Every Mac offered for the reason that mid-2000s with few exceptions included a Wi-Fi card, module, or chip that’s a part of the motherboard. Thus, it’s stunning to any Mac person who fires up their Mac or is in the midst of utilizing after they see a message that reads “Wi-Fi: No hardware installed” within the system Wi-Fi menu; equally vexing is “Wi-Fi: Not configured” if you’ve made no modifications and have been simply utilizing it. In each circumstances, a {hardware} downside may very well be the foundation. But you need to run via different troubleshooting first.
Fix Wi-Fi: not configured
Wi-Fi disabled in System Preferences seems as Inactive.
It’s attainable that community settings have been disrupted or corrupted, disabling Wi-Fi entry in a method that may be simply fastened via the Network preferences pane. To discover out if that’s the case, observe these steps:
- Go to System Preferences > Network.
- Select the Wi-Fi adapter within the checklist at left. It might be grayed out and have the label Inactive beneath it.
- From the gear menu, choose Make Service Active.
- Click Apply.
An exclamation mark contained in the Wi-Fi fan will disappear, and your laptop will scan for networks or connect with a identified one.
Check for {hardware} faults
If {hardware} is the problem, the Wi-Fi drop-down menu could inaccurately learn “Wi-Fi: No hardware installed,” although readers have seen “not configured” and different errors as nicely. There may very well be a low-level configuration problem or a {hardware} downside, and you need to remove configuration points first.
Try these troubleshooting steps so as:
- Restart your Mac: This clears the state in lots of circumstances.
- Start in secure mode: Safe mode fires up a restricted variety of providers in macOS and will reveal a battle. See Apple’s steps to begin up in secure mode.
- Create a brand new person in macOS: Sometimes the issue is with a person account. Try creating a brand new person in macOS, restarting, and logging into that new person account. Does Wi-Fi work now? Then there’s one thing corrupted within the different person’s low-level settings which will require reinstalling macOS. (You can discover the directions to create a brand new person on this column.)
- Remove the Wi-Fi community entry and restore it: The column “How to fix a missing Wi-Fi entry in macOS” gives the steps.
- Clear the {hardware} state (Intel Macs): On Intel Macs, you may reset the System Management Controller (SMC). That solves the issue for some customers. (Apple silicon M-series Macs don’t have any SMC to reset.)
- Reinstall macOS: Make a Time Machine or different full backup of your Mac, restart into macOS restoration, and reinstall macOS. This is a non-destructive set up, however you want a backup in case issues go mistaken.
If not one of the above solves the issues, it’s time to hit the restore store. If your Mac stays below guarantee, hold particulars of your testing useful and name for a restore. If it’s out of guarantee, the restore could also be costly as with most Macs launched within the final 10 to fifteen years, a whole motherboard alternative could also be required. You would possibly get by with a {hardware} answer, described subsequent.
Opt for a {hardware} Wi-Fi alternative
If your Mac runs macOS 10.15 Catalina or earlier, you should purchase a cheap third-party Wi-Fi USB dongle, such because the Edimax AC1200, which comes with drivers from the maker for OS X and macOS via Sierra, or the quicker 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) TP-Link Archer T3U (via 10.14) or T3U Plus (via 10.15).
For these utilizing a newer model of macOS or who need driver-free entry to 802.11ac or 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 5 or 6), a USB-C adapter, mini-dock, or full-sized dock with gigabit ethernet can pair with a wi-fi bridge. This is much less handy for a laptop computer, however an affordable possibility for a desktop Mac that may’t plug in by way of ethernet straight. Many low-cost, high-performance wi-fi bridges can connect with a community as if the bridge have been a daily Wi-Fi adapter.
Ask Mac 911
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Source: www.macworld.com