You cannot set Wi-Fi power because all AirPort network services are disabled.
I have a MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, early 2013) running 10.11.1 and wifi disappeared from System Preferences Network.
I click on the + button and add the Wi-Fi interface but it would not add it.
So I ran the following commands
sh-3.2# networksetup -listallnetworkservices
An asterisk (*) denotes that a network service is disabled.
Bluetooth PAN
Thunderbolt Bridge
sh-3.2# networksetup -listallhardwareports
Hardware Port: Wi-Fi
Device: en0
Ethernet Address: c8:e0:eb:18:45:ab
Hardware Port: Bluetooth PAN
Device: en3
Ethernet Address: c8:e0:eb:18:45:ac
Hardware Port: Thunderbolt 1
Device: en1
Ethernet Address: 32:00:1b:1d:f3:80
Hardware Port: Thunderbolt 2
Device: en2
Ethernet Address: 32:00:1b:1d:f3:81
Hardware Port: Thunderbolt Bridge
Device: bridge0
Ethernet Address: ca:e0:eb:81:ff:00
VLAN Configurations
===================
sh-3.2# networksetup -getairportnetwork en0
All Wi-Fi network services are disabled.
sh-3.2# networksetup -getairportpower en0
Wi-Fi Power (en0): Off (forced)
sh-3.2# networksetup -setairportpower en0 on
You cannot set Wi-Fi power because all AirPort network services are disabled.
sh-3.2#
I booted into System Recovery mode and Wi-Fi works. I have also booted holding the option key and selected the network to boot from a network drive and that works too.
The system logs say en0 changed to en1
11/3/15 11:07:11.000 AM kernel[0]: en0: 802.11d country code set to 'X0'.
11/3/15 11:07:11.000 AM kernel[0]: en0: Supported channels 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 100 104 108 112 116 120 124 128 132 136 140 149 153 157 161 165
11/3/15 11:07:14.000 AM kernel[0]: en0: channel changed to 1
11/3/15 11:09:00.000 AM kernel[0]: en0: channel changed to 1
11/3/15 11:09:00.000 AM kernel[0]: en0: channel changed to 1
11/3/15 11:09:04.000 AM kernel[0]: en0: 802.11d country code set to 'US'.
11/3/15 11:09:04.000 AM kernel[0]: en0: Supported channels 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 100 104 108 112 116 120 124 128 132 136 140 149 153 157 161 165
Has anyone else experienced this before? And is there a solution that does not require a wipe of the hard drive?
Thanks
Patrick
