Did your Mac’s Ethernet port mysteriously stop working recently? If so, you could have fallen afoul of a nasty bug that was introduced in a recent OS X security update. Here’s how to fix it.
As pointed out on Reddit, a recent OS X security update called “031–51913 Incompatible Kernel Extension Configuration Data 3.28.1” blacklists the BCM5701 driver.
The only problem? Almost every Mac with an Ethernet port depends on that driver. And while Apple has since pulled that update from their servers, there’s a chance you might have been afflicted.
Right now, the only way to get your Ethernet port back if you accidentally installed the update is toi boot into OS X Recovery Mode and then restore this folder from a Time Machine or other backup:
/System/Library/Extensions/AppleKextExcludeList.kext
Otherwise, wait to see how Apple decides to address this issue. Come next week, they may well issue an official fix. And let’s hope. For millions of people, the Ethernet port’s a pretty indispensable aspect of their computer.
Source: Reddit
