macOS High Sierra (10.13) FTDI Driver Bug Workaround

I got this process to work, but it took a bit of extra effort. I found that there was an older version of FTDIUSBSerialDriver.kext hanging out in a place that wasn't mentioned at all. I suspect it was related to the situation that this system had been upgraded from older version of macOS where the older driver was installed.

I used the very useful utility of Find Any File <http://apps.tempel.org/FindAnyFile> to search for all files that began with "FTDI" to locate wherever the kext might be -- and then made sure that only the most current driver was in place (based on the date of the kext). Make sure you adjust Find Any File to search for files that begin with rather than merely contain FTDI and only pay attention to the items that end with ".kext"

The place where I found the leftover/older version of FTDIUSBSerialDriver.kext was at /Library/StagedExtensions/Library/Extensions/FTDIUSBSerialDriver.kext -- I could tell because the date on the kext was from 2012 rather than showing the date of 5/9/17 as it should show for the newer driver.

I found it necessary to go into the Recovery mode terminal to remove the older version and once I had the older version removed, I started normally and installed the updated driver. After installation and another reboot for good measure, the updated driver is working properly.

Find Any File now shows FTDIUSBSerialDriver.kext at two locations on the boot drive -- both show with the date of 5/9/17 as they should. They are now located at...

          /Library/Extensions/FTDIUSBSerialDriver.kext
          /Library/StagedExtensions/Library/Extensions/FTDIUSBSerialDriver.kext

Oh how I hate being odd man out, but I completed the workaround and after rebooting got the bad news 'Failed to establish connection with interface'.

After several retries, I unplugged the 2413U (v2.0, 1444) and attempted a factory reset. Never heard the beep, but the LED changed from red to green when I let up on the reset button. Result: the same, failed connection.

BTW, I had been connecting on most reboots, and I was able to connect immediately before performing the workaround.

- Tom
___
Macmini7,1
macOS 10.13.3
USB 3.0 Bus

It seems like it's a little hit and miss with this still. I think I'll probably be on El Capitan forever .

[jay (support)]

Oh how I hate being odd man out, but I completed the workaround and after rebooting got the bad news 'Failed to establish connection with interface'.

It's a complex process that is somewhat error prone. I highly recommend walking through the steps again just to make sure that everything worked as was described in the article.

To begin with, I checked whether FTDIUSBSerialDriver.kext (May 9, 2017) was in
/Library/StagedExtensions/Library/Extensions/FTDIUSBSerialDriver.kext
/Library/Extensions/FTDIUSBSerialDriver.kext
after the workaround, and it was.

What is the terminal command for checking whether AppleUSBFTDI.kext is where it's suppose to be?
The mv command in the workaround appeared to execute without error as the file is no longer in System/Library/Extensions/.

Attached are excerpts from the log before and after I did the workaround:

After completing the workaround again, I confirmed the installation of FTDIUSBSerialDriver_v2_4_2.dmg,
the location of the driver in
/Library/Extensions/FTDIUSBSerialDriver.kext
/Library/StagedExtensions/Library/Extensions/FTDIUSBSerialDriver.kext
and the move of AppleUSBFTDI.kext, e.g.,
-bash-3.2# cd "/Volumes/WILLOW_HD"
-bash-3.2# ls
.DS_Store User Information
.DocumentRevisions-V100 Users
.PKInstallSandboxManager Volumes
.PKInstallSandboxManager-SystemSoftware bin
.Spotlight-V100 cores
.Trashes dev
.dbfseventsd etc
.file home
.fseventsd installer.failurerequests
.hotfiles.btree net
.vol private
AppleUSBFTDI.kext sbin
Applications tmp
Library usr
Network var
System vm
-bash-3.2# mv System/Library/Extensions/AppleUSBFTDI.kext .
mv: System/Library/Extensions/AppleUSBFTDI.kext: No such file or directory
-bash-3.2#

Still, unable to connect to the 2413U.

