Unable to remove wifi network

[yjchua95]

Good day,

Recently, I was trying to remove a wi-fi network from my system preferences as the network had transitioned to WPA2 (from WEP), so I had to remove the old network as it had the same SSID as the new one.

When I clicked on the - button to remove it, the cursor beachballed when it was inside the window. When outside of the window, it reverted back to a normal cursor.

After 5 minutes of waiting, I forced-quit it and this is what happened.

This glitch only appears in that space and not in other spaces.

The only way to get rid of this glitch is to logout and login.

It happens on my two 13" rMBPs and also my 15" rMBP.

 

[flat five]

Good day,

Recently, I was trying to remove a wi-fi network from my system preferences as the network had transitioned to WPA2 (from WEP), so I had to remove the old network as it had the same SSID as the new one.

When I clicked on the - button to remove it, the cursor beachballed when it was inside the window. When outside of the window, it reverted back to a normal cursor.

After 5 minutes of waiting, I forced-quit it and this is what happened.

This glitch only appears in that space and not in other spaces.

The only way to get rid of this glitch is to logout and login.

It happens on my two 13" rMBPs and also my 15" rMBP.

what happens on all 3 computers?
are you saying you beach balled all three, force quit all three, and they're now all showing this messed up preference panel?

the preference panel can be reset pretty easily:

• close System Preferences
• launch Terminal.app (in Applications-> Utilities)
• type the following (or copy/paste)

defaults delete com.apple.systempreferences

• press <return>
• (quit terminal.app)
• launch System Preferences and the panel will be rebuilt properly.


----
that said, i can't really tell if you're describing one single problem which happens on all of your computers or a couple of different problems --one of which is only happening on a single computer.

nor am i clear if you're saying that log out/in resets the panel to its proper layout.. or what exactly logging out 'fixes'

you're not going to mess anything up by using the above terminal command but it possibly won't fix anything either.. i'm assuming you have a corrupted .plist when offering the defaults delete advice.

 

[yjchua95]

what happens on all 3 computers?
are you saying you beach balled all three, force quit all three, and they're now all showing this messed up preference panel?

the preference panel can be reset pretty easily:

• close System Preferences
• launch Terminal.app (in Applications-> Utilities)
• type the following (or copy/paste)

defaults delete com.apple.systempreferences

• press <return>
• (quit terminal.app)
• launch System Preferences and the panel will be rebuilt properly.


----
that said, i can't really tell if you're describing one single problem which happens on all of your computers or a couple of different problems --one of which is only happening on a single computer.

nor am i clear if you're saying that log out/in resets the panel to its proper layout.. or what exactly logging out 'fixes'

you're not going to mess anything up by using the above terminal command but it possibly won't fix anything either.. i'm assuming you have a corrupted .plist when offering the defaults delete advice.

So far this single problem seems to happen on all my rMBPs.

Thanks for the tip

 

[flat five]

So far this single problem seems to happen on all my rMBPs.

what problem? unable to remove wifi network -or- corrupted preference panel? there are at least two problems you're describing.

i get it that you see a problem with your computers.

but you gotta understand that people who cant see your computer physically will not see what you're seeing.. there are a thousand different things that can be happening.. gotta narrow them down through clarity.

 

[yjchua95]

what problem? unable to remove wifi network -or- corrupted preference panel? there are at least two problems you're describing.

i get it that you see a problem with your computers.

but you gotta understand that people who cant see your computer physically will not see what you're seeing.. there are a thousand different things that can be happening.. gotta narrow them down through clarity.

The problem is that whenever I try to remove a wifi network, the preference panel freezes up (but the windows still looks intact). So, when I force quit System Preferences, I get the result in the screenshot of the original post (where it's half transparent).

 

[flat five]

The problem is that whenever I try to remove a wifi network, the preference panel freezes up (but the windows still looks intact). So, when I force quit System Preferences, I get the result in the screenshot of the original post (where it's half transparent).

ok.. i see what you're saying now.
i don't know how to fix it though..

maybe some things worth trying though..

• turn off wifi.. **turn it off on all of your computers and even phones if they have the network saved on them.

• from one of the computers (disconnect from any other networks it may be on).. Launch Keychain Access.app (in applications-> utilities) and delete any signs of the network in the keychain.. it will probably be in 'Local' or 'System' keychains or maybe both.. right-click on it then 'delete'

• then go to system preferences and try deleting it from the preferred network list (i'm assuming that's the list you're trying to remove the old network from?)

does it still freeze up?

**actually, don't turn all the connections off yet.. it might be a waste.. first see if you completely disconnect one of the computers from all networks and remove the keychain info if you're able to delete from the list.

 

[yjchua95]

ok.. i see what you're saying now.
i don't know how to fix it though..

maybe some things worth trying though..

• turn off wifi.. **turn it off on all of your computers and even phones if they have the network saved on them.

• from one of the computers (disconnect from any other networks it may be on).. Launch Keychain Access.app (in applications-> utilities) and delete any signs of the network in the keychain.. it will probably be in 'Local' or 'System' keychains or maybe both.. right-click on it then 'delete'

• then go to system preferences and try deleting it from the preferred network list (i'm assuming that's the list you're trying to remove the old network from?)

does it still freeze up?

**actually, don't turn all the connections off yet.. it might be a waste.. first see if you completely disconnect one of the computers from all networks and remove the keychain info if you're able to delete from the list.

The problem happens with wi-fi turned off on the Mac. The Mac isn't connected to Ethernet either.

Steps 2 and 3 were carried out and produced the same results :/

I'm starting to think it's a Mavericks bug.

Thank you for your advice anyway

 

[flat five]

well, if you don't mind deleting all of the networks from the list (returning it to it's default state), you can do this.. turn off wifi, close System Preferences, and go:

Macintosh HD/ Library/ Preferences/ SystemConfiguration

find the file:

com.apple.airport.preferences.plist

and move it to the trash.. (password required)..

your preferred networks panel will now be blank.. (a new .plist at default settings will be created when you turn wifi back on.. the other network passwords will still be stored in your keychain if you have it set up that way)