iPhone USB Tethering suddenly stopped working on OS X Lion

Excellent fix. Worked great for 10.8.1 Mountain Lion!

John

zahidmaqbool wrote:

The solution is :

1. Delete iPhone configuration utility. Just drop it to the trash
2. Run

sudo rm -rf /private/var/db/receipts/com.apple.pkg.iPhoneConfigurationUtility.*

rm -rf ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.iPhoneConfigurationUtility.plist*

3. Delete the whole folder: /System/Library/Extensions/AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext

4. Reinstall iTunes (just over the previous one)

5. Restart

incase of any issues, visit this thread: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3725328?start=15&tstart=0

Not to dumb it down but WHAT is an iPhone configuration utility? Is it on the phone or on the iMac? And where do you run anything? I only barely know how to "run" on a regular

PC....

Hi,

same problem: yesterday I run software update on my OSX 10.6.8 and installed the followings:

- iTunes 10,7

- Utility Airport v5,6,1

- Java for MacOS X 10.6 Update 10

- Software Update for HP Printer v2,11

I used to use tethering via USB with my iPhone 4 (iOS 5.1.1) but after the update i can only tether via wifi (right I am doing now).

I tried to follow the procedure posted by zahidmaqbool but without success.

P.S. in system preferences > network iPhoneUSB disappeared after the software update.

any ideas??

Ciao

Hi again,

just fyi, i solved the problem just deleting the folder Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration and rebooting the iMac.

Now I can use tethering via USB again.

Ciao

Tried deleting the folder and rebooting. Nothing changed. Ended up time machining back to this morning which, alarmingly, DOESN'T go back in time because I still had to go to trash and undelete the folder...what's that about?! Shouldn't it restore the system to prior? If it doesn't then what else isn't being undone?!

And, as before, I still don't understand the prior instructions (as per my original post) but no help

with that yet. Hey, Apple, how are we supposed to fix network problems when no longer have tethering/Internet with which to download repairs?!

@iwave and @andreafromspringfieldgardens,

I am facing exactly the same problem as iwave: same OS and same set of upgrades that caused the USB tethering to stop working. Bluetooth and Wifi tethering still work, but are far less reliable for extended use. I tried iwave solution (either restoring /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration from Time Machine, or deleting it entirely), and to no avail.

I also tried the one from John P. (and other similar), with no better results. Perhaps it's related to the fact that I'm still on 10.6.8, and did not upgrade to Mountain Lion?

Did anyone try something else to successfully resolve the issue?

Same issues....

OS X 10.6.8

iphone 4s 5.1.1 then when i update itunes to 10.7 everything went bad.

Update iphone to 6 still no USB tethering.

It has to be the AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext

Since most of you have solved the issue with reintalling itunes.

Ive deleted the file on

System/Library/Extensions/AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext

4. Reinstall iTunes (just over the previous one)

5. Restart

But it does not solve the issue.

Today bought iphone 5 still cant do USB tethering... but wifi and bluetooth no issue.

We are having the same problem after installing the Apple update today for iTunes and a security update. USB tethering NO LONGER works. Have to use WIFi. Planned on reverting back to before these updates using the time machine, but I get the impressions from others that this doesn't make any difference.

Here's another discussion concerning similar problems, including my solution, hope it helps someone:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4303616?answerId=19596490022#19596490022

DO NOT DELETE FOLDERS LIKE SUGGESTED ABOVE...

They are there for a reason, not for the sake of it...

This is another case of bad quality control on the part of Apple...

Luckily I have several Macs, and tend to update only one at a time, an wait to see what they have messed up this time, they manage make quite a few headaches with EVERY update, despite what the appologists would have you believe.

Anyway, having compared two machines, (one updated the other not) the update of iTunes to 10.7 seems to have updated AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext to version 2.3.6 and in the process messed it up (of course, its not their fault).

You need to replace this kext with a good version or an earlier working version, repairing permissions did not work.

To do this, download KextUtility and install it, then drag the old working kext onto the KextUtility icon, it willreplace the broken version and fix any other permission issues in your S/L/E folder.

http://mac.softpedia.com/get/System-Utilities/Kext-Utility.shtml

and the working kexts (if you can't find it on your time machine backup)...

Version 2.2.0 (Working on 10.6.8) http://db.tt/Fahk9VBe

Version 2.3.6 (Working on 10.8 & 10.7) http://db.tt/U674UcOV

Nice one Apple, thanks for wasting a few hours of my life, AGAIN.

Try this link for KextUtility...

http://cvad-mac.narod2.ru/Kext_Utility

I have a Macbookpro with OSX 10.6.8 and iPhone 4s (iOS 6). Tethering used to work on USB. Just last week for some unknown reason, USB tethering stopped working on my Macbookpro.

It can still charge and sync data with iTunes 10.7 through USB.

I can see iPhone listed under my network preferences, but connection isn't active.

I try to reinstall iTunes, repair permissions, reset PRAM…with no result at all.

I see also it wasn't possible to add the iphone interface into the network preferences using another user account on the same machine.

This is very annoying and unacceptable !!!

Today noticed Hibernian56 solution...and he is right !

All the question is a bad AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext file iinstalled by iTunes 10.7 and reversing to 2.2.0 version restore fully the tethering function on my mac.

Thank you very very much Hibernian56 !!!

Have a great day

David Empson on Mar 11, 2012 6:45 AM posted a solution.

I got tethering working by deleting /System/Library/Extensions/AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext (ver 2.3.6) to trash, and restoring ver 2.3.0 from my Time Machine backup. Worked immediately.

Same issue with iTunes 11. No USB tethering after installation.

If you installed iTunes 11 under Snow Leopard (10.6) you have to downgrade AppleUSBEthernet.kext from version 2.3.6 to 2.2.0.

To do this refer to Hibernian56 working solution :

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3810527?answerId=20078819022#20078819022

Denis

Its pathetic, you would wonder if anyone in Apple actually listens to its customers anymore.

Before I upgraded to iTunes 11 (which is actually quite nice) I dragged the kext to the desktop, then upgraded and only then did I reload the old kext (2.2.0) into Kext Utility.

Works again.

This is extremely shabby product testing from Apple, if any.