USB-To-Ethernet Adaptors for Mac OS X
Introduction
Like many Macintosh users, I've wanted to add a second Ethernet to an iBook (iMac, or Mac Mini) to use as a server (or as a replacement for a dead Ethernet built-in). Although USB to Ethernet adaptors are cheap and plentiful, Mac OS X drivers are not. After scouring the web and talking to other Mac developers, I finally found a workable combination. The purpose of this note is to document what works since I haven't seen it widely published anywhere else. I welcome your feedback to help keep this page up-to-date.
USB Display Adapters; USB Display Adapters. Power Search. USB to DVI Adapters (304) USB to HDMI Adapters. GWC SuperSpeed USB 3.0/2.0 to DVI Adapter Add-on monitor for Windows and Mac up to 2048x1152/1920x1200 in Black + 50% off w/ promo code SPAGMXE6253, ends 11/30. Compliant with Universal Serial Bus 2.0 Specification Supports. Steps to get your adapter working if you just upgraded to Mac OS 10.11 El Capitan. As soon as the screen goes black, hold down 'Command' and 'R' until you see a black screen with an Apple logo and a white progress bar. Just for the records, i could successfully install the driver and use the USB-Serial adapter on Mac OS v10.8.2 (Mountain Lion). The only difference from the tutorial is that i had to alter GateKeeper configurations so a ‘non-signed’ driver could be installed. Compact USB to RS-485 converter cable with the chipset built into the USB connector. This design offers a convenient way of connecting your RS485 devices directly to the RS485 wires of this 485 converter cable or via the a two-piece screw terminal connector for easy disconnection. Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter. That means you can use it to connect a Thunderbolt 3 device to a Thunderbolt 1 or Thunderbolt 2 port on an older Mac. The Simplest USB to TV Adapter on the Market for Windows 7 Users, all you do is plug-it-in and it works. In windows 7 you do not even have to use our Provided Driver CD, it will auto detect our USB HDMI adapter and download drivers, a minute later you are ready to watch YouTube videos or extend your desktop to your large Format TV Screen.
OEM Alternative (Gigabit Ethernet but limited by USB 2.0)
Device: http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Gigabit-Ethernet-Network-Adapter/dp/B003VSTDFGDriver: http://www.asix.com.tw/FrootAttach/driver/AX88178_Macintosh_10.4_to_10.7_Driver_v3.6.0_20111014.zip
Drivers and Supported Devices
After some research on the web, I came to realize there are two basic catagories of USB-To-Ethernet adaptors:
- USB 1.1 devices that use a Pegasus driver.
- USB 2.0 devices that use a AX8817x driver
(or its successor, the AX88772 which appeared around Aug-2005).
While there are no doubt exceptions, most of the popular low cost adaptors fall into one of these categories.
USB Network Adaptor | Driver | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Brand | Model | USB | Pegasus | AX8817X |
3COM | 3C460B | 1.1 | x | |
Apple | USB Etherenet | 2.0 | ||
Belkin | F5D5050 | 1.1 | x | |
D-Link | DSB-650 | 1.1 | x | |
D-Link | DSB-650TX | 1.1 | x | |
D-Link | DUB-E100 | 2.0 | x | |
D-Link | DUN-E100 | 2.0 | x | |
Farallon | Netline PN796-650 | 1.1 | x | |
Kingston | KNU101TX | 1.1 | x | |
LinkSys | USB10TX | 1.1 | x | |
LinkSys | USB100TX | 1.1 | x | |
LinkSys | USB200M | 2.0 | x | |
LinkSys | USB300M | 2.0 | x | |
NetGear | FA120 | 2.0 | x | |
SMC | 2208USB/ETH | 1.1 | x | |
SMC | 2209USB/ETH | 2.0 | x | |
TRENDnet | TU2 ETG | 2.0 | x |
The first driver that worked for me was a Pegasus driver for Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) developed by Daniel Sumorok. Since then I've been collaborating with Daniel to help make more drivers available. We have ported his original Pegasus driver to work on Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger or later), and developed a USB 2.0 AX8817x driver. All are open source released under a GPL license.
You can download them from here:
Description | File | Size | OS | Comments |
Pegusus USB 1.1 | USBPegasusEthernet 1.0.9 | 196K | 10.3-10.5 | Universal Binary |
AX8817x USB 2.0 | USBAx8817x 1.0.3b11 | 254K | 10.3-10.5 | Universal Binary |
AX8817x USB 2.0 | USBAx8817x 1.0.3b14 | 315K | 10.5-10.6 | Snow Leopard 64-bit Compatible |
Each disk image includes an installer for Panther or 10.4_or_later, and a 'src' folder containing the corresponding xCode projects.