[jay (support)]

Copy/paste each of these lines, one at a time and followed by a return into a terminal window and copy/paste the whole thing into a reply:

Code: Select all

ls -lad /System/Library/Extensions/*FTDI*
ls -lad /Library/Extensions/*FTDI*
uname -a
ls -lad /dev/*usb*

I tried two approaches, with different results:

Restart > macOS Utilities > Utilities > Terminal

bash-3.2# ls -lad /System/Library/Extensions/*FTDI*
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 Jan 9 00:13 /System/Library/Extensions/AppleUSBFTDI.kext
-bash-3.2# ls -lad /Library/Extensions/*FTDI*
ls: /Library/Extensions/*FTDI*: No such file or directory
-bash-3.2# uname -a
-bash: uname: command not found
-bash-3.2# ls -lad /dev/*usb*
ls: /dev/*usb*: No such file or directory

-------

Terminal app

Last login: Sat Mar 31 14:55:12 on ttys000
WILLOW:~ tomnielsen$ ls -lad /System/Library/Extensions/*FTDI*
ls: /System/Library/Extensions/*FTDI*: No such file or directory
WILLOW:~ tomnielsen$ ls -lad /Library/Extensions/*FTDI*
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 102 May 9 2017 /Library/Extensions/FTDIUSBSerialDriver.kext
WILLOW:~ tomnielsen$ uname -a
Darwin WILLOW.local 17.4.0 Darwin Kernel Version 17.4.0: Sun Dec 17 09:19:54 PST 2017; root:xnu-4570.41.2~1/RELEASE_X86_64 x86_64
WILLOW:~ tomnielsen$ ls -lad /dev/*usb*
ls: /dev/*usb*: No such file or directory
WILLOW:~ tomnielsen$

[jay (support)]

The latter attempt is what I'm looking for. What it tells me is that the Apple driver has been successfully moved and the FTDI driver is installed in the correct place, but it's not loading your PowerLinc. I'm starting to wonder if your PowerLinc has just failed. What color is the LED on the side of the PowerLinc when it's plugged into the wall? If it's solid green that's good, if it's green but flickering that may indicate a signal issue that's causing it to not talk to the USB interface, if it's red of off then it's dead.

If it's solid green, then try:

• plugging it into a different USB port on your Mac (you can also try a hub)
• reseating the cable on the PowerLinc
• try a new cable

Between each time, do this in a terminal window:

Code: Select all

ls -lad /dev/*usb*

if it says "ls: /dev/*usb*: No such file or directory" then try one of the other suggestions. If you can never get it to work, then I'd be highly suspicious of the PowerLinc.

Thanks for being here, today, and for your timely replies. I'll keep trying your suggestions, but may not have much more time before Monday.

BTW, the light after factory reset the light a solid green.

Latest (bad ) news:

In brief, the new Insteon arrived from Indigo on Friday and I replaced the old one with it, but got the same results: Failure to connect....

I spent the rest of the weekend (20+ hours) trying various things, including on the Mac mini and on my wife's iMac (vintage 2009); everything oh s-o s-l-o-w with Indigo installed). At one time, for about 40 minutes, the new Insteon connected, but while most commands never executed, the couple that did took nearly a minute to complete. Once I plugged the Insteon into other outlets (i.e., circuits) I could never get it to connect, again.

I am now considering reverting back to Sierra 10.12.6. I have Time Machine backups predating installation of High Sierra, downloaded DiskMakerX 6 and created an Install macOS Sierra on a USB.

Any suggestions on how to proceed?

[jay (support)]

Just for grins, run a long outdoor extension cord from another room on the other side of the house to your PowerLinc. I say this because all of your symptoms (except the solid green light on your PowerLinc) seem to indicate that you've got severe powerline issues (you don't have a solar inverter do you?).

If it doesn't work on multiple Macs, using different OS versions, with two different PowerLincs, then there are only 2 things I can think of: 1) if you are using the same USB cable for all of your testing, try another one or 2) you've got severe signal noise that's making Insteon communications impossible.

Today I was able to get back to troubleshooting. Searching for noise using an ESM1 Signal Meter, I began checking circuits/outlets and noticed a ~1-second pulse on the left 3-gang/3-circuit outlet in my office where the Mac mini was located. [no need for a crazy, long extension cord.] I scoured the premises and discovered that while cleaning up the workshop, recently and coincidently, we had relocated and plugged in a B&D drill power pack charger. It was now on the same power leg as the left outlet of the outlet triplets. Apparently, it was the source of the 1-second pulsing noise, for after it was unplugged the pulsing was gone and I was able to connect to the old Insteon. Whoopie!!!

I'm still attempting to install the latest FTDI driver. Not exactly sure how to determine the boot drive on my mac. Is it simply my hard drive name, which in my case is the default "Macintosh HD"?

I'm still attempting to install the latest FTDI driver. Not exactly sure how to determine the boot drive on my mac. Is it simply my hard drive name, which in my case is the default "Macintosh HD"?

Yes.