How to Quickly Change Wi-Fi Priority on Windows 11

Shave some time off of your tasks by prioritizing your connection

5 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

Share this article

Improve this guide

Read our disclosure page to find out how can you help Windows Report sustain the editorial teamRead more

Key notes

Most people never pay attention to the priority of their network connection as long as their Internet is working. Although it isn’t all that critical of a feature, it is one that can increase your productivity and overall time spent working in your home or office.

It’s one of the few things you may pick up when adopting a new operating that makes your time using the OS much easier and much more convenient for you, and the below guide helps explain how.

Does the PC prioritize Ethernet or Wi-Fi?

In most cases, Windows will automatically choose the best network to connect to. Usually, its priority by default will be Ethernet if it’s available because it’s usually faster than Wi-Fi. If only wireless connections are available, it will select the strongest.

However, sometimes, you may want to force a Wi-Fi connection over an Ethernet connection oruse both Ethernet and Wi-Fi simultaneously.

How do I change the priority of my Wi-Fi in Windows 11?

1. By manually selecting a Wi-Fi connection

You can manually prioritize your Wi-Fi by clicking on the Wi-Fi icon on your taskbar. A list of available network connections in order of strength will appear. Here, you can click on your preferred Wi-Fi network and connect to it.

The only downside is that it’s not a reliable method because when you turn off and turn back on your PC, this setting will not hold. It will change to the strongest connection, and you’ll have to keep changing it every time.

2. By using the Settings app

3. By using the Control Panel

4. By using the Command Prompt

5. By using the PowerShell command

How do I set QoS for gaming?

QoS is a very powerful tool that can be used tooptimize gaming performance. You can use it to ensure that important traffic, like gaming, gets priority over other types of data or when there’s anetwork congestionissue.

The most common method to achieve this is through your router. You can use QoS to tell the router or modem which applications and services are more important than others by setting priorities for each application and/or device connected to it.

The only limitation is that it applies to newer routers, and even then, you may still be unable to prioritize on an application basis.

If you’re not ready toupgrade your router, you’ll be happy to know that there existsbandwidth prioritization softwarethat can help you achieve the same results.

You should now be able to set your Wi-Fi priority in Windows 11 and connect to whatever network you want if you have multiple Wi-Fi connections without any unnecessary drops in connection or interruptions.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please do not hesitate to leave us a message.

How to Quickly Change Wi-Fi Priority on Windows 11#

How do I change the priority of my Wi-Fi in Windows 11?#

1. By manually selecting a Wi-Fi connection#

2. By using the Settings app#

3. By using the Control Panel#

4. By using the Command Prompt#

5. By using the PowerShell command#

How do I set QoS for gaming?#