'\" t
.\"     Title: NetworkManager-wait-online.service
.\"    Author: 
.\" Generator: DocBook XSL Stylesheets vsnapshot <http://docbook.sf.net/>
.\"      Date: 02/25/2026
.\"    Manual: Network management daemons
.\"    Source: NetworkManager-wait-online.service 1.56.0
.\"  Language: English
.\"
.TH "NETWORKMANAGER\-WAIT\-ONLINE\&" "8" "" "NetworkManager\-wait\-online\&" "Network management daemons"
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.SH "NAME"
NetworkManager-wait-online.service \- Wait for the network to come online
.SH "DESCRIPTION"
.PP
The
NetworkManager\-wait\-online
service is a
oneshot
systemd service that delays reaching the
network\-online
target until NetworkManager reports that the startup is completed on the D\-Bus\&.
.PP
When the system boots, for example, remote mounts defined in
/etc/fstab, require that the network is up\&. For this, these systemd units contain the
After=network\-online\&.target
setting to order themselves after this target\&.
NetworkManager\-wait\-online
ensures that the
network\-online
target is reached only after the network is available\&.
.PP
Optimally, all services on the host react dynamically to network changes and systemd services do not need to be configured to start after reaching the
network\-online
target\&. In this case,
NetworkManager\-wait\-online\&.service
has no effect and does not delay the boot time\&. On the other hand, if you encounter a long boot time due to the delay of
NetworkManager\-wait\-online, investigate the services that require network access and fix them\&.
.PP
Except for the time out value in the
NetworkManager\-wait\-online\&.service
unit, you cannot configure this service\&. Instead, settings in NetworkManager and the connection profiles affect the behavior:
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
Startup is not complete as long as NetworkManager profiles are in an activating state\&. During boot, NetworkManager starts profiles with the
connection\&.autoconnect=yes
setting\&. If activation fails, NetworkManager retries the activation depending on the value of the
connection\&.autoconnect\-retries
setting\&.
.sp
NetworkManager reports startup complete when all profiles and devices are either activated or in a disconnect state and no further events are expected\&.
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
When a device reaches the activate state depends on its configuration\&. For example, with a profile that has both IPv4 and IPv6 enabled, by default, NetworkManager considers the device as fully activated already when only one of the address families is ready\&.
.sp
The
ipv4\&.may\-fail
and
ipv6\&.may\-fail
settings control this behavior\&. Additionally, the following settings influence when the two address families complete:
ipv4\&.required\-timeout,
ipv6\&.required\-timeout,
ipv4\&.dhcp\-timeout, and
ipv6\&.ra\-timeout\&. For details, see
\fBnm-settings-nmcli\fR(5)\&.
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
NetworkManager cannot set IP addresses on bridge and bond devices that have ports that do not auto\-activate\&. Because of this configuration error,
NetworkManager\-wait\-online
blocks until the service reaches its timeout value\&.
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
Dispatcher scripts for the
pre\-up
event run at a late stage during activation of a profile\&. These scripts block the activation for when NetworkManager considers the profile fully activated\&. For details, see
\fBNetworkManager-dispatcher\fR(8)\&.
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
The property
connection\&.wait\-activation\-delay
adds an additional delay during activation and delays startup complete\&. This setting works around certain cases where a device is known to not be ready for a certain amount of time\&.
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
The property
connection\&.wait\-device\-timeout
in the connection profiles cause a delay until the waiting devices appear\&. This is useful if the driver takes a longer time to detect the networking interfaces\&. This setting is similar to the
connection\&.gateway\-ping\-timeout
property\&.
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
With Wi\-Fi devices, NetworkManager needs to wait for the first scan result to know which networks are available\&. That adds a delay\&.
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
With Ethernet devices, NetworkManager waits for the carrier until the value in
[device*]\&.carrier\-wait\-timeout
is reached\&. This is because some devices take a long time to detect the carrier\&. Consequently, booting with cable unplugged, unnecessarily delays
NetworkManager\-wait\-online\&.service\&.
.RE
.SH "BUGS"
.PP
Please report any bugs in NetworkManager at the
\m[blue]\fBNetworkManager issue tracker\fR\m[]\&\s-2\u[1]\d\s+2\&.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.PP
\m[blue]\fBNetworkManager home page\fR\m[]\&\s-2\u[2]\d\s+2,
\fBNetworkManager\fR(8),
\fBnm-online\fR(1), the
network\-online\&.target
description in
\fBsystemd.special\fR(7)
.SH "NOTES"
.IP " 1." 4
NetworkManager issue tracker
.RS 4
\%https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/NetworkManager/NetworkManager/-/issues
.RE
.IP " 2." 4
NetworkManager home page
.RS 4
\%https://networkmanager.dev
.RE
