Recovery Mode Missing Network Commands | Generated by AI

Home 2026.02

Yes, that’s expected—macOS Recovery (the mode you’re in via startup options or Command-R / power hold on M2) runs a very stripped-down environment to keep it lightweight and secure. Many full-system commands like networksetup (located normally at /usr/sbin/networksetup) are not included in the Recovery partition’s PATH or binaries. That’s why you get “command not found.”

Quick Confirmation

Run this in your current Terminal to see what’s actually available:

ls /usr/sbin

(or ls /bin, ls /usr/bin) — you’ll notice it’s a short list compared to normal macOS. No networksetup there.

Workarounds to Clear Proxy Settings

Since we can’t use networksetup here, here are the best options from this spot:

  1. Best & Simplest: Boot to Safe Mode First (Bypasses Proxy Often)
    • From Recovery: Choose Restart (or force shutdown with power button hold).
    • Immediately hold the power button until startup options appear.
    • Select your disk → hold Shift → Continue in Safe Mode.
    • Safe Mode loads minimal extensions and often ignores or clears temporary proxy glitches (including Clash leftovers) because third-party kexts/login items don’t run.
    • If you reach the desktop/login screen:
      • Open System Settings > Network > Wi-Fi (or Ethernet) → Details… → Proxies tab → turn everything off (Web Proxy, Secure Web Proxy, SOCKS, Auto Proxy).
      • Or open Terminal normally and run the networksetup commands I gave earlier (now available).
    • Then restart normally → the update/setup should proceed without proxy interference.
  2. If Safe Mode Also Hangs: Reinstall macOS from Recovery (Non-Destructive)
    • In Recovery → choose Reinstall macOS (or macOS Tahoe).
    • It downloads and reinstalls the OS files over your existing data/apps (won’t erase user files unless it fails badly).
    • During reinstall, it often resets network configs (including proxies) to defaults because it rebuilds system components.
    • Make sure you’re on a good Wi-Fi (no proxy needed for Apple’s servers ideally—connect to a mobile hotspot if possible to test).
    • This has fixed many stuck-post-update + proxy loops for M-series users.
  3. Advanced Hack: Mount Main Volume & Edit Proxy Plist Directly (If Comfortable with Terminal) In Recovery Terminal: 
    diskutil list   # Note your main disk, e.g. disk3s1 or disk1s5 — usually the biggest APFS volume labeled "Macintosh HD" or similar
diskutil apfs list   # Confirm the volume group
mkdir /mnt
mount -uw /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD   # Or whatever your volume is named; use quotes if spaces
# If mount fails, try: mount -uw /
cd /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration   # This folder holds network prefs
ls   # Look for com.apple.airport.preferences.plist or preferences.plist
    • Unfortunately, editing plists properly requires defaults command or plutil, which may also be missing in Recovery.
    • If defaults works (try defaults read), you could do something like: 
      defaults delete /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/preferences GlobalProxies

      But this is hit-or-miss—many tools are absent, so it often fails.

    If mounting/editing doesn’t work easily, skip to option 1 or 2.

  4. Last Resort: Erase & Clean Install (Data Loss Risk—Backup First if Possible)
    • If nothing else works and it’s truly proxy-stuck forever, from Recovery → Disk Utility → Erase your main volume (APFS) → then reinstall.
    • But try Safe Mode + reinstall first.

Most users in similar stuck-update-with-proxy situations get past it by forcing Safe Mode a couple times or reinstalling. Try booting to Safe Mode now—let me know if you reach desktop or what error/hang you see next. If you’re on a corporate/VPN-heavy network, switch to phone hotspot Wi-Fi during boot attempts too. Hang in there!

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