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Turn Wi-Fi or Bluetooth back on with rfkill

Check and clear the software radio block that silently disables wireless devices.

LinuxrfkillnetworkWi-FibluetoothMedium risk
Run rfkill list to see if a radio is soft blocked, then sudo rfkill unblock wifi (or bluetooth) to switch it back on.

01Command

Command
$ rfkill list && sudo rfkill unblock wifi

02What it does

Many 'my Wi-Fi disappeared' cases are just a soft block left by a keyboard Fn key or an airplane-mode toggle. rfkill list shows each radio's state; 'soft blocked: yes' means software can fix it with one command. If it says 'hard blocked: yes', a physical switch or BIOS setting is responsible and no command will help.

03Risk

RiskMedium risk
!Warning: If the device shows hard blocked, rfkill cannot help — check the laptop's physical wireless switch or the BIOS; blocking a radio mid-transfer can interrupt in-flight downloads.

04Undo

Undo
$ sudo rfkill block wifi

05Sources

  • rfkill(8) — Ubuntu manual page
    Ubuntu · community · 2026-09-17
    Evidence: rfkill list shows the soft/hard block state of wireless devices; rfkill unblock wifi enables soft-blocked radios.
  • rfkill(8) — manual page
    Arch Linux · community · 2026-09-17
    Evidence: rfkill controls radio device blocking; 'hard blocked' means a hardware switch or BIOS setting, 'soft blocked' means software.

Last verified: 2026-09-18 · Category: Network

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