system extension cannot be used AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext

What about the fact that this glitch is preventing us from SYNCING and BACKING UP our iPhones? That sounds significant enough to fix it ASAP. That being said...how do you restore iTunes to a version before 11.4 with Time Machine?

If you went back to earlier in this thread, your question was already answered:

1. Hopefully you'd been backing your computer up automatically fairly recently, and you have some this stored on an external hard drive via Time Machine from before iTunes 11.4 was downloaded onto your computer.
2. If you haven't done so already, and your iTunes library isn't corrupt, Backup your entire iTunes library to an external hard-drive (if you don't care about your library, ignore this step...this procedure might not work, however, if your first backup of your iTunes library is via version 11.4. If you go through all of these steps and you encounter the same problem, restore your itunes to an older version via Time Machine, then redo steps)
   • To do this, create a new Folder on your hard drive and call it "iTunes"
   • Go into your iTunes preferences > Advanced > under "iTunes Media folder location" we want it to say /Volumes/(Your Hard Drive Name)/iTunes

     Next to the "iTunes Media folder location" dialogue box, it should read CHANGE or RESET. Click CHANGE, navigate to your external hard drive and locate the newly created iTunes folder...your computer should automatically start to transfer your library to the new destination.

3. Backup and "new files" on your computer that you create since updating your iTunes to version 11.4 (i.e. new iCal entries, documents)
4. Backup your important files (I have mine in dropbox but chose to be safe and backed them up on an external hard drive as well)
5. Once you have everything saved, you're going to want to go through the process of completely restoring your entire computer (essentially wiping it clean).
   • To do this on Snow Leopard, you need to have the Mac OS X Snow Leopard Installing disc.
     1. Insert disc > when the Install screen pops up, select Utilities... > it will then prompt you to Restart your computer
     2. After your computer restarts, it will prompt you to reinstall Snow Leopard or select a different option from Utilitieswhich can now be found at the top of your screen on the toolbar. From there, select the option that is along the lines ofRestore from Backup Using Time Machine and then select which backup you want to restore your computer to ... since iTunes 11.4 went live on Sept. 10th, I would restore to any date before that.
     3. When your computer restores itself to your chosen backup, your computer should be exactly as it was on that date, iTunes included. It's as if nothing ever happened.
   • To do this on any later OS X, I believe you have to restart your computer and then hold COMMAND+R before the grey screen appears. From here, I believe it will prompt you similarly to the Snow Leopard procedures 1-3 as listed just above this bullet point.
6. When your computer prompts you to update iTunes to version 11.4 from whatever version you reverted back to, DO NOT UPDATE. Keep your old iTunes version and wait for this thing to be addressed by Apple.

This procedure worked for me and although it's a bit tedious, it fixed both my iTunes and iPhone errors. Note: I did have to erase and restore my iPhone through an old backup via iTunes once iTunes was working again. Try it out. See if it works for you. MAKE SURE YOU BACKUP YOUR FILES BEFORE ATTEMPTING ANY FULL SYSTEM RESTORE.

Jeff Ree wrote:

What about the fact that this glitch is preventing us from SYNCING and BACKING UP our iPhones? That sounds significant enough to fix it ASAP. That being said...how do you restore iTunes to a version before 11.4 with Time Machine?

Because iTunes is atypical of Mac software (the installation writes to system files all over the place), reverting to an earlier version is a non-trivial task. As I wrote on page 3, my experience was that restoring just the kernel extension to a circa iTunes 11.3 version via Time Machine was the prerequisite. Then download the iTunes 11.4 install DMG from the Apple iTunes page and install. My iPhone syncs/backs up just fine now.

"Once you have everything saved, you're going to want to go through the process of completely restoring your entire computer (essentially wiping it clean)."

This is insanity, all those steps and restoring your computer just to fix one easily-fixed kext??? 😮

Not to mention that no one is going to read 6 full/complicated steps like these!

Someone please tell me under what circumstances

(1) Quit iTunes if it's running, disconnect any USB devices

(2) Open /System/Library/Extensions in Finder

(3) Drag the AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext icon to the Trash

(4) Download iTunes 11.4 from the Apple download site

(5) Open the iTunes .dmg file you just downloaded from Apple

(6) Double-click the iTunes installer and re-install iTunes 11.4 from it

(7) Reboot the system

doesn't work??

Greg,

This (above) worked for me. I don't have an iPad but everything sync's with my iPhone5. I did follow the earlier link in the thread and filed the issue with Apple, but that sounds like it doesn't matter anyhow- your on your own.

Define "above"? 🙂

Greg Earle wrote:

Someone please tell me under what circumstances

(1) Quit iTunes if it's running, disconnect any USB devices

(2) Open /System/Library/Extensions in Finder

(3) Drag the AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext icon to the Trash

(4) Download iTunes 11.4 from the Apple download site

(5) Open the iTunes .dmg file you just downloaded from Apple

(6) Double-click the iTunes installer and re-install iTunes 11.4 from it

(7) Reboot the system

doesn't work??

For me, the kernel extension was left with missing code signatures. Restoring the pre-11.4 kernel extension and then reinstalling 11.4 from DMG resulted in a fully functional iTunes and no errors whatsoever. If you're not having issues, then don't worry about it. For others who continue to have trouble syncing/backing up their devices, this seems to be a solution.

