iPhone USB Tethering suddenly stopped working on OS X Lion

Do you know where I can find different versions of AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext, so that I can try different ones and hopefully get one of them to work properly. I don´t know how to revert to an earlier version of iTunes. Read a post about it, and it looked quite complicated?!

Hi, just spoke with apple support and apparently this is a known problem/bug, so I´ll just have to wait for an update. Reverting back to an older version of iTunes seems rather difficult...

Cheers and have a good weekend 🙂

thanks MaKr-0617 for confirming its a known bug *sigh*

tried to swap both the 2.2.0 and 2.3.6 versions with no luck.

notice my 10.7.5 intall with iTunes 11.0.2 already had the 2.3.6 version too.

patience...

NIce

Had this problem on an iPhone 4S running iOS 6.1.3 connected to a MacBook Pro running OS X 10.8.4

In the list of available connections in Network Preferences, iPhone USB appeared, but was listed as not connected when the USB cable was plugged in.

I had recently installed iPhone Configuration Utility, so I followed these steps (from upthread):

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) - was, and am using after reinstall, iTunes 11

5. Restart

The connection still wasn't working.

On speaking with a senior advisor in Apple Support, performed a hard reset of the iPhone (hold down the home and sleep buttons until the phone goes blank. The phone will restart.)

That did it! The iPhone USB connection is now recognized and Personal Hotspot is connecting via the USB connection.

I'm running Lion 10.7.5 with iTunes 11.0.5 installed and I wasn't seeing an iPhone USB option in System Preferences > Network when I plugged in my iPhone 5 with a USB cable.

I fixed this by installing the version 2.3.0 AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext from the iTunes 10.6.3 intaller. You can use Pacifist to open the .pkg file install the kext. The file you are looking for is in /System/Library/Extensions/. After I restarted the computer, then reconnected my USB cable, the iPhone USB device showed up in Network settings and tethering started working.

Now tethering was working, but I would lose connection every time my iPhone went to sleep. I fixed this by turning off WiFi on the phone, then restarting tethering on the phone. When I did this, it gave me an option to just tether over USB only. Since doing this, I haven't lost connection.

Great !!!!

Worked straight after putting the new file on the small app !

Thank you 😉

I must say, you guys at Apple have to admit you SUCK !!!

Your support online is like a drop of water in the whole Sahara desert

FROM: Hibernian56

This method is the Good one !

To add a bit of precision:

Prior to go on, deactivate any tethering via wifi, Bluetooth. Actually, deactivate all !

So do you on your Mac too, deactivate wifi, BT, etc...

- First, remove the old "AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext" from the extension folder.

- Download the Kest Utility, and the correct file corresponding to your OSX version.

- Unzip the Utility, and open it (no need to install on your application folder.

- When downloaded the new file corresponding to your OS from the link below, unzip it,

and drag it onto the Kest Utility window.

- Let the app do the job until done !

- HERE IT IS !!!

- Open your iPhone, reactivate Personal Hotspot ( "Partage de connexion" in french), and select USB

Hotspot.

- A window will appear on your Mac screen telling you a new connexion has been found, and you need to

configure it. click on the link to the network preferences, and do not change anything. just click on Apply

button.

- HERE YOU ARE WITH A BRAND NEW WORKING iPhone USB Internet Tethering !!!

THANKS TO Hibernian56 !!!!!!

😉

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.

Reply sent, thanks to Hibernian56 's solution, with my new iphone usb internet tethering ...

Thanks to Hibernian56,

Why Apple does not solve this problem with an update? This is not normal. I lost a lot of time on the phone with technical support, I even moved to the Apple store and replace my iPhone. Nobody at Apple has told me a solution. The problem the same day using at home my iMac OS 10.7.5 and same result at work on MacBook Pro OS 10.7.5.

This situation is inacceptable and is still unresolved with Apple engineers.

JF Paquette

I got mine to work today via the kext utility and an older version of AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext version 2.3.6.

Download Kext from here: http://cvad-mac.narod.ru/index/0-4

Download extension: http://db.tt/U674UcOV

1. Run the kext utility

2. Drop the 2.3.6 on the kext utility to install and configure the extension

Worked for me the first time. I was having USB tethering issues between an iPhone 5 and MacBook Pro.

Just want to add to the chorus. I had this problem with iOS7.0.4 on a iPhone 5S, iTunes 11.1.3(8), Mac OS 10.7.5 on a MacBook Pro. Before I started modifying anything, my version of AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext showed as 7.0 and was 130213 bytes.

I tried installing the version 2.3.0 (file size 189646) from the iTunes 10.6.3 installer without any luck.

After installing the version 2.3.6 (file size 128324 bytes) from the above links I was finally able to get USB tethering to work. I used the kext utility to install it but also needed a reboot.

Followed instructions from above:

"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

"

Works perfectly!

My iPhone 3GS, MacBook pro OS10.7.5 and iTunes 11 now finally work together and I can tether through the USB port. What I dont understand is why Apple Support USA (and anywhere else, presumably) dont offer the same information!

And the solution (and the instructions) were so simple that even a grey-haired old lady like me got it to work!

This worked for me (iPhone 4, iOS 7, MacOS X Lion)

Great!!!

My Bluetooth and Wifi were working, but there was no interface for the USB. Bluetooth and Wifi were unreliable and I wanted to use USB for a faster, better connection. My problem was the iPhone USB was not showing up under Network Preferences.

What did not resolve the issue:

1. iOS: Troubleshooting Personal Hotspot

2. Downloading AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext from Mr. Dopey

3. Using Time Machine to go back to December 2013 to restore AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext

4. Updating iTunes (can't delete it)

What worked:

Using Time Machine to go back to my oldest back up (Jan 2012) to restore AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext

Just in case someone else like me starts thinking it isn't the AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext:

Some other website suggested checking the AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext file to see if it was the problem.

in terminal:

file /System/Library/Extensions/AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext/Contents/MacOS/AppleUSBEth ernetHost

This was my output:

/System/Library/Extensions/AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext/Contents/MacOS/AppleUSBEthe rnetHost: Mach-O universal binary with 2 architectures

/System/Library/Extensions/AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext/Contents/MacOS/AppleUSBEthe rnetHost (for architecture i386): Mach-O object i386

/System/Library/Extensions/AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext/Contents/MacOS/AppleUSBEthe rnetHost (for architecture x86_64): Mach-O 64-bit kext bundle x86_64

After replacing the AppleUSBEthernetHost, my output is exactly the same. The above command is not a good indicator for this situation:

/System/Library/Extensions/AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext/Contents/MacOS/AppleUSBEthe rnetHost: Mach-O universal binary with 2 architectures

/System/Library/Extensions/AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext/Contents/MacOS/AppleUSBEthe rnetHost (for architecture i386): Mach-O object i386

/System/Library/Extensions/AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext/Contents/MacOS/AppleUSBEthe rnetHost (for architecture x86_64): Mach-O 64-bit kext bundle x86_64

Maybe it's like a blood transfusion. Sometimes blood from other people works and sometimes you just need your own stuff.

I have a iPhone 5S, Macbook 2007, Lion. I am able to connect with all three at once.

Cheerio! 😉