nmcli-radio

Show status of Wi-Fi

$ nmcli radio wifi

$ nmcli radio wifi [on|off]

$ nmcli radio wwan

$ nmcli radio wwan [on|off]

$ nmcli radio all

$ nmcli radio all [on|off]

nmcli radio {all | wifi | wwan | bluetooth} {on | off}

all
    Applies the command to all wireless radio types (Wi-Fi, WWAN, Bluetooth).

wifi
    Applies the command specifically to the Wi-Fi radio.

wwan
    Applies the command specifically to the WWAN (mobile broadband) radio.

bluetooth
    Applies the command specifically to the Bluetooth radio.

on
    Enables the specified wireless radio(s).

off
    Disables the specified wireless radio(s).

The `nmcli radio` command is a subcommand of `nmcli` (NetworkManager Command Line Interface) used to control the global on/off state of wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and WWAN (mobile broadband). It allows users to enable or disable these radios independently, providing a way to quickly manage wireless connectivity without altering specific network configurations. This is useful for situations where you need to disable all wireless communication, like on an airplane, or when troubleshooting network issues by isolating the radio interfaces. `nmcli radio` only affects the hardware state; individual connection profiles are not modified. Therefore, even if a radio is disabled, a connection profile may still attempt to connect when the radio is re-enabled. The command is non-persistent, meaning the setting does not survive a reboot unless configured through other system settings or scripts. It interacts directly with NetworkManager to manage the radio states.

The `nmcli radio` command affects the hardware radio state. Individual connection profiles are not automatically enabled or disabled, and may attempt to connect upon re-enabling radios. The changes are not persistent across reboots unless handled by additional configuration.

Disable all wireless radios:
nmcli radio all off

Enable Wi-Fi only:
nmcli radio wifi on

Disable Bluetooth only:
nmcli radio bluetooth off

The command returns 0 on success, and a non-zero value on failure. Common reasons for failure include insufficient privileges (must be run as root or with sudo) or invalid parameters. Check the system logs for more detailed error messages when encountering issues.

The `nmcli` tool, including the `radio` subcommand, was developed as part of the NetworkManager project. NetworkManager aims to simplify network configuration and management on Linux systems. The `radio` subcommand provides a direct interface for controlling the hardware state of wireless interfaces, adding a convenient way to quickly disable or enable wireless communication without managing specific network connections. Its usage has grown with the increasing adoption of NetworkManager as the default network management tool in many Linux distributions.

nmcli(1), NetworkManager.conf(5)