On my device these hotspots show up under “My Networks”

Disabling (switching auto-join to off) also does not work, most of them switch back on a few minutes later. This seems to be carrier-dependent from the comments thus far.

I disagree based on my reading of the documentation, these are treated as identical to your other networks. The only benefit is my home network is usually louder, but that’s the rub it doesn’t always work and devices routinely switch.

In my case I noticed this in a condo, so the physical distances are less

I can understand the frustration this issue might cause, especially if your device keeps switching to these managed networks despite having a stable home Wi-Fi connection. It seems like there might be a difference in behavior based on the carrier, which complicates the situation further.

I strongly believe these carrier networks should only be added to “my networks” as a permission-gated prompt, and also be deletable.

Would solve this whole thing I think

If I make a new SSID with the name of an xfinity/att/Verizon hotspot would that means every up to date iPhone user would automatically connect to it?

No, unless you have found an exploit for EAP-SIM, Passpoint, etc.

i didn’t think ios had the capability to enforce any specific auth method for any specific SSID. you’re saying it does?

Yes. These managed networks require EAP-SIM (or something similar).

You can use an MDM solution/Apple Configurator.

I do this so (among other things) my iPhone connects to my home network and won't connect to my young friend's wifi "pineapple" or even suggest it's an option when he thinks I haven't turned peoples internets upside down over twenty years ago...

For a managed network? Absolutely.

Yes.

No. That’s not how it works. These managed networks require a specific secure authentication from the carrier itself.

If we trust the providers and manufacturers and we know that they are careful and with the best intentions then there may be no problem, but hey, they force things, they do secretive things, some even mislead and scam us, they eroded the trust in them themselves collectively!

I do not feel comfortable not knowing what wifi network my device will connect to the next minute along some opaque incentives of an organization I have no control or insights about. What if I have resources or devices in a specific wifi network that I rely upon and they hop over to something else because they want to? I have serious doubts about this move. To me even the hidden direct wifi communication switched on silently allowing two Apple devices communicate each other in the vicinity was a drastic move. We watched some movie on Apple TV and suddenly interrupted with the message and confirmation code display that my second neighbours MacBook Air wants to connect to my Apple TV. "How did he connect to my network?!", came the panic. I have important and confidential data available on my local network (with passwords, but still, one barricade was broken already!). Luckily the guy was aware of this new ""feature"" (more like a nuisance) and so now it is turned off on my Apple TV.

The trust is eroded a lot.