Automatically switch to the best Wi-Fi access point (network) in Windows

Windows 10 and 11 have a built-in feature that automatically switches to a Wi-Fi access point with the same SSID but the strongest available signal. This avoids situations where a Windows device continues to use a Wi-Fi network with a weak signal even though a stronger one is available.

The feature that automatically selects the wireless access point with the best signal in Windows is called AutoSwitch. To enable it for a WLAN adapter

1. Open the Network Connections control panel ( ncpa.cpl )
2. Click on the Wi-Fi connection and select Status
3. Click the Wireless Properties button and enable the Look for other wireless networks while connected to this network option.

Once AutoSwitch is enabled for a network adapter, Windows will automatically switch to the network with the best signal strength.

You can also enable or disable auto-switching for a specific WLAN profile from the command line using the command netsh wlan .

List saved Wi-Fi profiles in Windows :

netsh wlan show profiles

Display settings for a specific profile:

netsh wlan show profile name=WKS_20F5

In the Profile Information section, you can see that auto-switching is disabled:

AutoSwitch : Do not switch to other networks

To enable the AutoSwitch option for a specific network profile, run:

netsh wlan set profileparameter name=Xiaomi_20F5 autoswitch=Yes

This will change the settings to:

AutoSwitch: Switch to more preferred network if possible

In the network adapter driver settings, you can configure how aggressively the client switches when roaming. This option is called roaming aggressiveness ( or roaming sensitivity ). Its availability depends on the network card model and the driver used.

1. Open the properties of your wireless network adapter and go to the Advanced tab.
2. In the network adapter properties, find the Roaming Aggressiveness parameter (in our example, this is the Realtek network adapter)
3. Select a sensitivity level from 1 to 6 in the drop-down menu (how aggressively the adapter should switch to a network with a better signal). At the highest sensitivity level, the device will continuously monitor the Wi-Fi network quality. If any deterioration occurs, it will attempt to find an access point with a better signal.

The current sensitivity level for Wi-Fi roaming of a WLAN adapter can be displayed using PowerShell:

Get-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty -Name "Wi-Fi" | ft DisplayName, DisplayValue, ValidDisplayValues

The command will display both the current Roaming Aggressiveness value and the allowed values.

Roaming Aggressiveness 1. Lowest {1. Lowest, 2. Medium-low, 3. Medium, 4. Medium-High...}

If you need to change the current auto-switch sensitivity value, use the command:

Set-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty -Name "Wi-Fi" -DisplayName "Roaming Aggressiveness" -DisplayValue "4. Medium-High"

The auto-switching and roaming aggressiveness options discussed in Windows can improve the quality of user connections in seamless Wi-Fi networks.