How to delete Wi-Fi network settings in Linux

Table of contents

1. Deleting Wi-Fi network settings in Linux

2. How to delete Wi-Fi settings in Linux Mint (Cinnamon)

3. How to delete Wi-Fi settings in Ubuntu and Kali Linux (GNOME 3)

4. How to delete Wi-Fi settings in Xubuntu (Xfce)

5. How to remove Wi-Fi settings in Kubuntu and Manjaro (KDE)

6. How to open the Connection Editor window (Network Connections) in the command line

7. In which files does Linux store Wi-Fi connection settings

Deleting Wi-Fi network settings in Linux

In Linux, after connecting to a Wi-Fi network, the operating system saves the settings of this network and subsequently tries to reconnect to this network. Moreover, the settings are saved both in the case of a successful connection and in the case of an unsuccessful connection (for example, you mistakenly clicked on the network name and did not enter the password, because you do not know it – in this case, the connection will be saved anyway).

If you selected a different network to connect to or want to delete information about the Wi-Fi to which you connected temporarily (for example, in a hotel or airport), then this manual will help you. This instruction will show you how to delete a connection to a Wi-Fi network in Linux so that the operating system no longer tries to connect to this wireless point. Information about the connection to the Access Point, including the password, will be completely deleted from the operating system.

If you want to block a connection to a specific access point without deleting its settings, or you want to change the priority of wireless connections, the following instructions will help you:

• How to prioritize Wi-Fi connections in Linux
• How to disable automatic Wi-Fi connection without deleting settings in Linux

How to delete Wi-Fi settings in Linux Mint (Cinnamon)

Click on the “Network Manager” applet and select “Network Connections”.

Or in the command line, run the command:

nm-connection-editor

Select the network for which you want to delete the password and click the “Delete the selected connection” icon in the form of a “-” (minus) sign.

Confirm the deletion of the selected Wi-Fi network.

Everything is ready – now the password and other information about this Wi-Fi connection are deleted from the operating system. If you want to reconnect to this Access Point, you will need to enter the password.

How to delete Wi-Fi settings in Ubuntu and Kali Linux (GNOME 3)

I have not found a way to open the network connection editor in GNOME 3. However, all the necessary packages for removing Wi-Fi connections in GNOME 3 are already available. But you need to start by opening a console (terminal).

In the command line, run the command:

nm-connection-editor

Pay attention to the Wi-Fi networks in the window that opens:

Select the network for which you want to delete the password and click the “Delete the selected connection” icon in the form of a “-” (minus) sign.

Confirm the deletion of the selected Wi-Fi network.

Everything is ready – now the password and other information about this Wi-Fi connection are removed from the operating system. If you want to reconnect to this Access Point, you will need to enter the password.

How to delete Wi-Fi settings in Xubuntu (Xfce)

Right-click on the network connections icon (this can be a patch cord or a wireless network) and select “Connection settings”.

Select the network for which you want to remove the password and click the “Delete the selected connection” icon in the form of a “-” (minus) sign.

Confirm the deletion of the selected Wi-Fi network.

You're done – now the password and other information about this Wi-Fi connection are removed from the operating system. If you want to reconnect to this Access Point, you will need to enter the password.

If you do not have nm-connection-editor installed on your system, you can install this program, since this program works in Cinnamon, Mate, GNOME 3, KDE and Xfce.

To install nm-connection-editor on Debian-based distributions (Ubuntu, Kali Linux, Linux Mint), run the command:

sudo apt install network-manager-gnome

To install nm-connection-editor on Arch Linux-based distributions (Manjaro, BlackArch), run the command:

sudo pacman -S nm-connection-editor

After installing this program, you can quickly proceed to configuring network connections, including viewing their password, by running in the command line:

nm-connection-editor

How to remove Wi-Fi settings in Kubuntu and Manjaro (KDE)

The KDE desktop environment can be used by Manjaro, Kali Linux, Kubuntu and other distributions.

Right-click on the “Network Connection” applet and select “Configure Network Connections…”.

Select the network for which you want to remove the password and click the “Delete the selected connection” icon in the form of a “-” (minus) sign.

Confirm the deletion of the selected Wi-Fi network.

If you want, you can install nm-connection-editor, since this program works in Cinnamon, Mate, GNOME 3, KDE and Xfce.

To install nm-connection-editor on Debian-based distributions (Ubuntu, Kali Linux, Linux Mint), run the command:

sudo apt install network-manager-gnome

To install nm-connection-editor on Arch Linux-based distributions (Manjaro, BlackArch), run the command:

sudo pacman -S nm-connection-editor

After installing this program, you can quickly proceed to configuring network connections, including disabling them, by running in the command line:

nm-connection-editor

How to open the Connection Editor window (Network Connections) in the command line

With all the variety of distributions and desktop environments, in all Linux OS we used the same program with a graphical interface. Sometimes this program can be opened using the Network Manager → Network Connections applet, but sometimes there are no links to it in the graphical interface.

In any case, you can use the command line to open the desired application as quickly as possible:

nm-connection-editor

This command works in most distributions.

The nm-connection-editor program works in Cinnamon, Mate, GNOME 3, KDE and Xfce. Some of these desktop environments may already have the program pre-installed.

If you have a different desktop environment, you can try installing this program and using it.

To install nm-connection-editor on Debian-based distributions, run the command:

sudo apt install network-manager-gnome

To install nm-connection-editor on Arch Linux-based distributions, run the command:

sudo pacman -S nm-connection-editor

After installing this program, you can quickly proceed to configuring network connections, including deactivating them, by running in the command line:

nm-connection-editor

In which files does Linux store Wi-Fi connection settings

Files with network connection settings are located in the /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/ directory. If desired, you can delete these files and thereby delete network connections without using additional programs.

Note: in KDE Plasma, kdewallet can be used to store passwords, including for connecting to wireless networks. In this case, use the KWalletManager application to manage Wi-Fi network passwords.