system extension cannot be used AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext

Update...Well I tried every combination of the solutions given...iTunes 11.4 with old working .kext..Did not work. Old iTunes 11.3.1 with old .kext did not work. re downloaded new iTunes 11.4 and trashed existing .kext and let iTunes reinstall new .kext file all did not work. When I connect my iPhone 5 it is recognized but all the data is shown as OTHER and not divided between Music, Photos, Video... The SYNC button is still grayed out and will not let me sync. I am at a total loss here and will have to hope that Apple fixes this soon. I hope that they look at these. This is not an isolated problem with one persons system. It was all caused by the new iTunes 11.4 So we wait.....

Jeff Ree wrote:

Trane Francks,

After completing this, have you been able to SYNC your iPhone5 and is your data showing something other than OTHER? Wouldn't downloading the 11.4 DMG get us back to what started this problem? Or did Apple fix the 11.4 DMG download? Will a new version of the AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext be included with the 11.4 download?

Hi, Jeff.

Yes, I'm able to sync my iPhone and all the data values in the graph are correct for the various storage types. From what I could see, the Software Update installer did something different with the kernel extension than the DMG downloaded from the Apple iTunes page. With the installation from Software Update, I saw the kernel extension error dialogue and the contents of the extension were missing code signatures. Restoring the extension prior to the 11.4 Software Update install and then reinstalling iTunes 11.4 from the downloaded DMG results in the kernel extension containing different contents, having the code signatures in place that were missing from the Software Update install. I don't know exactly what the DMG is doing differently from the Software Update install, but the behaviour is absolutely different on my OS X 10.7.5 system. With the Software Update install, the kernel extension had bits deleted. With the DMG download, the kernel extension was updated.

For the record, I did not connect my iPhone between the initial problem and my 'fix', so I don't know whether there's a relationship between that and what you're seeing on your end. I have yet to try tethering, so I cannot be 100% certain that everything works as it's supposed to work, but so far, so good.

This seems to be the new Apple Support approach. Just because you get an error message, doesn't mean that anything really is wrong, other than that the error message might be wrong about there being an error. Orwellian, no? I remember a similar encounter with Apple Care. I described something that wasn't working as it should. The agent had me create a new account, then attempt to recreate the problem in that account. When I was able to do so, he concluded that that must be how whatever wasn't working properly was intended to work. He wasn't even swayed by the question, "And if I had complained about a program crashing when I start it, and I could recreate that in a new account, then that would mean that the program was intended to crash?!" I think Apple Support is being staffed with wannabe lawyers. Why should a customer have to prove that something is wrong. When he calls, he thinks there is. That's what Customer Support is for. And if Customer Support knows otherwise, it simply has to say so; however, if they don't, they should not waste the customer's time demanding he prove that it's wrong.

OK, in the meantime I have another "data point" in this mystery.

I, too, made the mistake of allowing Software Update to update iTunes to 11.4 and received the "system extension cannot be used" error message. On the first page of this thread tingly made the suggestion to delete the .kext, download iTunes from the Apple site and install it. I did that before realizing that there were four more pages to come, i.e., that this might not be the generally accepted solution; for me, however, it seems to work.

The error message did not appear during installation. iTunes 11.4 started without a problem and both my iPhone 4S and my 2nd generation iPad appeared under Devices, both being connected by Wi-Fi. I plugged each of them into my MacBook Pro using a USB cable and synchronized each with iTunes without any problem. I checked both devices. New photos appeared on each, so the sync apparently worked. I did have a problem trying to make a backup to my computer after the sync, which I wanted because the automatic backup is being made to iCloud and I wanted a fuller backup. iTunes reported that it could not start the sync on the device, despite the fact that it was still displayed under Devices. I was able to "solve" this problem by ejecting the device, powering it off, then back on, then reconnecting it via USB cable. After ejecting both devices, then connecting them to power sources, they did not automatically appear under Devices, even though they were connected to Wi-Fi. I'm not sure whether that is expected behavior; however, when I restarted iTunes they both appeared. It seems that tingly's suggestion worked for me.

I am running OS X 10.7.5 and iOS 7.1.2.

