Bug 387920

Summary: [RFE] Implement network priority using the main network list, via drag-and-drop
Product: [Applications] systemsettings Reporter: Nate Graham <nate>
Component: kcm_networkmanagementAssignee: Jan Grulich <jgrulich>
Status: REPORTED ---    
Severity: wishlist CC: bugseforuns, jgrulich, kde, m.wege, plasma-bugs
Priority: NOR    
Version: 5.27.6   
Target Milestone: ---   
Platform: Neon   
OS: Linux   
Latest Commit: Version Fixed In:
Sentry Crash Report:
Attachments: priority connect

Description Nate Graham 2017-12-15 04:39:46 UTC 
plasma-nm's network priority feature is a bit hidden: System Settings > Connections > [the network you want to prioritize] > General Configuration > Priority

macOS has (or had) a more discoverable and humane system: the list of networks *is* the priority queue, and you just re-order the items directly, via drag-and-drop. This StackExchange answer shows it: https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/45703/257388

For a real-world illustration of the impact of low discoverability: not knowing about this feature cost me $15 tonight after I accidentally did a kernel upgrade using my expensive metered wifi hotspot, which plasma-nm did not de-prioritize in favor of my home wifi after I got home in the evening because I didn't know about the priority feature.
Comment 1 Jan Grulich 2017-12-15 06:07:38 UTC 
This is a nice feature, but not really easy to implement. At this moment we are definitely not going to implement this.
Comment 2 Nate Graham 2017-12-15 06:10:16 UTC 
Fair enough, I wasn't expecting instant service! :-)
Comment 3 Kai Uwe Broulik 2019-02-21 18:44:57 UTC 
I think what would also make sense to automatically raise the priority for a connection when you explicitly click Connect in the applet. This way when it picks the wrong AP and you overrule it, it would remember that and hopefully avoid that situation in the future.
Comment 4 Kai Uwe Broulik 2019-02-21 19:00:43 UTC 
or, perhaps some smartness:
- Have "Metered" imply a lower priority
- Take into account last seen/connected time, a random WiFi that happens to have the same SSID as a WiFi I connected to months ago shouldn't get prioritized over my home WiFi I connect to every day

Not sure how much that is in our realm of influence or just NM magic
Comment 5 Jan Grulich 2019-03-27 13:48:26 UTC 
This is unfortunately not in our hands, this "heuristic" would need to be implemented in NetworkManager. 

This DnD feature can be added to the KCM, but I don't have time to do it myself so if there is a demand for this feature then feel free to implement it and I will happily review it.
Comment 6 m.wege 2019-03-30 17:10:19 UTC 
Would it be possible to first implement a simple priority of encrypted networks over unencrypted networks?
Comment 7 Jan Grulich 2019-03-31 17:27:17 UTC 
(In reply to m.wege from comment #6)
> Would it be possible to first implement a simple priority of encrypted
> networks over unencrypted networks?

This is not something we can do in plasma-nm, all the logic is in NetworkManager, we just provide a way to configure it.
Comment 8 fire f. 2019-08-09 06:42:30 UTC 
Created attachment 122033 [details]
priority connect

may be implemeted already?
Comment 9 Nate Graham 2019-08-09 13:08:39 UTC 
This request is about implementing priority va drag-and-drop in the network list, not with a spinbox in the individual networks' settings.
Comment 10 m.wege 2023-07-04 20:05:43 UTC 
I wonder if it would be possible to fix/ implement this for KDE/Plasma 6?