I have tested the Pegusus driver on a Belkin F5D5050 and the Ax8817x driver on a LinkSys USB200M. I am using the USB200M daily for Internet connectivity on an Intel Core Duo running Leopard.
I found a Belkin F5D5050 USB adaptor at Buy.com for $24.30 on 3/10/2005.
I picked up a LinkSys Compact USB 2.0 Network Adaptor (USB200M) at Staples for $29.98 on 3/19/2005 .
As of 2009, the Apple USB Ethernet adaptor is probably the best choice for most Mac users. It is competively priced and offers the most hassle free driver support.
AX8817x devices are fully backward compatible with USB 1.1 host ports and are reasonably priced, so are probably the best option at this time. Pegasus based devices seem to be getting harder to find. Some USB 1.1 devices use the Realtek 8150 or Davicom DM9601 which is not supported by these drivers.
With the announcement of the MacBook Air, Apple began shipping their own USB-to-Ethernet adaptor and driver (AppleUSBEthernet).I understand Apple's USB-to-Ethernet adaptor should work on other Macs running Leopard 10.5.2 or later (Daniel Sumorok has verified this). It can also be used on systems running Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later by installing our latest USBAx8817x driver. Apple's driver is not designed to support 3rd party USB-to-Ethernet adaptors or prevoius OS versions. We have modified our own driver to take precedence over Apple's driver when it is installed, and recognize the Apple USB Ethernet Adaptor.
Latest Release Notes [18-Mar-2011]
USBAx8817x 1.0.3b14 improved compatibility with Gigabit Ethernet adaptors.
USBAx8817x 1.0.3b13 enabled Ethernet flow control.
USBAx8817x 1.0.3b12 includes a 32/64-bit Universal Binary (for 10.5 or later).
USBPegasusEthernet 1.0.9 updated to support SMC2208/ETH (ADM8513).
USBAx8817x 1.0.3b11 tuned to improve performance with some adaptors.
USBAx8817x 1.0.3b10 recognize Apple's USB-to-Ethernet Adaptor.
USBAx8817x 1.0.3b9 increases the 'probe score' returned for AX88772 devices to supercede AppleUSBEthernet.
The Tiger version was renamed to '10.4_or_later' and installs a Universal Binary that has been tested on Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5).
USBAx8817x 1.0.3b8 removes 'expected NULL' warning messages that appear in the System.log under Leopard.
USBAx8817x 1.0.3b6 and later support the new Ax88772-based DUB-E100, Airlink 101, and Belkin Gigabit USB Ethernet adaptors.
USBPegasusEthernet 1.0.8 updates the project to build properly on Leopard and supports the NetGear FA101.
USBAx8817x 1.0.3b13 enabled Ethernet flow control.
USBAx8817x 1.0.3b12 includes a 32/64-bit Universal Binary (for 10.5 or later).
USBPegasusEthernet 1.0.9 updated to support SMC2208/ETH (ADM8513).
USBAx8817x 1.0.3b11 tuned to improve performance with some adaptors.
USBAx8817x 1.0.3b10 recognize Apple's USB-to-Ethernet Adaptor.
USBAx8817x 1.0.3b9 increases the 'probe score' returned for AX88772 devices to supercede AppleUSBEthernet.
The Tiger version was renamed to '10.4_or_later' and installs a Universal Binary that has been tested on Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5).
USBAx8817x 1.0.3b8 removes 'expected NULL' warning messages that appear in the System.log under Leopard.
USBAx8817x 1.0.3b6 and later support the new Ax88772-based DUB-E100, Airlink 101, and Belkin Gigabit USB Ethernet adaptors.
USBPegasusEthernet 1.0.8 updates the project to build properly on Leopard and supports the NetGear FA101.
Installation
Download and mount the appropriate driver disk image listed above, run the corresponding installer for Panther or 10.4_or_later, and then restart your system as suggested. The Installer will ask you to authenticate so it can place the corresponding driver in '/System/Library/Extensions/' with the correct file permisions to load as a kernel extension.
