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Deleted Wi-Fi Interface, Unable to Add it Back

So my wifi was acting up and I looked for solutions on what to do. I mistakenly removed Wi-Fi from the available network options and when I went back in to add it, it didn’t show up as an option anymore—only Thunderbolt Bridge, Bluetooth PAN, VPN, PPPoE, and 6to4 are available.


I’m able to connect to Wi-Fi on other devices so I know the Wi-Fi itself is not a problem. The icon still shows up in the menu bar, but I’m unable to see any networks to connect to. Has anyone else experienced this and managed to figure it out?

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jun 25, 2021 12:03 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 25, 2021 12:30 PM

  1. Open System Preferences
  2. Click Networks
  3. In the sidebar (left-pane), click the + button
  4. In the popup window, under Interface, select Wi-Fi
  5. Under Service Name, type Wi-fi (or any other name would would prefer)
  6. Click Create


Now select the Wi-Fi option in the side bar and enter the credentials for it.

3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 25, 2021 12:30 PM in response to uhhmina

  1. Open System Preferences
  2. Click Networks
  3. In the sidebar (left-pane), click the + button
  4. In the popup window, under Interface, select Wi-Fi
  5. Under Service Name, type Wi-fi (or any other name would would prefer)
  6. Click Create


Now select the Wi-Fi option in the side bar and enter the credentials for it.

Jul 16, 2021 3:24 PM in response to 6x6

I’m having the exact same issues except when I click the plus sign to add WiFi back, and then the drop down menu for “interface,” WiFi isn’t an option. I only see Thunderbolt Bridge, TB 2, TB 1, Bluetooth PAN, VPN, PPPoE, and 6to4. Any help would be appreciated!


Some context, wife dropped our old (2012) MacBook Pro and now it won’t connect to wifi, other devices are connected so it’s not the network. I tried removing Wifi in the left hand pane, restarting, and then adding again (as recommended in another discussion) and now I’m in the Network

Settings trying to add Wifi back, but to no avail. I’m wondering if it’s something with the internal wifi card since it was dropped? Thanks for any help.

Jul 17, 2021 5:49 AM in response to Cwlions

You may be correct: the Wi-Fi card may be damaged.


Before you bring your Mac for repair, try the following:

  1. Do a PRAM reset: Reset NVRAM or PRAM on your Mac - Apple Support
  2. Do an SMC reset: How to reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support
  3. Restart in Safe Mode: How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support


And please see the following discussions:

  1. https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7903262
  2. https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7335755


I have seen some other discussions about resetting the Wi-Fi network, e.g. Method #2 in https://macreports.com/how-to-reset-network-settings-on-mac/, but that seems a little drastic and I have no experience in doing this and as such, I cannot recommend them.

Deleted Wi-Fi Interface, Unable to Add it Back

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