Personally, I consider wiping and reinstalling overly destructive, especially for those who receive all sorts of e-mail, etc. and cannot afford to rollback without severe consequences.

Paula, you are not alone - my Epson printer would not print after I'd updated to iTunes 11.4 and continually gave "communication error", although the scanner function still worked from my Mac, so nothing wrong with the USB connection. Rang Epson and was sent a new driver, and, yes, I received the same .kext error message when I installed it. Rang Apple Support to report the problem and told the support person to read this forum! He told me he would report this to their senior engineers. (Meanwhile, the printer rather spookily came to life and printed the last file I'd tried to send, while I was on the phone to Apple and opened my About This Mac window to read him my Mac's serial number. Next call might be to an exoricst.)

(P.S. I am in Australia and the support person was in New Zealand. Very helpful.)

"For me, the kernel extension was left with missing code signatures."

Right - because of what I posted long ago, the fact that the new iTunes 11.4 installer doesn't install Contents/_CodeSignature/{CodeDirectory,CodeSignature,CodeRequirements} into the new 11.4 AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext version.

The real question is, what are the ramifications of losing those 3 files (and their matching symbolic links)?

I no longer have those 3 files/links in my 11.4 installation, yet I can still sync to my 3 iDevices just fine.

So what are the ramifications if AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext isn't code signed?

[21:41] nightowl:/ % codesign --verify --verbose /System/Library/Extensions/AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext

/System/Library/Extensions/AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext: code object is not signed

[21:41] nightowl:/ % codesign --verify --verbose /System/Library/Extensions/AppleUSBAudio.kext

/System/Library/Extensions/AppleUSBAudio.kext: valid on disk

/System/Library/Extensions/AppleUSBAudio.kext: satisfies its Designated Requirement

Edit: http://devstreaming.apple.com/videos/wwdc/2013/707xfx3xysb4yyrvtxbbu6t9fono/707/ 707.pdf?dl=1

Very interesting comments about kext code signing in Mavericks from page 20 onwards ...

Something within your wonderful process doesn't work on my computer. And I've attempted it numerous times. Sorry to disappoint you but your solution is not *the* solution; just another option. The rebooting worked for me. If you took time to read thru this thread, I already explained the other options I explored and how they did not work. I did the deleting of the .kext and reinstalling and deleting and whatnot. No need to belittle those who try your method and have it not work on their system. Thanks.

onychophora said:

"Paula, you are not alone - my Epson printer would not print after I'd updated to iTunes 11.4 and continually gave "communication error", although the scanner function still worked from my Mac, so nothing wrong with the USB connection. Rang Epson and was sent a new driver, and, yes, I received the same .kext error message when I installed it. Rang Apple Support to report the problem and told the support person to read this forum! He told me he would report this to their senior engineers. (Meanwhile, the printer rather spookily came to life and printed the last file I'd tried to send, while I was on the phone to Apple and opened my About This Mac window to read him my Mac's serial number. Next call might be to an exoricst.)"

Well, you may or may not need the exorcist . . . got mine to work, here's how:

I pulled that "blahblahblah.kext" extention into the trash.

Dowloaded and installed the driver for my Epson. The printer didn't work. UNTIL I RESTARTED THE COMPUTER.

I restarted and said a little prayer, and voila!

That's it.

I even put that weird extension back, worrying that maybe I'd need it for something (?). Shut down, restarted, tried the printer again, it works!!

So . . . maybe a restart will fix it? I hope you can get it going without the exorcism. :~)

How maddening is all of this though?

Saw this post on another site (MacResource):

"iOS allows you to share the iPhone's cellular data Internet connection with a computer via WiFi, Bluetooth, or USB. The AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext file is the kernel extension (driver) to enable tethering of the Internet connection of the iPhone via USB.

This has been problematical for many users (including me). It worked for a while and then broke somewhere along the line with an iTunes update since this driver is installed by iTunes.

One recommended solution popularized on the Internet was to replace the newer AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext file with an older one. If you performed this remedy sometime in the distant past, then perhaps this error is the repercussion."

Not really saying anything new, but explains the connection between the errant kext and iTunes in a nice concise way.

Thanks Paula. I've been promised a callback from Apple Support later today, so fingers crossed they are doing something about this.

Well well well ... lookie here, sports fans ... Time Machine backups from before and after I installed iTunes 11.4:

/Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/My Mac Pro/2014-09-09-000548/Macintosh HD/System/Library/Extensions/AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext/Contents/MacOS/AppleUSBE thernetHost: Mach-O universal binary with 2 architectures: [i386: Mach-O i386 object] [x86_64: Mach-O 64-bit x86_64 kext bundle]

/Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/My Mac Pro/2014-09-10-002510/Macintosh HD/System/Library/Extensions/AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext/Contents/MacOS/AppleUSBE thernetHost: Mach-O 64-bit x86_64 kext bundle

So that explains part of the puzzle - the new iTunes 11.4 version of the AppleUSBEthernetHost kext appears to be 64-bit only!!!

If you are running a 32-bit machine/Mac OS X then that would explain why you're getting this behavior, and why simply reinstalling the kext doesn't fix it.

(Now, I suppose the installer in the iTunes 11.4 .dmg might be super-smart and just install the version your OS/machine can run, but I'm skeptical ... )

Hi DJMT1287,

can I just ask you how you discovered that you library was corrupted?

Thanks.