How to Disable IPv6 in Mac?

IP assignment system is the basic of any public networking systems like Internet. This so called Internet Protocol or IP address is used to identify any devices connected to the network and its location. The IPv6 is the latest protocol since the IPv4 allocation is reaching its depletion state. By default, Mac will automatically detect the IPv6 addresses in the network. If you want to disable IPv6 completely for any reason, here is how you can do that.

Default IPv6 Option in Mac

By default, Mac does not allow to turn off IPv6. You can check this by following the below instructions:

• Click Apple logo on top left corner and select “System Preferences…” menu.

• On the System Preferences section, click on “Network” icon.

• First click on the padlock icon and unlock the screen for editing by proving your admin password.
• After that select your active network, for example the currently connected Wi-Fi network.
• Then click on “Advanced…” button.

• Go to “TCP/IP” tab and check the status against “Configure IPv6” option.
• You will see the “Automatically” option is selected as a default setup in Mac. in addition, you can see “Manually” and “Link-local only” options are available for selecting in the dropdown.

However, there are no options to permanently turn off or disable IPv6 with the default setup in Mac.

Enabling Off Option for IPv6 Configuration

You can enable “Off” option for IPv6 configuration in Mac by running a command in Terminal app.

• Press “Command + Space” to open Spotlight Search.
• Type “terminal” and open Terminal app. Alternatively, you can open Terminal app from Finder by navigating through “Go > Utilities” menu.

• Type or paste the following command and press return key.

sudo networksetup -setv6off Wi-Fi

• Mac will ask your password, enter the admin password and press return key. Note that password will not be visible in Terminal while typing.
• You will also not see any confirmation message after pressing return key.

Note: You should use sudo in the command for running it as a root or superuser. This is required if you are logged in with admin user, otherwise you will get an error saying, “Command requires admin privileges”. Obviously, you can ignore sudo if you are already using the system as a root user.

Checking Network Preferences

Now, go back to your network preferences as explained above. You can find the “IPv6 Configure” option is set as “Off” by default.

To remove “Off” option, you need to run any commands from Terminal app again. Simply select “Automatically” or any other option from the “IPv6 Configure” dropdown. The “Off” option will be removed and the setup will return back to its initial state.