Just in case I need this ever again: WL-330NUL | Networking | ASUS Global?
ASUS WL-330NUL
Why? Well, I have such a device (see below), and somehow managed to kick it out of the network adapters list (it was “USB Network Interface”) and re-inserting it didn’t make it appear in the list of network adapters.
The solution should be this:
They just release new firmware Version 3.0.0.41, which work well with OSX 10.10.2
Source: OS X Yosemite problem with ethernet adapter/eth… | Apple Support Communities
That isn’t the full story though, as I had to follow these steps:
- update the firmware (from a Windows VM: VMware Fusion allowed me to pass the USB through)
- reboot the Mac
- insert the WL-330NUL USB adapter
- in the “Network” part of “System Preferences”, press the Plus sign in the lower left
- add the “USB Network Interface” (which wasn’t available before step 1, and isn’t available when you forget step 3) and press “Create”
- press “Apply”
- choose the “USB Network Interface” and click “Advanced”
- in the dialog, click “Hardware”
- verify if there is information for “MAC Address”
- click on “TCP/IP”
- insert a network cable connected to a DHCP network
- check if the WL-330NUL gets an IP-address through DHCP
- cancel out of the dialog
- close the “Network” window
I’m using the WL-330NUL (I have a few of them) because of Is it my thunderbolt ethernet adapter, or is it… | Apple Support Communities. Though it does no gigabit (the WL-330NUL does 10/100 Mbit/s and 2.4 Ghz WiFi but it is a WiFi to WiFi router which is very useful for being on the road). I hardly need gigabit speeds and when I do, I can usually cope with the flaky thunderbolt ethernet adapter.
ASIX AX88772 based
I also have a ASIX AX88772 based USB ethernet adapter that I bought way back earlier. That one has two drawbacks: a much longer and fragile USB cable and the need to download additional drivers. They are very cheap though, for instance at DX (plain, a, b or c) or Alibaba (plain, a, b or c).
If you want to use an ASIX AX88772 based ethernet adapter (most only do 10/100 Mbit/s), then:
- Check if you have the kext (as you might need to uninstall it) using the steps at OS X 10.10 “Yosemite” Ethernet Adapter Problems? We can help! | Plugable
- Follow the steps at Getting non-Apple (AX88772) USB Ethernet to work on Mavericks ← Putztastic Tech, summarised:
- Obtain the latest driver from AX88772 – ASIX Electronics Corporation
- If you had an old driver: uninstall the old one
- Install the new driver
- Reboot
For the future, I’m considering gigabit USB (likely future Macbooks don’t have Thunderbolt any more) based on AX88179 (USB 3). They are relatively cheap as well at DX (AX88179) or Alibaba (AX88179). There is also AX88178/A (USB 2, limiting it to 480 Mbit/s) but they are not available on DX or Alibaba.
–jeroen
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