Mac OS X: Network Status is blank, or you see "Airport: Not Configured"

Under certain circumstances, Network Status may appear blank in the Network pane of System Preferences, or you may see the message "Airport: Not Configured" under the Airport menu bar item. This can occur in Mac OS X 10.2 or later.

To resolve the issue, all you need to do is apply an arbitrary change to your network preferences. Follow these steps:

1. From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences.
2. Select the Network pane.
3. From the Show menu, choose Network Port Configurations.
4. Select a port which is currently inactive, such as Built-in FireWire; or, if all ports are already selected, then deselect a port such as Built-in FireWire.
5. Click the Apply Now button.
6. If you selected a port in the last step, deselect it now, or vice versa.
7. Click the Apply Now button again.

Applying the change should make your network ports available again. If you still have an issue connecting to the Internet, see the overview of Mac OS X Internet setup and troubleshooting topics.