Apple unveiled macOS Ventura at WWDC 2022 in June, alongside the latest iterations of its other operating systems.
While macOS Ventura will bring a plethora of new features to the Mac, Apple is reportedly removing one too. According to Six Colors, macOS Ventura completely removes the Network Locations feature.
The ‘Location’ feature in the Network section of System Preferences lets Mac users quickly switch between different sets of network configurations so they have the right settings for their situation and where they are. It was introduced in macOS 10.0.
The feature’s disappearance from macOS Ventura’s redesigned System Preferences menu isn’t some kind of a bug either. Tyler Loch (@TylerLoch), who initially spotted the change, submitted feedback to Apple on what he saw as an issue but was told that everything “works as currently designed.”
Whelp. Seems macOS’ long-standing Network Locations feature is gone, and not coming back.
Its absence in Ventura is “as designed”. pic.twitter.com/cv9hz5Npy9— Tyler Loch (@TylerLoch) August 9, 2022
The Network Locations feature came in pretty handy when you had to quickly switch between networks or tinker around with network settings without messing up your existing preferences.
While the feature appears to have been discontinued by Apple, the networksetup command-line tool that powered it is still available in the latest macOS Ventura beta build. That being the case, there might be room for a third-party app to step in and fill the gap.
Did you ever use the Network Locations tool in macOS? If so, what for? Let us know in the comments below.
