I need to use internet recovery but it doesn't work with ethernet (my wifi chip is broken/missing)

JCP · April 3, 2019

Hi guys,

So i managed to get a Macbook Pro 2012 laptop for ~$50 on gumtree and i just got it. It powers on and all but doesn't have a bottom cover and is missing the wifi/bluetooth ribbon cable thingy (it was removed by previous owner). I want to connect this to my network using ethernet and use it as a simple web browsing machine BUT...whenever i try going into recovery mode (as it didn't come with a hdd, i bought a 120gb ssd for this), it doesn't detect my ethernet and asks for my network which it can't find as there is no hardware connected.

Does anyone here know how to use the internet recovery feature to re-install macos (hopefully capitan or something etc.) whilst using an ethernet connection?

Thanks in advance!

lloose · April 7, 2019

Something is pretty wrong with the macbook if ethernet doesn't work recovery mode. Do you know why it was so cheap? Water damage maybe?

JCP · April 7, 2019

14 minutes ago, lloose said:

Something is pretty wrong with the macbook if ethernet doesn't work recovery mode. Do you know why it was so cheap? Water damage maybe?

Hi, i got it working after i managed to source a macos install from a friend. It works fine once macos is installed.

Thx for the help everyone