Disable ALL WiFi Auto-Connect!

Windows 10 and 11 both duhfault to auto-connecting every "secure" WiFi network they can detect, relying on the absence of "remembered" key to block unintended connections. This logic is often expressed in forum threads, when folks post that they want to stop all WiFi Auto-Connect, rather than stepping on ants one at a time, or disabling the WiFi adapter.  

Even when command-line methods are offered, they all involve naming the specific WiFi network you want to "fix"; useless for control over all networks that may be discovered, other than the few you may want to actually use.

As it is, you can't access Properties for a WiFi network until it's connected, so you can't even attempt to UNcheck "yes, let's stick our fingers in the electricity socket without asking first".  Not having they key to connect may prevent unwanted connections, but also places that network beyond Settings control.  Entering a key to connect to an unwanted network may let you in to its Properties and thus ability to UNcheck "Auto-connect when in range", but now you have the risk of a "remembered" key.  Either way, you're forced to take more risk than should be the case.

Cannot connect to this network

I suspect this behavior may be a cause of the "Cannot connect to this network" problem.  In my case, I have a distant main router and a closer slave router; the slave hosts two WiFi networks, one of which is limited to Internet access only, for safer guest use.  All three WiFi networks use WPA2, but the "full access" slave router WiFi network has never had a key entered.  None of these networks are to "Auto-connect", but without the key, this setting cannot be applied to the full-access slave router network.

Sometimes (no predictable pattern) when starting a laptop close to the slave router, manually connecting the guest network will fail with a "Cannot connect..." message.  All other "secure" networks within range are found defaulted to [x] Connect Automatically, and clearing these checkboxes does not "stick".

Sometimes temporarily checking Auto-connect for the intended connection will work; other times, nothing works short of "just" restarting Windows.  The same intermittent failure pattern affects two different Win10 laptops, set up in the same way.  When connected via (unwanted) Auto-connect, clearing the Auto-connect checkbox sometimes drops the connection and the whole mess starts again.

Meta-bug

Lacking a way to set behavior of newly-spawned entities, before they are spawned, is a common meta-bug that often creates exploit opportunities.  This WiFi issue is just another instance of this meta-level bug.

Windows has become hell-bent on connecting to the Internet, from OOBE's lure of "a little WiFi here...", the constant pressure to "just" auto-sign in to an online Microsoft Account, and the duhfault behavior of all "secure" WiFi networks to auto-connect on the basis that a missing key is safety enough.

I wish Microsoft would respect the "My" in "My Computer", and at least offer solid settings to stay off networks and the Internet until this is initiated by the user!