A reader at Stack Exchange asked an interesting question about whether it was possible to set up an "airplane mode" for OS X. The idea was to ensure that there is no network activity through any possible network interfaces.
It's actually pretty simple to do this. If you go to the Network pane of System Preferences, you'll see a Location popup menu at the top of the window. Click on that menu and choose Edit Locations. Click on the + icon to add a new location, then enter a name, such as AirplaneMode. Click on Done.
Next, choose that location in the Location menu, and click on each available network interface in the list at the left of the window. Click on the Configure iPv4 menu, and choose Off. For Wi-Fi, just click on the Turn Wi-Fi Off button. Click Apply, and this location will block all network activity.
To activate the location, there are two ways. You can click on the Apple menu, then Location, and choose the location. Or, if you wish to do this from the command line, as the poster had requested, you can run this command:
networksetup -switchtolocation AirplaneMode
Replace AirplaneMode with the name you've chosen for the location.
Using airplane mode can be useful if you're worried about security when using a laptop in public places. It can also save battery power, as Wi-Fi will go off, and your Mac will no longer search for networks.
It's actually pretty simple to do this. If you go to the Network pane of System Preferences, you'll see a Location popup menu at the top of the window. Click on that menu and choose Edit Locations. Click on the + icon to add a new location, then enter a name, such as AirplaneMode. Click on Done.
Next, choose that location in the Location menu, and click on each available network interface in the list at the left of the window. Click on the Configure iPv4 menu, and choose Off. For Wi-Fi, just click on the Turn Wi-Fi Off button. Click Apply, and this location will block all network activity.
To activate the location, there are two ways. You can click on the Apple menu, then Location, and choose the location. Or, if you wish to do this from the command line, as the poster had requested, you can run this command:
networksetup -switchtolocation AirplaneMode
Replace AirplaneMode with the name you've chosen for the location.
Using airplane mode can be useful if you're worried about security when using a laptop in public places. It can also save battery power, as Wi-Fi will go off, and your Mac will no longer search for networks.
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