Lion - WiFi no hardware installed

Same Problem here - it's interesting when booting into lion (showing this grey progress bar on the white boot screen) WiFi show's up "no hardware installed". By clicking on the apple logo in the left corner and "about this mac" the button "more information" (normaly showing the systemprofiler) is deactivated - the tooltip says "deactivated because systemprofiler is not installed". By looking in the application folder you can see the app and even start it - and now, when checking the wifi-hardware in the systemprofilerlist everything is ok ...?

It seems, that the hardwareacceleration of the ati-chip is deactivated too (very slow animation effects ...) but after a restart everything is running fine, without any problem ...

iMac mid 2010, Core i3, 8GB RAM and OS X Lion

same problem here, no hardware wifi on Macbook, is lion really *****

I'm having the same problem with my iMac 27" Core i5 4gb RAM w/Lion. Never had this issue at all before upgrading. My 2010 MBA took the upgrade perfectly and I've never had a problem, but the iMac is just being a pain.

yep, that works - thank you for that great hint :-) ! hopefully apple soves the problem soon!

I have 2 similar threads posted here:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3234776?answerId=15829754022#15829754022

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3202303?answerId=15829568022#15829568022

I called Apple Care about this strange bootup issue 3 times. They refuse to discuss the problem with me and insist my machine is doing come sort of caching that can last from a few hours to a day. Well, I did a fresh install of Lion on my iMac i5 2011 model and it still has this problem after 10 days. My Mac is set for autologin and not to require a password on wakeup, but if I turn off the machine for more than 2 hours, I get that progress bar and login screen. If I login, wifi doesn't work and the menu bar is not clear. Other functions are hit or miss. In the words of Apple Care "just restart your Mac and everything will work normally".

I am stick of starting it twice every time I want to boot it. So you are not alone. But fortunately, it seems to only be affecting iMac and Macbook Pro owners with late 2010 to mid 2011 models. We are just lucky I guess.

And remember, if you find any other bugs, report it to Apple Care... they will remind you that it is not a bug, and is a feature! It's great to know Lion includes so many new features like this! Awesome! 😁

Same problem here - occasionally I get the progress bar, and a login screen (which I shouldn't see because the system is set for auto login) and I have also noticed that every time this happens the Wifi logo in the menu bar is not connected, and clicking it says "no hardware installed" or something like that.

Reboot and everything is fine.

I'm not sure about this, but I have a suspicion that this is somehow linked to the "restart programs" checkbox in the shutdown dialog. I usually uncheck it (I wish I could find a way of getting rid of it actually) but I have a suspicion that the login screen / wifi hardware issues are linked to me forgetting to uncheck this option during the previous shutdown?

I've fixed the problem on my iMac. Just make sure when you turn it on, the keyboard and mouse are OFF.

The iMac will boot normally every time. After you see the desktop, then turn on your keyboard and mouse / trackpad.

It is a bluetooth issue causing our iMacs to boot into safe mode, that is why we see the progress bar and nothing works right. I already addressed Apple Care about my problem and my temporary fix. They assured me that a later update will fix the bluetooth negotiation problem at startup, but some people said they had it before with Snow Leopard, but I only see it with Lion. Only time will tell.

But for me, start with all bluetooth devices off and it will always boot quickly every time! Even if I reopen many windows! Try it out! 🙂

Hi all,

I am having the gray progress bar under apple logo and wireless not installed issue as well. During this situation , my time machine is unable to launch as well. Did restart and the problem disappears. I sent my IMAC (Intel Based Mid 2011 i5 version) to the service centre for hardware diagnostics, and it came out to be find. So i conclude that it should be a software issue instead of a hardware one.

Mid-2010 iMac (3 GHz Intel Core 2, 4GB RAM, Lion 10.7.1). WiFi status says no hardware installed; network preferences panel shows WiFi, but won't allow me to turn it on.

Multiple re-boots (which are very fast and otherwise completely normal), including auto-log in with Bluetooth devices off didn't work.

Like I said above. Don't turn on your keyboard and mouse until after the machine boots. If you turn on the Bluetooth keyboard or mouse then press the power button, the computer will boot into safe mode and your wifi won't work.