Richard

It's difficult for somebody who is not involved in the development or support of software to determine the significance of a message in a log. Sometimes it is generated at a place in a module which should never be reached. In those cases at the very least they warn development that the matter should be investigated. Sometimes, such messages can help to explain why subsequent messages are being issued. In still other cases, the message is expected, given that the hardware or operating system does not support certain features, or some optional software has not been installed.

That said, these messages should be documented, and at some point in the process of supporting customers logs should be consulted to determine exactly what is happening in a machine when it isn't doing something that it should, or when it displays a message intended for the user. I can understand that most agents involved in first-level support are incapable of interpreting the contents of a log. What I do not understand, though, is, why they insist on running a customer who has evidently examined the console log through their idiot's checklist instead of passing him on to the level of support that deals with problems on that level. That just frustrates a potential troubleshooting ally, somebody who might also be able to subsequently help others to understand and work around the cause of the problem.

Having evidently been lucky that the simple fix of deleting the .kext and installing iTunes 11.4 from the Apple site works -- keeping my fingers crossed! -- I can say that I will not upgrade from OS X 10.7.5 Lion and iOS 7.1.2 until Apple fixes this problem to the satisfaction (almost typed "satisfiction", a Freudian slip on my part) of those running Mavericks who can no longer synchronize or use their iToys.

Greg Earle wrote:

FYI - I have been contacted by someone at Apple and have been asked to talk to him via telephone to provide data to Apple Engineering about this. So they are on the case.

If there is any doubt that Apple Support does not read and monitor these communities, this and my past experiences show that not to be the case. My experience with the mid-2011 MBA EFI 2.9/2.9.1 issue is very similar.

If you are on the phone, and not happy with the current person, one option is to ask for an escalation. My experiences have been excellent and the resolution is usually quick and painless after such a request. The first level person usually follows a "canned" prescription to solve a problem. An escalation will get you someone more experienced and well versed in technical issue resolution, but do not expect the principal architect of iTunes or iPhone to be answering your calls either.

@bwanabonga,

I understand a new release of Mavericks has just been made available. Did you install it? If so, has that affected the problems that you are experiencing in any way? Any new hints in the console log?

Yes, as I said, Tingly's fix worked for me, too. I notice, though, that you and I are running older versions of OS X than some who report problems after doing what we did. That's why I would be interested in knowing (a) whether the problems with the fix only occur in Mountain Lion (one major version newer than my OS X 10.7) and/or Mavericks (two major versions older) and, for those encountering problems with the fix who are running Mavericks, whether the latest release of 10.9 solves the problems.

Just to relate my experience on a Mid-2011 iMac running Mac OS 10.7.5 (Lion)

On Wednesday, 17 Sep 14, I installed iTunes 11.4 to replace my previous iTunes 10 install. The same error message popped up. Today after reading this thread, I took the following steps:

1. Located the affected kext file and moved it to the trash (it was version 7.0 dated October 2009)

2. Re-installed iTunes 11.4 from the dmg.

3. Checked to see if the kext file had been installed and it had; now it was still version 7.0, but it has a date from July 2014.

4. Emptied the trash and shut down the iMac.

5. Re-booted the iMac and launched iTunes; no error message.

6. Connected my iPhone 3GS via USB and synced without a problem.

Anybody here who experienced the problem before the latest version of Mavericks, released just a few days ago? If so, did the new update solve the problem. Apple sometimes "quietly" fixes problems that it never acknowledges, allowing customers to work themselves into a tizzy discussing among themselves in such forums, while engineers quietly put the finishing touches on software that was (accidentally) released "half-baked".

Richard,

I've just installed the latest Mavericks update, but I don't have an iPhone so haven't been able to test the problem has gone away. Nor do I know what to look for in system logs that might tell me whether Apple have fixed things. Going to wait & see if someone else can tell me.

Problem experienced and solved using erase “//System/Library/Extensions/AppleUSBEthernetHost.kext” and reinstall iTunes 11.4 DMG on OSX 10.6.8

I am concerned about updating to iOS 8.0 on my iPad until apple resolves this issue! I wonder how many users have been shut off from backing up their i-devices and don't even realize it. At first I thought the backup was just taking a little longer than before. No backup errors messages were noted!