Wi-Fi Says Not Configured on Mac, Here’s How to Fix it

Several Mac users have reported that they can’t connect to Wi-Fi because Wi-Fi appears to be disabled. Users are experiencing these issues:

• An X in the Wi-Fi menu’s icon in the menu bar appears. The Wi-Fi icon is also grayed out.
• When the Wi-Fi icon is clicked, the dropdown menu says "Wi-Fi: Not Configured".

This article explains how you can fix this issue.

How to Fix "Wi-Fi not configured" error on Mac

Please try these steps:

A. On your Mac, click the Apple menu > System Settings > Network.

B. On the left, you will see a list of network services. At the bottom, click the Action pop-up menu (three dots), then choose Add Service.

C. A popup menu will appear. Click the Interface pop-up menu and choose Wi-Fi. Give it a name such as Wi-Fi and then click Create. A Wi-Fi service will be created.

D. Now, click Wi-Fi in the sidebar of System Settings. Turn the Wi-Fi toggle on. You can also click the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar and turn Wi-Fi on from there.

E. Now, you configured a new Wi-Fi service. Does Wi-Fi work now?

If adding a new service does not work for you, try this:

A. On your Mac, again go to System Settings > Network, select Wi-Fi and click Details.

B. Select the "TCP/IP" tab and then click the Renew DHCP Lease button. Then click OK.

Simply restart your Mac in Safe Mode. First, you need to determine if you have an Intel-based Mac or a Mac with Apple silicon. If you are not sure, go to Apple menu > About This Mac. Depending on the Mac you have, follow the appropriate steps:

Intel:

• Turn off your Mac.
• Turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold the Shift key.
• Keep holding the key until the login screen appears.
• Log in. You may be asked to login a few times.

Apple silicon

• Turn off your Mac.
• Press and hold the power button until the startup options screen appears.
• Select your startup disk.
• Press and hold the Shift key and click "Continue in Safe Mode."
• Log in. You may need to login more than once.

Now your Mac is in Safe Mode. Test your problem. Is Wi-Fi working in Safe Mode? Restart your Mac (this will also leave Safe Mode) and test again.

Some users have said that they fixed this problem by resetting NVRAM. Note that on Apple silicon Macs (M1, M2, M3, M4, M5), NVRAM is automatically checked and reset during the boot process from a complete shutdown. For these Macs, simply shut down completely, wait a few seconds, and restart. For Intel Macs, here is how:

NVRAM (Intel Macs only)

• Turn off your Mac.
• Locate these four keys: Option, Command, P, and R.
• Turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold the four keys (Option, Command, P, and R).
• Keep holding these keys for about 20 seconds. And then release them.
• Your Mac will restart. Then test your problem.

If you are still experiencing this problem, this may be a hardware problem. Contact Apple Support.