How to Reset Network Settings on Mac the Right Way

iOS has a tidy “Reset Network Settings” button. macOS doesn’t. Apple’s reasoning is that Macs accumulate network state — VPN configs, custom DNS, network locations, Wi-Fi passwords for hotels you’ve stayed at — and a one-click reset would erase years of useful configuration. So Apple makes you do it manually.

The good news: the manual sequence is reliable, and you can choose how aggressive you want to be. Here’s the proper way to reset network settings on macOS Sonoma 14 and Sequoia 15.

When to reset network settings

Common reasons to do a full reset:

• Wi-Fi keeps disconnecting and basic troubleshooting hasn’t helped.
• VPN broke something and the leftovers won’t unstick.
• After a major macOS update, networking is flaky.
• After importing a Time Machine backup, network configuration is mismatched.
• Selling or giving away a Mac and you want to clear network history.

Don’t reset network settings as a first step — try forgetting and rejoining the network, restarting, or flushing DNS first. A reset is heavy and you’ll have to rebuild a lot.

Before you start: back up the current config

You can export your current network locations and settings before you wipe anything:

mkdir ~/Desktop/network-backup
cp /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/preferences.plist ~/Desktop/network-backup/
cp /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/NetworkInterfaces.plist ~/Desktop/network-backup/
cp /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.airport.preferences.plist ~/Desktop/network-backup/

If the reset breaks something you didn’t expect, you can restore these. Once you confirm everything works, delete the backup.

Step 1: Forget all Wi-Fi networks

System Settings → Wi-Fi → click the three-dot menu next to the network list → “Personal Hotspots” / “Known Networks” → forget each one you don’t want to keep.

For a full reset, forget every saved network. You’ll re-enter passwords for the networks you actually use.

Step 2: Remove VPN configurations

System Settings → VPN. Click each → minus button → remove.

Also check System Settings → Network — VPN configurations sometimes appear here even if not in the dedicated VPN panel.

For VPN apps that installed system extensions, removing the configuration isn’t enough. Continue with Step 7.

Step 3: Remove network locations

System Settings → Network → three-dot menu → Locations → Edit Locations.

Delete all custom locations except “Automatic.” Or, for a true reset, create a new “FreshStart” location and delete Automatic, then rename FreshStart back to Automatic.

Step 4: Reset DNS

System Settings → Network → Wi-Fi → Details → DNS. Remove any entries you’ve added. Apply.

The Mac will fall back to DHCP-provided DNS (your router’s DNS server).

Step 5: Reset proxies

System Settings → Network → Wi-Fi → Details → Proxies. Uncheck every proxy type. Apply.

If proxies were set by a corporate device management profile, you’ll need to remove the profile separately:

System Settings → Privacy & Security → Profiles → remove the profile.

Step 6: Flush DNS cache

sudo dscacheutil -flushcache
sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

This wipes cached DNS responses and restarts the resolver.

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Step 7: Remove network extensions

VPNs and network filters install system extensions. To list them:

systemextensionsctl list

To uninstall:

systemextensionsctl uninstall <teamID> <bundleID>

For a full reset of all third-party extensions:

sudo systemextensionsctl reset

This nukes everything; apps that need extensions will re-prompt for approval next time they’re launched.

Step 8: Delete SystemConfiguration plists

This is the deep reset that fixes most stubborn problems:

1. Wi-Fi off (menu bar toggle).
2. Open Finder → Go → Go to Folder → /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/.
3. Move these files to the desktop:
   • com.apple.airport.preferences.plist (Wi-Fi networks and passwords)
   • com.apple.network.identification.plist (location identification)
   • com.apple.wifi.message-tracer.plist (Wi-Fi diagnostics)
   • NetworkInterfaces.plist (interface metadata)
   • preferences.plist (the master config file)
   • com.apple.smb.server.plist (SMB shares — only if you don’t need them)
4. Restart the Mac.
5. Turn Wi-Fi back on.

