Thunderbolt ethernet does not connect when plugged in.

I have a rMBP 2.3 gHZ, 8 gigs RAM running OS 10.8.1. I usually use wifi to connect to my network at work, but sometimes signal strength is low and I plug in my Thunderbolt to ethernet adaptor. The laptop does not recognize that I have plugged in, and to solve the problem, I have to open my network preferences and try to force it to connect. I shut down wifi, doing only this doesn't solve the problem; the machine still says that the ethernet cable is not connected. Then I go to the "advanced" window and click "renew DHCP lease." It doesn't connect right away, but when I close the advanced window, it will usually connect to the network. I have the impression that it doesn't work the same way every time, but I haven't been systematic enough yet to be sure. I have tried setting a specific location "work" for the ethernet connection so that I can select that state when I need to use ethernet. This did not solve the problem.

My adaptor is the genuine Apple unit, not an after market.

Any ideas? Any others have this issue? I'm hoping it's not a hardware problem.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.1)

Posted on Sep 7, 2012 9:21 AM

26 replies

AM_Kidd

Level 4

1,001 points

Sep 15, 2016 8:49 AM in response to JediMindTrick

JediMindTrick's advice worked for me! For some reason after I deleted it from the Network pane, the connection was recognized as Bluetooth PAN. I had to reset the service order and hit apply and now it works fine again.

Bazzers

Level 1

4 points

Dec 5, 2016 8:48 AM in response to brianfromwaverly

Hello,

An update: upgrading to macOS Sierra 10.12 completely fixed this problem for me.

Details:

Every solution in this discussion turned out to either not work or work only temporarily for my OS X 10.11 MacBook Pro. Since I last posted, I received more suggestions from Apple tech support. One Apple tech even kept in contact for a while and had me transfer over lots of diagnostic files to Apple, but no suggested solution ever worked for OS X 10.11 . Clearly a software problem: I could always find Thunderbolt Ethernet in Recovery mode, but Thunderbolt Ethernet almost never worked after normal startup, despite log messages indicating awareness of every plug/unplug, as described in my earlier posts in this discussion.

But: since I upgraded to macOS Sierra 10.12 weeks back (currently running macOS 10.12.1) , all has been fine. Not a single problem with the Thunderbolt to Ethernet adaptor. It connects to network seconds after plug in, every time. Hooray!

muradn79

Level 1

0 points

Mar 25, 2013 2:03 PM in response to JediMindTrick

Thanks JediMindTrick,

I have done the same, deleted thunderbolt ethernet from network page, applied, and then added back and applied. Worked well

hank7

Level 1

0 points

Apr 25, 2013 11:03 AM in response to vytec

Hi vytec

Had the same issue.

Change your environment profile... or create a new one.

I changed to my old one and all running well 🙂

Have fun

Hank

TricePa

Level 1

0 points

Jun 6, 2013 7:44 AM in response to NuevaYork

Nothing worked for me, I have a MacBook Pro 13 retina, could you please share me your

NetworkInterfaces.plist and preferences.plist please?

Nov 10, 2013 8:15 PM in response to dr.cheese.beer

dr.cheese.beer

Give your MBP ethernet connector a close visual inspection. It's not too a common cause, but your description of the half-hour recovery makes this possibility come to mind.

hollis65

Level 1

0 points

Feb 4, 2014 10:21 AM in response to NuevaYork

thanks Nueva york, did the trick

goo_nadd

Level 1

0 points

Jul 2, 2015 7:11 AM in response to brianfromwaverly

Thanks for posting. Your suggestion fixed my problem. I appreciate it !

Bazzers

Level 1

4 points

Jan 28, 2016 6:49 PM in response to Bazzers

Whoops! You'l need to insert:

Step 4a. Plug in Thunderbolt-to-Ethernet adapter.

Heh, the instructions are not much use without that step...

kutovoy

Level 1

4 points

Jul 19, 2016 8:14 PM in response to NuevaYork

This fixed one of my 4 laptops with the same issue. I even went to Genius bar and they been so genius that they told me that the issue is local to my 4 laptops. Genius help!

Sep 8, 2016 1:08 PM in response to brianfromwaverly

Clicking "Advanced" -> "Renew DHCP Lease" solved my problems as well.

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Thunderbolt ethernet does not connect when plugged in.