Next, plug-in your Ethernet adaptor with a live Ethernet cable attached. When you open the Network Preferences panel, it should inform you that a new port has been detected and ask if you want to enable it. Enable the new port and apply your network settings. On Leopard, the message indicating a new port has been detected may not appear, but you still need to Apply your network settings to enable the attached device for the first time.
Each driver is pre-configured to recognize a handfull of common devices. If your device does not appear to be recognized by the driver, you might have to add it to the Info.plist file, which is located inside the USBPegasusEthernet.kext or USBAx8817x.kext directory. You can use the System Profiler or USBProber tool to find the corresponding Product ID and Vendor ID.
To uninstall the driver, make sure any USB adaptors are disconnected, and then drag the corresponding driver in /System/Library/Extensions/ USBPegaususEthernet.kext or USBAx8817x.kext to the trash. You may need to authenticate that you have administrator privileges.
USB 1.1 Performance
The Pegasus chipset provides a USB 1.1 compatible implementation which could be a concern for some users. USB 1.1 runs at 1.5 Mbps (low speed) or 12 Mbps (full speed). For best performance, it's important to isolate any low speed devices on a separate bus. Mice and keyboards often run at low speed.
Using the Link Rate tool in IPNetMonitorX, I measured the link rate to another device on my LAN as 6 Mbps. The built-in Ethernet on my 12' PBG4 reported 44 Mpbs. When I measured the link rate to the next hop router through my cable modem, it reported 1 mbps. It didn't make any difference whether I used Ethernet built-in or the USB-To-Ethernet adaptor. Finally, I downloaded a 2.2 MB file to compare the throughput using the Monitor tool.
Both downloads took 5 seconds, but Ethernet built-in reached a peak rate of 589 KBps versus 579 kBps. Repeating the experiment several times produced similar results. Ethernet built-in might be 1-2% faster, but performance was clearly limited by the speed of my cable modem (Your Mileage May Vary).
USB 2.0 Performance
The AX8817x chip set provides a USB 2.0 compatible implementation which runs at up to 480 Mbps (high speed), so it should be possible to keep up with 100 Mbps fast ethernet as long as there are no other slower devices on the same bus. To test this I copied a 64.8 MB music file to my PBG4 laptop connected through a LinkSys USB200M Ethernet Adaptor (en3) and compared this to the same file transfer using Built-in Ethernet (en0).
Both transfers reached 10 MBps (80-90 Mbps) and took about 10 seconds. I repeated the test in the other direction.
While the USB-To-Ethernet adaptor was slightly slower, at 80 Mbps there was little noticeable difference. Files moved quickly from one system to another via 100 Mbps fast Ethernet. Copying the same file using AirPort wireless took 50-90 seconds.
Stability
While other USB-To-Ethernet drivers are reported to be buggy, I haven't encountered any stability problems to date. The adaptor turns off when the computer goes to sleep and comes back on when the computer awakes. It does not support 'Wake On LAN' at this time.
Wrap Up
This USB-To-Ethernet Adaptor combination could be an attractive solution for a Mac Mini, or old iBook used as an Internet gateway or server. I'm particularly fond of using old laptops as servers since they are compact, quiet, use little energy, and include their own battery backup.
I hope you find this information useful and welcome your comments and experience.
- Peter Sichel
Sustainable Softworks
psichel 'at' sustworks 'dot' com
Sustainable Softworks
psichel 'at' sustworks 'dot' com
Last updated 18-Mar-2011.
Many fellow Mac enthusiasts have written to thank us for these drivers (you're welcome), and some have even asked if they could contribute something to support our on going efforts. While our intent is to make these drivers freely available, we do have expenses and welcome any support. Thanks!
Usb Adapter For Macbook Air Ssd
Update Oct 2015: Updated for 10.11 El Capitan!
If you bought a cheap aftermarket USB-Ethernet adapter like me and found that it doesn't work on El Capitan or Yosemite, here's what you need to get it going.
Seriously. You can stop tearing you hair out now. It'll all be ok.
As with all advice on the internet, you can't sue me if this sets fire to your cat or sends ninjas to your house. You're doing this on your own, and I assume no liability or warranty for what you do.
Steps to get your adapter working if you just upgraded to Mac OS 10.11 El Capitan.
- Reboot. As soon as the screen goes black, hold down 'Command' and 'R' until you see a black screen with an Apple logo and a white progress bar. Let go, and wait for your computer to boot into recovery mode.
- From the top bar, select 'Utilities' and then 'Terminal'
- In the terminal, run
csrutil disable
. - From the top bar, select '', then 'Restart'
- When you boot back up, you'll have a working adapter!
