2020 MBP: OWC dock ethernet issue on macOS 26.4.1

The macOS Tahoe 26.4.1 update (released April 9, 2026) has been reported to cause intermittent connectivity and "not recognized" bugs for USB-C and Thunderbolt docks on 2020 MacBook Pro models. 

Immediate Troubleshooting Steps

• The "Power Cycle" Fix: A common workaround for this specific update is to unplug your dock's power adapter, connect your official Apple laptop charger directly to the dock’s power delivery port, and then reconnect the dock to your Mac. This often forces the Mac to re-handshake with the dock's Ethernet controller.
• Reset the Ethernet Interface:

1. 1. Go to System Settings > Network.
   2. Select your OWC Ethernet interface and click the minus (–) button to delete it.
   3. Click the plus (+) button to re-add it.

• Hardware Dock Reset: Unplug all cables and the AC adapter from the OWC dock. Hold the dock's power button (if it has one) for 30 seconds before reconnecting everything. 

Driver & Firmware Checks

• OWC Dock Ejector: Ensure you have the latest OWC Dock Ejector installed, as it includes necessary drivers for high-speed Ethernet stability on OWC hardware.
• Rosetta Incompatibility: Note that macOS 26.4 is the first version to notify users of upcoming Rosetta 2 deprecation. If your Ethernet driver relies on older Intel-based background processes, it may be experiencing performance stutters or failures on this build.

Advanced Diagnostics

If the dock works in Safe Mode, the issue is likely a third-party kernel extension or background process conflicting with the new network stack in 26.4.1. 

Would you like the specific Terminal commands to check if the Mac's hardware even "sees" the OWC Ethernet chip at the system level?

That's a TB3 dock, there are no drivers or similar for it. It's completely plug-n-play. Personally, I have a Stone Pro TB3 dock that continues to work as normal on 26.4.1, including providing Ethernet.

What do you see in System Settings > Network? And when you click the ••• at the bottom then Set Service Order, is Thunderbolt Ethernet on top?