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Belkin B2B128 and macOS Sierra: how to get them working again

December 8, 2016 by Ryan 8 Comments

I’m fairly militant on keeping my electronics running the latest updates – security, stability and all that.  Which made it frustrating that, after I installed macOS Sierra on my MacBook Air, my Belkin B2B128 Ethernet adapter stopped functioning.  The USB outlets seemed to work fine, but the Ethernet functionality – which is of course the main reason I bought the thing – was AWOL.

I put up with it for a while and got by with WiFi – grudgingly, I might add, since our router is right next to my home office desk – but now that I’m on a consulting assignment with a different client whose WiFi is less than reliable, matters came to a head.  I need Ethernet on my notebook, ASAP.  So I jumped on a chat with somebody from Belkin.  His response: sorry, it’s broken, we no longer support it, you’ll have to get a replacement.

Seriously?  This thing cost me around $50 last year.  It worked fine until the latest macOS update.  This is a software issue, not a hardware issue, meaning it’s easily remedied.  I griped on Twitter, which yielded this response:

@rpboots Hi Ryan. Thanks for reaching out to us. Our Engineering team is working on it. Stay tuned on our website for more updates.

— BelkinCares (@BelkinCares) December 8, 2016

Thankfully, Tom’s Hardware came to the rescue.  Seems that, in cases like these when a software update breaks something (which seems to happen with USB 3.0 hardware), you’re better off checking with the chipset manufacturer, which in this instance is an outfit called Asix.  I went here, downloaded and installed their latest driver (compatible with macOS 10.12, AKA Sierra), and I’m back in business.

Hey, Belkin?  Get with the program.

Filed Under: Observations, Personal

Comments

  1. Tomer B says

    February 23, 2017 at 1:19 am

    you rock!
    had the same issue,
    followed your recommendation, it works now, awesome
    thanks!

    Reply
    • Ryan says

      February 24, 2017 at 6:52 am

      Glad I could assist. Now if Belkin would just fix their software so that we don’t have to run around and find a patch on our own…

      Reply
  2. Chris Heady says

    August 23, 2017 at 12:40 am

    Your fix saved me from a making a call to customer support. Thanks, Ryan.

    Reply
    • Ryan says

      August 29, 2017 at 5:09 pm

      Happy to assist!

      Reply
  3. SD Z says

    October 26, 2017 at 3:48 am

    THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOO MUCH!

    Reply
    • Ryan says

      October 26, 2017 at 7:18 pm

      Glad I could help.

      Reply
  4. Oscar says

    December 26, 2017 at 5:31 pm

    Thank you so much! this is very handy.

    Reply
    • Ryan says

      January 17, 2018 at 3:02 am

      Happy to be of assistance.

      Reply

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