Cable Blog

4 Ways to Automatically Disable Wireless Network Connection when Local Area Connection is Enabled

In today’s digital age, a wireless internet connection (WiFi) has become the standard mode of internet connectivity for laptops, netbooks, and even desktops when an Ethernet connection isn’t available. However, it’s worth noting that a direct cable connection to the router is typically faster than a wireless connection. Therefore, it’s advisable to use a network cable if one is readily available.

One issue that arises when enabling an Ethernet connection while on WiFi is that many computers continue to use the WiFi connection unless manually disconnected or disabled. This isn’t the most efficient way to manage your connections. Although Windows often prioritizes and sets the wired connection above the WiFi, there are instances where it doesn’t, and even manually setting the network priority doesn’t always work.

If the wireless connection isn’t in use, it’s logical to disable it until needed again. This not only avoids potential routing issues but might also save a bit of battery life. If you find yourself frequently switching between WiFi and Ethernet connections and think it’s a hassle to manually disable or enable the devices, here are four ways you can do it automatically.

1. Using a Visual Basic Script

Steve Wiseman from IntelliAdmin has written a Visual Basic script that automatically disables the wireless adapter when Ethernet is available and vice versa. To use this script, you first need to identify the names of the connections used by Ethernet and WiFi. You can do this by going to Control Panel -> Network and Sharing Center -> Change adapter settings, and noting down the names if they are different from the defaults.

Once you’ve identified both the LAN and WiFi connection names, download the correct NetSwitch vbscript file according to your Windows operating system from the links provided. Then rename the file extension from .dat to .vbs (e.g., NetSwitch.vbs).

To prioritize the wired connection and set the wireless connection as secondary, type the following command at the Command Prompt:

NetSwitch.vbs “Local Area Connection” “Wireless Network Connection”

This command ensures that whenever the wired network connection is connected, the vbscript will automatically disable the wireless connection. If the wired network connection is unavailable, the vbscript will then fallback to and enable the wireless connection.

This script requires administrator privileges to run. If you want to start the script with Windows, the easiest way to do it is to create a shortcut of the script, right-click on it -> Properties, and append the “Local Area Connection” “Wireless Network Connection” arguments in the Target box. Then place the shortcut into the Startup folder.

2. Lenovo ThinkVantage Access Connections

Many laptop manufacturers include some form of wireless connection monitor in their software, which may include the switching option. Lenovo’s ThinkVantage software stands out because it seems to work on almost all laptops and WiFi adapters, not just those from Lenovo.

Setting up ThinkVantage is a bit of a process, but it’s worth it. Here’s how:

  1. During installation, you will be asked which connections are to be supported by the program. It’s advisable to only select what you require. After installing and rebooting, you will be asked for an Ethernet location name. Click Cancel.
  2. On the taskbar, you’ll see a new network icon. Clicking on it will open the main interface. Click Create to make a new Profile and then give it a name. The network connection should be set to Best Available already, the wireless and wired adapters should be selected, and you can set a few options such as Ethernet duplex and Wake-on-Lan if you know what they do. Click Next.
  3. Because ThinkVantage Access Connections will take over your WiFi connection, you need to manually enter your wireless settings such as SSID and security type/password. Click Next.
  4. On the next window, you can set up more complex options like connection sharing, override TCP/IP settings, enable a VPN connection, and set a new default home page and proxy. Unless you specifically want to change the settings, leave them alone and click Finish and then Yes to apply the profile. Close the program interface.

Now you can switch between Ethernet and WiFi. The wireless adapter doesn’t actually completely disable, but instead, the WiFi’s radio is turned off, which is similar to what most laptop wireless Fn+hotkey combinations do. ThinkVantage Access Connections also has an option available to set up a wireless hotspot for other wireless devices to connect to.

3. BridgeChecker

BridgeChecker is another tool that can help manage your connections. However, it’s worth noting that it’s shareware these days, but there’s still an older free version from 2009 available on the internet. It does have a drawback though of not working properly on a 64-bit Windows, so it’s recommended for 32-bit systems only.

When you start BridgeChecker, it goes straight to the system tray. Right-click the icon to open it, and you will be asked for a password, which can be custom configured later on. The current default is 123. In the main window, select the Primary adapter from the dropdown, which will have priority over the Secondary adapter you select below it. There are extra options to choose whether to disable the second adapter or not and what to do when the Primary adapter disconnects.

Unfortunately, there is no option within BridgeChecker to start the program with Windows, so you will have to drop the shortcut into your Startup folder. Although it seemed to work fine in Windows 7 32-bit and enables/disables the WiFi on command, we did observe a few moments where BridgeChecker seemed to be causing an increase in CPU usage while running. Killing its processes stopped this. We can’t be sure whether this is a common problem or a local issue on our test laptop.

The fourth and final method of wireless/LAN switching is perhaps the most interesting because it requires no extra software, and is currently the preferred method we use on a few of our laptops.

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