That is, are there nvram boot-args to disable wifi or a startup key sequence that does?
Safe mode is said to PARTIALLY disable Wi-Fi on some Macs.
I googled and couldn't find an answer.
Haven't managed finding/searching the source code because that's hard to do from ths iPhone. My Mac is not booting normally… Even in safe mode. (Diagnostic running now. )
I'm getting an error about AWDL mode suspending and I recently enabled AirDrop and so I want to see if I can boot if I completely disable Wi-Fi.
Best Answer
I have a MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Early 2013) and tested the following on it.
With my Wi-Fi network adapter turned on and connected, I shutdown my MacBook Pro. (This was to ensure the change I was about to make did indeed disable my Wi-Fi network adapter when rebooted.)
With the MacBook Pro shutdown, I then started it in single-user mode.
In single-user mode, run the following commands:
Once the filesystem has been checked and you've mounted the
/
volume as writable, use the following command to disable the Wi-Fi network service, which will turn off the power to the Wi-Fi network adapter when rebooted into normal mode.Now reboot using the
reboot
command, typereboot
and press enter.Once rebooted and in normal mode you can reenable the Wi-Fi network service, thus restoring power to the Wi-Fi network adapter, by doing the following.
In Terminal, use the following command:
You'll be prompted for your password, as shown in the image below.
Type in your password and click the Modify Configuration button, or press enter.
Note: While in single-user mode, if your wireless network service is not named "Wi-Fi" then use the following command to determine what network services you have.
On my system, after using
networksetup -setnetworkserviceenabled Wi-Fi off
the output was:So, "Wi-Fi" was the right choice for me.
Note: I do not have FileVault enabled and if you do, you may have additional steps to take to access single-user mode.