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Erased all contents on M1 MacBook Air. It can’t see the Wi-Fi network

I want to set up a 2021 MacBook Air with a new identity. It was working properly before I erased all content and settings.


It won’t get beyond the “connect to a network“ prompt. No Wi-Fi icon, no option in the Apple menu except restart or erase. Have restarted and done another erase. No joy.


How do I fix this, please?

MacBook Air, macOS 12.6

Posted on Sep 30, 2022 1:27 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 1, 2022 11:38 PM

Thanks, but I worked it out. You have to shut down, using the Apple icon, then press and hold the power key, which opens the Mac in safe mode. That then reveals the Wi-Fi icon and I was able to connect. I actually found the answer on Reddit - all of the answers here on Apple were completely wrong.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 1, 2022 11:38 PM in response to Encryptor5000

Thanks, but I worked it out. You have to shut down, using the Apple icon, then press and hold the power key, which opens the Mac in safe mode. That then reveals the Wi-Fi icon and I was able to connect. I actually found the answer on Reddit - all of the answers here on Apple were completely wrong.

Oct 2, 2022 7:27 AM in response to Matobo

Interesting - thanks for sharing that!


If you press and hold the power button at startup, that lets your Apple silicon Mac know that you're explicitly asking it to start up from macOS Recovery. In that case, you actually first arrive at Startup Options, where a selection of startup disks appears against a black screen. "Options" also appears, and if you select that, your Mac will continue to macOS Recovery.


I don't know why, but I'm guessing that there must be some small difference between selecting "Options" at Startup Options, versus a Mac falling back to macOS Recovery when startup fails or after an erase. I've seen a couple of other posts on this site mentioning the exact same issue. Hopefully your solution can help future posters as well!


In regards to Safe Mode, that only applies to macOS itself, and can be triggered on an Apple silicon Mac by doing the following:


  1. Shut down your Mac.
  2. Press and hold the power button (Touch ID) until Startup Options starts loading.
  3. Select "Macintosh HD", hold down the Shift key, and click "Continue in Safe Mode".

Oct 1, 2022 8:10 PM in response to Matobo

Hi Matobo,


Unfortunately, if the Wi-Fi option isn't popping up in macOS Recovery, there's only two options available in order to activate your Mac:


  • Connect an Ethernet cable and the appropriate adapter (USB-C male to Ethernet female) to your Mac, or


Erased all contents on M1 MacBook Air. It can’t see the Wi-Fi network

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