How to use Network Locations on a Mac

Network
locations are like network profiles that loads different preferences depending
on what network you are connecting to. For example, let’s say you work from
home and then take your Mac to work. You also sometimes work from coffee shops,
airports and other places too. Rather than having to set up different network
settings manually, you can use a network location to do it automatically.

As we live
in New Jersey, the guys here at Dave’s Computers spend a lot of time traveling
and in coffee shops. It’s part of our culture and making that change of
networks as simple as possible makes life easier for all of us. We can have one
network setting for the Ethernet here at Dave’s. We have another for public
WiFi and another for connecting to client networks.

All we need
do is switch between them as we connect. It’s fast, simple and implements all
the changes we need with a single selection.

Configure network locations

Setting up
network locations is quite straightforward. You can do it as many times as you
need and configure different settings for each.

1. Select the Apple menu icon and
   select System Preferences.
2. Select Network to bring up the
   network window.
3. Select Edit Locations at the top by
   Locations.
4. Select the ‘+’ icon to add a
   location.
5. Name it something relevant and
   select Done.
6. Configure the connection how you
   like and select Apply once complete.

If your new
network location is similar to an existing one, you can select the small cog
icon instead of the ‘+’ to copy it. You can then rename it and change the
settings accordingly. It saves time if there is only a minor change.

From that
small cog icon, you can also change the Service Order. This is the order in
which your Mac connects to networks like WiFi first and Ethernet second and so
on. Select Set Service Order from the list to do this.

We often
use the Automatic network location when at a customer site. This tells MacOS to
see what network connections are available and to use the strongest signal. If
the client has no restrictions on connectivity, this can save us time when
setting up and makes us look professional as we are up and running in the
fastest time!

Configure a VPN as a
network location

If you use
free WiFi anywhere, you should also use a VPN to help maintain privacy. You can
add your VPN details to a network location so your Mac connects automatically.

1. Select the Apple menu icon and
   select System Preferences.
2. Select Network to bring up the
   network window.
3. Select Edit Locations at the top by
   Locations.
4. Select the ‘+;’ icon and select VPN
   instead of location.
5. Add your VPN server details
   including connection type, server address, username and all that.
6. Select OK to save.

You can
also select ‘Show VPN status in menu bar’ so you can keep an eye on things.

If you have
a VPN config file, you can import that using the cog menu. Select Import
Configurations, select the config file and Import.

Selecting network
locations on Mac

Once you
have your network locations configured, how do you use them? It’s about as
simple as it gets.

1. Select the Apple menu icon and
   select System Preferences.
2. Select Network to bring up the network
   window.
3. Select a location and connect.

You can do
it faster than that if you need to by selecting Location from the Apple menu.
You can connect directly to a particular network location with just two clicks!