rfkill

Enable and disable wireless devices

TLDR

List devices

$ rfkill

Filter columns

$ rfkill -o ID,TYPE,DEVICE

Block device type

$ rfkill block wifi

Unblock device type

$ rfkill unblock bluetooth

Output JSON

$ rfkill -J

SYNOPSIS

rfkill [OPTIONS] [command] [identifier]

rfkill enables and disables wireless communication devices (WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC, etc.) through the kernel's rfkill subsystem. It can soft-block devices in software while respecting hardware kill switches.

PARAMETERS

list

List all devices (default action)

block type|id

Disable specified device type or ID

unblock type|id

Enable specified device type or ID

toggle type|id

Toggle the state of device

-o, --output columns

Specify output columns

-J, --json

Output in JSON format

-n, --noheadings

Don't print column headers

INSTALL

sudo apt install rfkill

sudo apk add util-linux-misc

CAVEATS

Hardware kill switches cannot be overridden by software. Blocking may affect multiple devices if they share the same rfkill switch. Some devices may require reboot to fully reset.

HISTORY

rfkill is part of util-linux, providing control over the kernel's rfkill subsystem for wireless devices.