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Comment by fakename | Hacker News Reader

"Improved network selection logic so that your device connects only if there is a verified internet connection on Wi-Fi"

jfc, I can't believe this is just now being fixed. This has to be the most infuriatingly stupid thing about android. I don't have hopes of them adding the ability to intelligently switch from a weak wifi signal to a strong cell signal, but this is a step in the right direction. No more assuming I have no new emails/texts when I'm in an airport because my phone quietly joined a wifi network and is waiting for me to open a browser and log in.

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> I don't have hopes of them adding the ability to intelligently switch from a weak wifi signal to a strong cell signal, but this is a step in the right direction

Android (supposedly) already has that feature. From the about page for Jellybean 4.2[1]:

> A new setting lets you stay on mobile data and avoid nearby Wi-Fi networks with poor connections.

Weirdly this seems to be off by default. In Wifi settings go to the more options drop-down and tap Advanced, and it's in that list. Give it a try!

[1] http://www.android.com/about/jelly-bean/

I had no idea this option existed, and like you I'm surprised this isn't the default.

Thanks for posting this, you may have just improved my Android experience by quite a lot (just enabled this, need time to see how well it really works) since this is something I've been constantly annoyed by and didn't realize this existed as an option despite being a heavy Android user since Eclair.

I only noticed it because I got bored and looked through all the settings. There's also an obscure option to tell Android that a particular wifi point is a mobile hotspot (i.e. should be subject to the same data restrictions as the 3G/4G connection). I have no idea how many apps pay attention to the setting though. Bizarrely it's under data usage > more options > mobile hotspots, rather than being an advanced option on wifi networks.

It's a good feature, but I wish there was a way to disable it for certain WiFi networks. My Nikon camera can act as a WiFi access point so I can download images to my phone. But if I turn on that Android feature it continuously drops the camera WiFi connection because obviously there's no Internet connection available.

after my initial bitch-post, I noticed this setting as well. I turned it on, and will be really happy if this resolves my problem. weird that it's off by default.

For the benefit of those of us with crappy data plans, I assume. When I tell my phone to be on WiFi, I want my phone to be on WiFi.

ok, I turned this on. unfortunately it's overzealous.

I work in a pretty cavernous studio where I never have trouble getting wifi, but there's no cell signal. With 'avoid poor connections' turned on, it drops my 2/3 bar wifi signal in favor of a nonexistent cell signal. I have to disable this feature to get any service.

It's called Avoid poor connections, and yes, it's indeed off by default. :(

I'm gonna give it a try, thanks.

> quietly joined a wifi network

i would suggest not having your phone auto-connect to just any open wifi network, but that's just me.

Sometimes I will purposely log in to an airport's wifi network to use their connection. The next time I'm back in that airport, my phone remembers the network and automatically connects.

I guess I need to manually remove these one-off networks, but I don't think I should have to micromanage my phone like that.

there's probably some app to auto-forget or a setting to "never remember" specific networks (especially ones that require an intermediate EULA agreement, which i assume the airport has)

I don't know about L, but KitKat instantly "saves" every network you tap on, even if it's broken. I didn't find option to disable that (but then I'd worry whether it'd save passwords at all).

If you login to attwifi (at starbucks and other public places), Android will save and then auto-connect to any SSID named attwifi.

It happens with my own WiFi access point at home, too.

Samsung did their own enhancements to Android just for this problem. They have some sort of feature called "Smart network switch". The description says: "Automatically switch between wifi and mobile networks to maintain a stable internet connection.

> adding the ability to intelligently switch from a weak wifi signal to a strong cell signal

Yeah, it hangs on that tiny, unusable WiFi signal for dear life, even when it cannot move a single bit of data through it. Meanwhile, the GSM data channel lies there unused. :(

I live in a long apartment with thick walls, so there are lots of wifi dead zones. I'm constantly turning wifi on and off as I move from room to room.

"I can't believe this is just now being fixed."

I always cringe when I read a complaint like this. Every larger project has a long issue list, and it is perfectly normal that an issue that is super important to some ends up further down on the priority list of the team.

The Android team implemented a lot of issues and features over the last decade. Just because there is an issue that deserves fixing doesn't mean it is the most important task at hand.

It's a ridiculous hack, but here is what I do on Android:

Wi-Fi Matic saves the cell tower info when I successfully connect to an accesspoint, and turns on my Wi-Fi when I enter that area again. When I'm there, Wi-Fi Web Login replays a script that logs in to the captive portal webpage.

Great for travelling.

+1 for Wi-Fi Web Login. It's a great app I used to log into the guest network at my work to bypass filters. It even detects when a portal expires your connection after X time and reconnects again.

Based on over a month on Android L Preview, it's not working as well as advertised. Often I just drive by my home and my LTE connection drops although the connection is really not operational. I hope the final version fixes this as it's been years of frustration already!

This! I made the mistake of ONE TIME using the xfinity wifi hot spot and suddenly my phone became severely crippled as it would randomly try to be on some hotspot (configured or not) with that SSID.

Bummer. Is there no "forget this network"?

There is. Just long-press it and hit "Forget network".

+1. I always end up turning off my Wifi because of this and often forget to turn it back on when I'm home (which wastes my cellphone data).

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