- Definitely take a read down below to see what's changed in El Capitan, and if disabling SIP makes sense for your setup.
Steps to get your adapter working if you've never used the adapter before in Mac OS 10.11 El Capitan.
- Uninstall the dozens of other drivers you may have installed in the process of trying to get this working.
- Unplug your USB adapter, and reboot and give yourself a clean slate.
- Reboot. As soon as the screen goes black, hold down 'Command' and 'R' until you see a black screen with an Apple logo and a white progress bar. Let go, and wait for your computer to boot into recovery mode.
- From the top bar, select 'Utilities' and then 'Terminal'
- In the terminal, run
csrutil disable
. - From the top bar, select '', then 'Restart'
- Once you're booted back up, download and install the drivers from the CD, kindly uploaded by this fine human being.
- Reboot.
- Open your terminal, and run
sudo kextload /System/Library/Extensions/USBCDCEthernet.kext
- Reboot.
- Plug in your USB Adapter, with a live ethernet cable.
- Open System Preferences, and go to the Network Pane.
- Hit the + button in the bottom right, select the 'USB 2.0 10/100M Ethernet Adapter', and hit add.
- You're all set! Your adapter works!
- Apologize to the people you care about for the things you've said over the past few hours. They won't understand, but they will forgive you.
Steps to get your adapter working on Mac OS 10.10 Yosemite
- Uninstall the dozens of other drivers you may have installed in the process of trying to get this working.
- Unplug your USB adapter, and reboot and give yourself a clean slate.
- Download and install the drivers from the CD, kindly uploaded by this fine human being.
- Reboot.
- Open your terminal, and run
sudo nvram boot-args='kext-dev-mode=1'
- Reboot.
- Open your terminal, and run
sudo kextload /System/Library/Extensions/USBCDCEthernet.kext
- Reboot.
- Plug in your USB Adapter, with a live ethernet cable.
- Open System Preferences, and go to the Network Pane.
- Hit the + button in the bottom right, select the 'USB 2.0 10/100M Ethernet Adapter', and hit add.
- You're all set! Your adapter works!
- Apologize to the people you care about for the things you've said over the past few hours. They won't understand, but they will forgive you.
What's going on. (Yosemite Version).
The old drivers still work, no problem, but are being blocked in Yosemite because they aren't 'signed' properly, since they weren't re-issued for Yosemite. As 'unsigned' drivers, Mac OS refuses to load them, saying they constitute a security hazard.
What step 5 does is instructs your computer to set itself to 'developer mode', which allows you to load unsigned kexts. This is a mild security risk, but it should be fine for most people. If you're in doubt, please make the decision that makes the most sense for your security concerns. You might be better off just buying legit Apple hardware so you don't have to disable the security. That's your call.
If you ever do go legit and want to undo it, just run
sudo nvram boot-args='kext-dev-mode=0
, and things will be back where you left them.What's going on. (El Capitan Version).
In short, it's the same scenario as Yosemite, just stricter. Apple has a new security mode, called 'System Integrity Protection' (SIP) that prevents anyone - even you with your password - from modifying system files.
The old drivers still work, no problem, but are being blocked in El Capitan because they aren't 'signed' properly, since they weren't re-issued for El Capitan. As 'unsigned' drivers, Mac OS refuses to load them, saying they constitute a security hazard.
The
csrutil disable
step turns off SIP for your entire system, which allows you to load and use the drivers. This also disables malware protection for your machine, and given that we've started to see genuine malware for OS X in the wild, it's a slightly larger security risk than it was in Yosemite.If you're in doubt, please make the decision that makes the most sense for your security concerns. You might be better off just buying legit Apple hardware so you don't have to disable the security. That's your call.
If you ever do go legit and want to undo it, just reboot into recovery mode and run
csrutil enable
, and things will be back where you left them.Anyhow, after hours of searching and pulling out my own hair, I thought it'd be worth sharing the solution! Enjoy!
psst. Yeah, you, with the working ethernet adapter. :)
If this post helped you out, please do me a favor back (and maybe yourself one, too), and check out my masterclass on living with purpose and going after your big dreams.
It's really, really good. Thanks!-Steven
If this post helped you out, please do me a favor back (and maybe yourself one, too), and check out my masterclass on living with purpose and going after your big dreams.
It's really, really good. Thanks!-Steven