How to Stop Android from Turning Wi-Fi On Automatically (2026 Guide)

If your Android phone keeps flipping Wi-Fi back on by itself, the cause is almost always one of three things: the “Turn on Wi-Fi automatically” toggle, Adaptive Connectivity, or a background scanning service (Wi-Fi scanning for location, or Wi-Fi Calling handoff). Disabling these in the right order stops the behavior on nearly every modern Android device, including Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel, OnePlus, and Motorola. This guide walks through each setting with exact menu paths for Android 14, 15, and 16 as of 2026.

Why Android turns Wi-Fi back on by itself

Android does not treat the Wi-Fi toggle as a hard “off.” Several background services can silently re-enable the radio without notifying you:

Turn on Wi-Fi automatically — re-enables Wi-Fi when you return to a saved “high-quality” network (Android 9 and later).
Adaptive Connectivity — on Pixel, Samsung Smart Switch, and some OEM builds, hands the device between cellular and Wi-Fi based on signal quality.
Wi-Fi scanning — keeps the radio partially active for location services even when Wi-Fi is toggled off.
Wi-Fi Calling (VoWiFi) — forces the radio on when you’re on a call and cell signal drops.
Third-party apps with MODIFY_SYSTEM_SETTINGS — launchers, power-saver apps, Tasker-style automation, and some VPNs can toggle Wi-Fi programmatically.

Work through the sections below in order. The first two fixes resolve this for the vast majority of users.

1. Turn off “Turn on Wi-Fi automatically”

This is the single most common cause. The setting lives in a different place on Samsung versus stock Android.

Samsung Galaxy (One UI 6 / 7):

Settings → Connections → Wi-Fi
Tap the three-dot menu in the top-right → Intelligent Wi-Fi
Toggle off Turn on Wi-Fi automatically
While you’re here, also toggle off Auto reconnect if you want full control

Google Pixel (Android 14, 15, 16):

Settings → Network & internet → Internet
Scroll to the bottom of the Wi-Fi list and tap Network preferences
Toggle off Turn on Wi-Fi automatically

OnePlus / Oppo (OxygenOS / ColorOS 14+):

Settings → Wi-Fi → three-dot menu → More settings (or Wi-Fi preferences)
Toggle off Auto-switch to mobile network and Turn on Wi-Fi automatically

2. Disable Adaptive Connectivity (Pixel) / Smart Network Switch (Samsung)

Adaptive Connectivity is Google’s feature that hands the device between 4G/5G and Wi-Fi based on signal strength. It will flip Wi-Fi on when it decides Wi-Fi would be better than your current cell connection, even if you manually turned Wi-Fi off seconds earlier.

On Pixel:

Settings → Network & internet → Adaptive connectivity
Toggle it off

On Samsung (Switch to mobile data / Smart Network Switch):

Settings → Connections → Wi-Fi
Tap the three-dot menu → Intelligent Wi-Fi
Toggle off Switch to mobile data

3. Turn off Wi-Fi scanning (location services)

Even with Wi-Fi toggled off, Android keeps the radio partially active to improve location accuracy. This is why the Wi-Fi icon sometimes re-appears in Quick Settings after a reboot or when opening Maps.

Settings → Location → Location services
Tap Wi-Fi scanning
Toggle it off
While there, also toggle off Bluetooth scanning if you want full control

On Samsung the path is: Settings → Location → Location services → Wi-Fi scanning.

Turning off Wi-Fi scanning slightly reduces location accuracy in apps like Google Maps and Uber. The trade-off is usually worth it if your battery is being drained by constant Wi-Fi toggling.

4. Forget networks that keep triggering auto-connect

If Wi-Fi re-enables only when you’re near a specific location (your office, a coffee shop, a neighbor’s router), that network is marked as “saved” and is pulling the radio back on. Forget it:

Settings → Wi-Fi → Saved networks (on Samsung), or tap the gear icon next to the network name (on Pixel)
Select the network → Forget

Repeat for any network you don’t actually want to auto-join. Open, public networks at airports, hotels, and coffee chains are the most common offenders.

5. Revoke “Modify system settings” permission from suspect apps

Any app granted the WRITE_SETTINGS / Modify system settings permission can toggle Wi-Fi on its own. Common culprits are third-party launchers, “battery saver” apps, Tasker-style automation tools, some VPN clients, and outdated system cleaners.

Settings → Apps → Special app access (on Pixel), or Settings → Apps → three-dot menu → Special access (on Samsung)
Tap Modify system settings
Review the list — revoke the toggle for any app you don’t explicitly trust to change phone settings

If you recently installed a new app right before the Wi-Fi problem started, this is almost always where to look.

6. Turn off Wi-Fi Calling if you don’t need it

Wi-Fi Calling (VoWiFi) will re-enable the Wi-Fi radio automatically when you receive a call and cell signal is weak. If you don’t use it, turning it off prevents that behavior.

Stock Android / Pixel:

Settings → Network & internet → SIMs → select your carrier
Toggle off Wi-Fi calling

Samsung:

Phone app → three-dot menu → Settings → Wi-Fi calling → toggle off

Wi-Fi Calling is genuinely useful if you have weak cell signal at home. Only disable it if auto-Wi-Fi is the bigger problem for you.

7. Check Developer Options for aggressive handover toggles

If you’ve ever enabled Developer Options, two switches there can affect this. It’s rare, but worth checking if you’ve exhausted the steps above:

Settings → System → Developer options (skip if not enabled)
Scroll to Networking
Turn off Aggressive Wi-Fi to cellular handover and Wi-Fi always on

8. Reset network settings as a last resort

If nothing above works, reset all network configuration. This clears saved Wi-Fi networks, Bluetooth pairings, VPN profiles, and mobile data settings — you will need to re-enter Wi-Fi passwords afterward.

On Samsung:

Settings → General management → Reset → Reset network settings → Reset settings

On Pixel:

Settings → System → Reset options → Reset Wi-Fi, mobile & Bluetooth → Reset settings

After the reset, re-add only the networks you want. Do not re-save public or open networks unless you need them.

What to check if Wi-Fi still turns on automatically

If you’ve worked through every step above and Wi-Fi is still re-enabling itself, the likely causes are narrower:

A system update reset your preferences — some Android and One UI updates silently re-enable Turn on Wi-Fi automatically. Check the setting again after any OS update.
Carrier profile — some carrier profiles (T-Mobile, Verizon, Google Fi) push “Wi-Fi Assist”-style settings that override user preferences. Contact your carrier if you suspect this.
Firmware bug — if the Wi-Fi toggle visually flips back on with no software cause, it may be a firmware issue. A cache-partition wipe (via recovery) or factory reset may be needed.
Work profile / MDM — if your phone is managed by an employer (Intune, Workspace ONE, MobileIron), the IT admin can force Wi-Fi on. Check Settings → Accounts for a work profile.

Quick checklist

Turn off Turn on Wi-Fi automatically (Intelligent Wi-Fi on Samsung, Network preferences on Pixel)
Turn off Adaptive Connectivity / Switch to mobile data
Turn off Wi-Fi scanning under Location services
Forget any saved networks you don’t explicitly want to auto-join
Revoke Modify system settings from untrusted apps
Disable Wi-Fi Calling if you don’t need it
As a last step, reset network settings

For most users, the first two settings alone are enough. Revisit them after any Android version update, because both Samsung and Google have a habit of quietly re-enabling them during major firmware changes.