MacBook Air stuck on activation, no Wi-Fi after reset

Confirmed fix for M5 Macs with no Wi-Fi in Recovery / “Activate Mac”: connect the affected Mac to any second Mac using USB-C to USB-C or USB-C to USB-A. On the second Mac, enable Internet Sharing and share Wi-Fi over USB/Mac. Within seconds, Recovery gets internet and reinstall starts. Tested, works even with an old Mac. NO ETHERNET Stuff required.

This is a known issue with M5 Macbooks.

Seems to happen especially if you do a Factory Reset.

The solution according to Tech 2 level support is an Ethernet > USB-C adapter connected directly into your Modem/Router and restart the laptop and should see the Wi-Fi Icon to proceed:

Ref: "Connect your Mac to the internet using Ethernet"

https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/connect-mac-internet-ethernet-mh119392/mac

"no WiFi icon only get a battery icon n a language icon. Thank for your help"

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Interesting.

Use Ethernet: Belkin USB-C to 2.5Gb Ethernet Adapter - Apple

Same problem on a brand new MacBook Air (M5, 2026).

No amount of restart manoeuvres helped.

Restoring firmware through DFU mode made the wifi menu appear on the activation screen.

"MacBook Air stuck on activation, no Wi-Fi after reset: did a factory reset now I stuck on activate Mac screen. it want me to connect to a wifi from the menu or attach a network cable(ethernet) no icon for wifi to connect this is a 2026 M5 Macbook air"

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Finding WiFi in Recovery Mode:

Icon is on the top-right corner of the screen, first item shown.