How to manage a wired network on Ubuntu Desktop

Last updated on October 15, 2020 by Dan Nanni

On Ubuntu Desktop 14.10 or earlier, a dedcated GUI program called Networ kManager is responsible for configuring network settings (e.g., wired network, wireless network, proxy settings).

On a freshly installed Ubuntu desktop 14.10 or earlier, when you go to: System Settings → Network → Wired on Ubuntu Desktop, if you see Unmanaged, and you are unable to edit its network configuration, it means that your wired network is not managed by Network Manager, but by /etc/network/interfaces.

If you want to manage a wired network via Network Manager on Ubuntu desktop, do the following.

First, remove the existing network configuration for wired interfaces from /etc/network/interfaces. The resulting /etc/network/interfaces will only have the following loopback interface.

auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

Now, enable wired network settings on Network Manager by changing managed=false to managed=true in /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf.

$ sudo vi /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf

[ifupdown]
managed=true

Finally, restart NetworkManager to reload its configuration.

$ sudo service network-manager restart

Once you restart Network Manager, you will be able to edit wired network settings in System Settings → Network → Wired. Note that /etc/network/interfaces will no longer be used and thus remain blank, as Network Manager takes over network configuration tasks.

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