Select a WI-FI network from the menu or attach a network cable to proceed

I had the same problem and as usual the information on this website turned out to be of no help... Anyway, after some struggle I managed to solve it. I'm reciting from memory, so forgive some inaccuracies about exact labels and texts:

• Shutdown the computer by holding the power button.
• Then start it by pressing and holding the power button and keep holding it. At that point it will instruct you to keep holding for boot options, so keep holding until it says something like "loading boot options" and you can then release it.
• You will see the gear (settings) icon in the middle, select it with the trackpad and click on something like next/proceed/load... or the likes, you won't miss it, it's the only option there.
• It will restart and then you will be able to select a Wi-Fi network from the menu
• Activate the Mac by following the on-screen instructions.
• Optionally: From this point on I chose to "Reinstall macOS Yosemite" or something like that because my Mac would not boot correctly. After a lengthy process (20-30 minutes) I was presented with the initial screen that you see when you purchase your brand new Mac and open it for the first time. If you're giving it away or selling it you can press and hold the power button to shutdown and close the lid. When the buyer opens the Mac, it will automatically start and show that screen.

Hope that helps.

I'll add one more note from my experience:

After following the start-up steps outlined by @CyberGene, you'll be given a list of options. If you want to install a clean/fresh copy of macOS, then the "Continue" button will only work if the laptop is plugged into power. There is no message that indicates this, so it took me awhile to figure out. Once I plugged in, clicking "Continue" worked.

jacey_0090 Said:

"Select a WI-FI network from the menu or attach a network cable to proceed: I have a Macbook Pro M1 (2020), I am giving it to my younger brother so I had to erase all contents and reinstall the OS again so he can use it in school, but got stuck in this [...]There is no option to connect to WI-FI as the option is not there[...]"

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When Giving Away your Mac:

Perform as instructed here, including the backup: What to do Before you Sell, Give Away, or Trade in your Mac - Apple Support

Finding Wi-Fi:

As for finding the WiFi, find it on the top-right cornet of your screen, in Recovery Mode.

jacey_0090 Said:

"thanks for the response.. the thing is I cannot bypass this page cause there is no option or menu to select wifi especially on the top right corner as shown on the screenshot."

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Thank you for the photo.

Troubleshooting Mac Wi-Fi:

Apparently, the Wi-Fi hardware is not being seen. So, try the following, and then see if this is available once more.

Reset the SMC and your NVRAM:

(Applies to macOS-Installed Macs only). Sometimes when changes are made to the system(i.e. updates), system configurations (i.e. for keyboard) become manipulated, technically. So, reset the SMC and NVRAM.

If you have access to another Mac running macOS 10.15+, then you can "Restore" the firmware on the laptop which will push macOS onto the laptop as well.

Revive or restore a Mac with Apple silicon using Apple Configurator - Apple Support

Frantoiano wrote:

how can i get to the iMac section? All the answers I get refer to Mac Books. Please help me change the section...

You have to expand the forum list. But here's a direct link.

iMac - Apple Community

Hi! I actually did a rest of the SMC and NVRAM and unfortunately it did not work. So I had to go to best buy to buy the Dongle-ethernet to usb c, and went on to my neighbors who has the physical internet wires so I can connect it and still not working. OMG never thought this thing to be so complicated…

thanks for the response.. the thing is I cannot bypass this page cause there is no option or menu to select wifi especially on the top right corner as shown on the screenshot.

I had a 13" macbook pro 2017 and just bought a macbook air m2. I did the migration assistant app and it says that all the data was transferred, but upon start up of the macbook air, I'm getting the same screen. No option to connect to wifi and not way to do anything but erase the macbook air and start over. So frustrating.

Thanks - I had an iPhone Problem some weeks ago. Apple support discussed it with 2 times 2 hours - then they sent me to an Apple store. They could easily solve the problem. So I don’t trust Apple support at all.

Frantoiano wrote:

very funny. I’m talking about an iMac.

This discussion appears on the MacBook Pro section of the Apple support communities. Also, you skipped specifying your Mac model or MacOS version, so we have no way of knowing you might be using an iMac.

The main take-away from the discussion to date is that connecting the Power Adapter solves MANY of these issues for MacBook Pro users, and once connected, a Restart solves many more.

Frantoiano wrote:

There’s no way to connect a network cable to this iMac.

Yes there is a way, but it helps to correctly identify the Mac since each model does have different configurations & support. If this is an M1 Mac, there may be an Ethernet port on the power brick. If this iMac has USB-C ports, then you can use an USB-C to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter.

Did you try pulling down the "recovery assistant" menu to see if network selection might be there instead?

Have you tried erasing again in Internet Recovery Mode?

I did and the thing that is in the there is - about recovery assistant, erase mac and select start up.. Well… anyway thanks for your help but I guess I will try and visit the apple store..