Phones do this to authenticate faster to known access points.<p>Instead of waiting for an SSID beacon, they just broadcast their known networks and if one of them is in range, the AP will reply. It&#x27;s all driven by user demand to connect to their WiFi network faster.<p>Also, AFIAK, this is required behaviour to join networks that don&#x27;t broadcast their SSID (e.g. &quot;hidden&quot; networks).<p>I see two solutions to this problem, but neither are really tenable from a user perspective:<p>1) run the GPS all the time and geotag known APs[1]<p>2) leave the WiFi radio on all the time and passively listen for SSID broadcasts[2]<p>[1] doesn&#x27;t work indoors, or if the location of an AP is changed (e.g. 4G hotspot). Will also have significant impact on battery runtime, and likely to be abused by ad companies<p>[2] will have significant impact on battery runtime