After restart, macOS rebuilds these files from defaults. You’ll need to:

• Re-enter Wi-Fi passwords.
• Re-add VPN configurations.
• Re-set custom DNS.
• Re-enable Bluetooth pairings (in some cases).

If everything works after a few hours, drag the desktop copies to Trash. If something broke, drag them back into /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/ and restart.

Step 9: Reset the firewall

System Settings → Network → Firewall. Turn it off, wait, turn it back on. Remove any custom rules.

If you use Little Snitch or LuLu, those are managed inside the app.

Step 10: Reset hosts file

/etc/hosts overrides DNS. If old entries are causing trouble, clean them:

sudo nano /etc/hosts

Default content is just localhost lines:

127.0.0.1   localhost
255.255.255.255 broadcasthost
::1         localhost

Remove everything else, save (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X).

Step 11: Remove configuration profiles

Configuration profiles installed by employers or VPN providers can hold on to network settings:

System Settings → Privacy & Security → Profiles. Remove any you don’t need.

If you’re on a managed Mac (work-issued), you may not be able to remove some — they require admin authentication. Talk to your IT team.

Step 12: Clean up launch agents and daemons

VPN clients, network monitoring tools, and security software install launch agents in:

• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/
• /Library/LaunchAgents/
• /Library/LaunchDaemons/

Files matching uninstalled apps are orphans — they try to launch processes that don’t exist. Remove them:

mv ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.example.* ~/Desktop/
sudo mv /Library/LaunchAgents/com.example.* ~/Desktop/
sudo mv /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.example.* ~/Desktop/

After a reboot, if nothing broke, delete the desktop copies.

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Step 13: Reset Bluetooth (optional)

If you’re doing a full network reset, you might as well reset Bluetooth too:

sudo pkill bluetoothd
sudo rm -rf /Library/Preferences/com.apple.Bluetooth.plist
sudo rm -rf /Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.Bluetooth.*.plist

Restart. Re-pair Bluetooth peripherals.

Step 14: Reset the routing table

sudo route -n flush

Then toggle Wi-Fi off and on. The routing table rebuilds from current network state.

If you had VPN-installed routes that wouldn’t go away, this is the cleanup.

Step 15: Verify everything works

After all the above:

1. Connect to Wi-Fi.
2. Run ping cloudflare.com.
3. Open Safari, load several websites.
4. Test AirDrop (drag a file to AirDrop window, see if devices appear).
5. Test Handoff (open Notes on iPhone, look for it in Mac’s Dock).
6. Test any apps that depend on the network — Slack, Spotify, Photos sync.

If any of these still misbehave, the corresponding feature has its own troubleshooting guide.

What you don’t have to do

Things that get suggested in old guides but rarely help on modern macOS:

• Reset NVRAM: only useful for Bluetooth and audio routing on Intel Macs. Apple Silicon resets NVRAM automatically.
• Reset SMC: Apple Silicon doesn’t have an SMC. On Intel, useful for power-management network issues only.
• Reinstall macOS: rarely fixes networking that the steps above don’t. Reinstall doesn’t wipe /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/, so the same corrupt state survives.
• Buy a new router: only after testing on a friend’s network or a phone hotspot to confirm it’s not the Mac.

Why this manual process exists

Apple deliberately doesn’t ship a one-click “Reset Network Settings” because:

• Network configuration on macOS is dense and varied (multiple locations, custom DNS, complex VPN setups).
• Wiping it would inconvenience users who didn’t intend to lose their setups.
• iOS does it because iPhone setups are simpler.

The manual sequence is the equivalent. Steps 8 (SystemConfiguration plists) and 12 (launch agent cleanup) are the two that actually clear stuck state. The others are housekeeping.

Most “reset network settings on Mac” cases only need the SystemConfiguration plist deletion (Step 8). Add Step 7 if VPNs are involved. Skip the rest unless you’re doing a full handover or wiping for sale.