Fix Missing Wi-Fi in Recovery Assistant After Resetting Your Mac

So you want to reset your Mac to factory default. Maybe you want to sell it. Or maybe you just want a fresh start. Whatever it is, you know what you’re doing.

UPDATE 2026/03: If you’re an owner of MacBook Air M5 or MacBook Pro M5 that’s shipped in March 2026, this method won’t work. There is a known bug in macOS Recovery shipped in those Macs that cause missing Wi-Fi icon during Activation. You can still activate your M5 Mac using wired internet access.

You open System Settings… > General > Erase All Content and Settings… and follow the instructions. You’re hoping it’s all smooth and just works.

But then you end up in the Recovery Assistant screen— that black screen after your Mac restarts. It’s asking you to connect to Wi-Fi to activate it.

Not in the mood for reading? Watch the video instead.

But there’s one small problem: there is no Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar.

There is just a message saying:

“Select a Wi-Fi network from the menu or attach a network cable…”

You probably try clicking all the icons in the top-right menu bar, hoping it’s just hidden somewhere. But nope—nothing works.

Tried restarting? Still doesn’t work.

At this point, you probably wish you had an Ethernet adapter or cable nearby. You might even consider ordering a USB-C to Ethernet adapter and an Ethernet cable online—just in case the same thing happens again in the future.

But hey, while waiting for your cables to arrive, you might want to try this troubleshooting guide.

You see, I ran into this exact situation. I was resetting my MacBook Air M1 because I wanted to sell it. But the Wi-Fi was missing, and I was stuck on the activation screen.

There’s actually a simple thing you can do to restore the missing Wi-Fi icon—and here’s how.

The Fix: Re-enter macOS Recovery Properly

For some reason, the Wi-Fi option sometimes doesn’t appear in Recovery Assistant right after you perform Erase All Content and Settings. But it does appear again in full macOS Recovery.

So we basically force the Mac to go there instead.

• First, shut down your Mac
• Wait until your Mac is fully powered off
• Press and hold the Power button
• Your Mac will show: Continue holding for startup options… — keep holding
• Keep holding until you see Loading startup options…
• Release the power button once you see a spinning wheel
• You’ll now see two options: Macintosh HD and Options
• Click Options, then click Continue

Wi-Fi Should Be Back 🎉

Once you enter Startup Options, it will show the Activate Mac screen again.

This time, you should see the Wi-Fi icon in the top-right of the menu bar. Now you can click the Wi-Fi icon, select a network, and enter the password if needed.

Once connected, macOS will proceed with activation. When it’s done, click Restart, and you’re good to go.

Your Mac will be activated and ready to use again (or maybe sell or trade it).

Video

Final Thoughts

Getting stuck without Wi-Fi during activation is frustrating, especially when everything else is ready.

But before you start looking for cables or adapters, just try:

• Shut down your Mac
• Press and hold the power button
• Enter Recovery via startup Options

It’s a quick fix that saved me a lot of time.

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading, and see you next time 👋