I would like to uninstall the "Realtek USB Ethernet Network Adapter" I can find it under System Information -> Software -> Installations in a list but don't know how to get rid of it.
1 Answer
Check the Realtek site for the latest driver of your USB Ethernet adapter and download it. The driver zip file should contain an uninstall.zip. Unzip this also and double-click the resulting uninstall.command file. Enter the admin (root) password and reboot your Mac.
Using an uninstaller provided with the driver installer is recommended.
Provided it's a RTL8153 chip you can also pour the following content into a uninstall.command file and execute it:
#!/bin/sh
. /etc/rc.common
echo " "
echo "Please type the password of \"root\" to Uninstall ..."
FROM=`dirname "$0"`
echo "Removing Apple USB Ethernet Driver..."
sudo kextunload /System/Library/Extensions/IONetworkingFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns/AppleRTL815X*.kext
sudo kextunload /Library/Extensions/AppleRTL815X*.kext
sudo rm -rf /System/Library/Extensions/IONetworkingFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns/AppleRTL815X*.kext
sudo rm -rf /Library/Extensions/AppleRTL815X*.kext
sudo touch /System/Library/Extensions/
sudo touch /Library/Extensions/
echo "Uninstall Complete."
Depending on your system version you have to disable SIP.
In Catalina you have to disable SIP in Recovery Mode first and mount the system volume read-write after rebooting: sudo mount -rw /
. Additionally you have to chmod +x uninstall.command
and add it to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Full Disk Access.
Enable SIP after uninstalling the driver!
If your kext has a different name (e.g. AppleUSBRealtek8153Patcher.kext) or paths have changed, you have to adjust it respectively in the file uninstall.command (e.g. AppleRTL815*.kext). Use at your own risk!
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This fails with the error message
Unable to determine realpath for /System/Library/Extensions/IONetworkingFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns/AppleRTL815X*.kext - failing. Can't create /System/Library/Extensions/IONetworkingFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns/AppleRTL815X*.kext. Unable to determine realpath for /Library/Extensions/AppleRTL815X*.kext - failing. Can't create /Library/Extensions/AppleRTL815X*.kext. Uninstall Complete.
Feb 4, 2020 at 21:01 -
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What would be the command for that? I'm having trouble finding it online. Feb 4, 2020 at 21:10
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I actually didn't have the expected driver files. A similar one for me is instead called AppleUSBRealtek8153Patcher.kext, in
/System/Library/Extensions
. Feb 4, 2020 at 21:22 -
The uninstaller is in the disk image file downloaded from the Realtek website. Feb 4, 2020 at 21:25