Fi by simply inserting a USB drive and double-clicking.
Step 5: Connect to the Wi-Fi Network
-
- Use the command to connect to the Wi-Fi network.
netsh wlan connect name="NetworkName"
- Replace
NetworkNamewith your Wi-Fi network name.
This process will add the Wi-Fi network to your list of known networks and automatically connect to it.
Deleting Multiple Wi-Fi Networks Using Command Prompt
Over time, your computer may store many Wi-Fi network profiles from past connections. If you want to clean up these profiles, you can easily do so using the command prompt.
Step 1: Open Command Prompt as Administrator
- Type
cmdin the Windows search bar. - Right-click on “Command Prompt” and select “Run as administrator”.
Step 2: List All Known Wi-Fi Networks
-
- Enter the command and press Enter.
netsh wlan show profiles
- This will display a list of all Wi-Fi networks your computer has connected to.
Step 3: Delete Multiple Wi-Fi Networks
-
- This command will delete all known Wi-Fi profiles at once.
netsh wlan delete profile name="*"
Open Notepad, write this command, save it as a .bat file, and you can then directly double-click the executable file to clear all wireless networks.
- If you want to delete specific networks, you can list them individually:
netsh wlan delete profile name="NetworkName1"netsh wlan delete profile name="NetworkName2"netsh wlan delete profile name="NetworkName3"
- Replace
"NetworkName1","NetworkName2", and"NetworkName3"with the actual names of the networks you want to delete.
Step 4: Confirm Deletion
- You should see a message confirming that the profiles have been deleted.

