MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac Mini users were hit by an Ethernet connectivity issue following a software update released by the company. Now Apple has officially released a fix for the problem.
Apple rolled out a flawed "Incompatible Kernel Extension Configuration Data" version to Mac owners on Friday. The update resulted in Ethernet connectivity issues reported by many Mac users. Apple is swift enough to take customer feedback and address the issue.
"If the Ethernet connection on your Mac stopped working recently, check System Information to find out which version of 'Incompatible Kernel Extension Configuration Data' is installed. If you have version 3.28.1, you need an update," says Apple support team.
Affected Mac owners who are able to connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi will automatically get version 3.28.2, which will fix the issue. However, Mac users who cannot connect to Wi-Fi will have to restore connectivity manually.
Mac owners will first have to establish if their system has 3.28.1 version. Users can find the version by pressing the Option key and select System Information from the Apple menu. They will have to select Installations after Expanding the Software section then look for "Incompatible Kernel Extension Configuration Data."
If the latest version is 3.28.1 then they should follow the below steps:
1) Start the affected Mac computer in the OS X Recovery mode.
2) Select Disk Utilities from OS X Utilities.
3) Select the drive from the list of internal drives in the sidebar. The default name is "Macintosh HD." However, the drive may have a different name if the user has renamed or changed its location.
4) The drive may be protected by FileVault if the name appears in gray. Users will have to Select File > Unlock from the Disk Utility menu and then enter the FileVault password.
5) Select File > Mount in Disk Utility to mount the drive, in case if it is not mounted.
6) Users can now Quit Disk Utility.
"If you'd like to be able to copy and paste the command required in Step 8, select Get Help Online from the OS X Utilities list to open Safari and view this article on Apple's support site at support.apple.com/kb/HT6672. Quit Safari before you go to the next step," added Apple.
7) Mac users should now launch the Terminal app from Utilities > Terminal.
8) Once the app is launched, users will have to insert the following command if the drive name is Macintosh HD.
rm -rf "/Volumes/Macintosh HD/System/Library/Extensions/AppleKextExcludeList.kext"
Users will have to replace "Macintosh HD" from the command with the drive name as it appears of individual computers.
9) Users can now quit the Terminal app and restart the Mac.
10) The affected device's Ethernet connection should work after it has re-started.
11) Users should launch the Terminal app again and type the below command for updating the current version of the "Incompatible Kernel Extension Configuration Data" kernel extension:
sudo softwareupdate - background
12) Users should quit the Terminal app and restart the Mac again.
Mac owners who do not have their data saved on their hard drive can also fix the issue by reinstalling OS X through Recovery Mode.
