Unistall Realtek USB Ethernet Network Adapter

Question

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.

Answer 1

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!

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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!