Every time you start your iMac, make sure the keyboard and mouse are switched off until after you see the logo and spinning progress wheel. Even the 10.7.1 update does not fix this issue. Some people had this issue with Snow Leopard too, but my iMacs only did it since Lion.

There are hundreds of the same posts going around now. I hope Apple consolidates this to a single thread eventually. Some of the same people are posting multiple times in multiple threads and it is further confusing the issue. I suggest all users with this problem immediately try turning on your Mac with all bluetooth devices off. This only works on iMacs and some other desktops. If you are using a Macbook, this is not the solution and you should try a different thread.

Also everyone from this issue should take the time to call Apple Care or email the feedback department. There won't be any fixes issued until enough people get the ball rolling. There will likely be a firmware update to correct this issue in the future, but right now I have 3 iMacs and if I boot any of them with the keyboard and mouse switched on, they will boot into safe mode with no wifi. I have a pair of 21.5 in 2011 base models and a 2010 base model. They all do this.

I don't want to answer this post in 200 threads. Just make sure all bluetooth devices are off before hitting the power button before you think you have catasrophic hardware or software failures.

Unfortunately, that didn't work for me. In addition to turning both the keyboard and mouse off, I took the batteries out of them. (Yes, I know that is a belt and suspenders approach, but it isn't dead certain the keyboard is off any other way.)

After powering back up, it still showed the WiFi hardware as not installed.

That is the problem with this issue. Some people have a genuine hardware problem. But 90% of the no wi-fi posts are because the machine is booting into Safe Mode.

Did you do a fresh install or an upgrade? Also, did you hook up the LAN cable and download the latest firmware, 10.7.1 update and the wi-fi fix they just issued last week? If you have done a fresh install, have all the latest updates and firmware, your bluetooth devices are off during boot, then you have a genuine hardware problem or the Mac is still booting into safe mode.

Look at the above post from Alexander Leong, and check the picture of the bootup screen.

If you see that progress bar during bootup then your Mac is booting into safemode (and it will say no wi-fi hardware installed). If you do not see that progress bar and your Mac boots up quickly and normally, yet your wi-fi is still not working, then you have a hardware issue. Try resetting your SMC and PRAM, and give Apple Care a call. If you upgraded I would also suggest backing up everything, and doing a fresh install by reformatting the HD. You can boot into the recovery parition and do this, but I will tell you I still have this issue when the BT devices are on when booting. But the fresh install cleared up a lot of GUI glitches I was having.

I run an English language training school in China and use Macs with Rosetta Stone every day. This issue only occurs on my 2010-2011 models after installing Lion and booting with the bluetooth devices on. I have never had any issues with my Mac Minis or Macbooks, only the iMacs and one Mac Pro.

However, I will suggest everyone to reset the SMC and PRAM after upgrading to Lion. Most of my iMacs had a noisy fan or the fan didn't run at all after installing Lion, and resetting the SMC and PRAM took care of the issues.

I just purchased a new iMac that shipped with Lion on it and I am having the same gray progress bar under apple logo and wireless not installed issue as well. So it is without any doubt a Lion issue. So far it has happed to me two times when booting from a off state when I turn on the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

I'm sure Apple is working on a update that fixes this we just have to wait it out.

I have found out in the last week, it is mainly a problem negotiating the mouse. I started to leave my keyboards on 24/7 on my 3 iMacs and I can boot normally each time. While booting, after I see the Apple logo and the spinning wheel, then it is safe to turn on the mouse and boot into a normal state.

I just mentioned on another thread there is a more simple way this could all be avoided. Apple should just make a wired magic mouse and keyboard solution. They hate to show wires on the desk, but with a wired solution you are keeping excess RF pollution down, you don't have to change batteries in the mouse all the time, you don't have to worry about BT connection drops and the iMac saying your mouse is disconnected then connected again randomly, and this safe boot issue would not exsist for many people.

Do we really need everything to be wireless? Back in the days when all the Apple products were white, wireless would have been better... but now since the machines are aluminum and black, just make keyboards and mouses that have black wires. This is a pain for me because I use my iMacs in an English training school and I constantly have to make sure the magic mouse batteries are fresh and help the students when the mouse disconnects randomly (you have to click it a few times for it to reconnect).

So I ask, does everyone with a Mac require wireless keyboards and mice? If you use your machines constantly, then it seems more of a pain than a help. 😢