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Will USB Ethernet adapter work with 2012 MBA?

Y

Yawn66

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 14, 2012
51
0
I would like to know if anybody can confirm that Apple's USB Ethernet adapter works with a 2012 11" MBA. Apple's specs only mention it's compatible with MBAs with USB2 ports.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC704ZM/A

I'm well aware of the Thunderbolt adapter and I also know about the issue with FastEthernet vs. GigE. But I'd need the to use the MBA's single Thunderbolt port to attach a DisplayPort monitor. That leaves USB only. And I'd prefer 100 Mbps via a USB2 dongle over wifi.

Thanks.
 
Last edited:
Look - it would be bizarre for it not to work, as it is an Apple standard and branded part, using a standard interface port. So you can pretty much assume it works unless someone reports otherwise, which is unlikely.
 
Just because something is unlikely does not mean it doesn't happen. :)
 
Yawn66 said:
Just because something is unlikely does not mean it doesn't happen. :)
Click to expand...

I think his point is that there isn't nothing special about Apple's USB Ethernet adapter. There isn't anything hardware in the previous macbook air that is required by the adapter. USB Ethernet adapters are standard things that many companies make. The only thing special about Apple's is that they include a driver for it so you don't need to download one.
 
Thanks, Mosco. I understand what their adapter does and how it works. But as you correctly point out, you need a driver for it to work. Now in principle Apple could have written that driver so that it does not work on a 2012 MBA. Not likely, I know. But not impossible either. This is Apple after all. That's why I'd like to here from somebody that they've tried it and it worked as expected before I shell out $1500 for a new toy. :)

On a related note, does this adapter work well connected to a third-party USB hub or does it need to be connected directly to the MBA?
 
Yawn66 said:
I'd like to here from somebody that they've tried it and it worked as expected before I shell out $1500 for a new toy. :)
Click to expand...

How will you know that whomever posts in response isn't lying just to mess with you? ;) You're being anal enough about this that it's a possibility anyone who does post confirmation might not actually have tried it.

Yes, it is technically possible that it might not work. Sometimes in life you just need to give stuff a try and see how it goes.
 
Seriously - it's going to work. Obviously noone with both the new Air AND the adapter is willing to comment (or noone has both yet).

Have you thought about calling Apple or your local Apple store?
 
I transferred things the same way.

However, I do believe there's some bug in the USB driver, since a while after I disconnected the adapter, my keyboard and mouse stopped responding (though the machine was still up, updating the screen, and working with network). Rebooting fixes it. I've experienced this twice.

To avoid this bug, simply do your work on ethernet, and then reboot after you've disconnected.
 
Yawn66 said:
I would like to know if anybody can confirm that Apple's USB Ethernet adapter works with a 2012 11" MBA. Apple's specs only mention it's compatible with MBAs with USB2 ports.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC704ZM/A

I'm well aware of the Thunderbolt adapter and I also know about the issue with FastEthernet vs. GigE. But I'd need the to use the MBA's single Thunderbolt port to attach a DisplayPort monitor. That leaves USB only. And I'd prefer 100 Mbps via a USB2 dongle over wifi.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

yes it works. i used the apple usb-ethernet adapter that i was using with my 2010 11" with the 2012 11" and it worked fine.

also got a thunderbolt-ethernet adapter and that worked fine too (even before i did the thunderbolt os update)
 
jksu said:
yes it works. i used the apple usb-ethernet adapter that i was using with my 2010 11" with the 2012 11" and it worked fine.
Click to expand...

Great news, thanks for sharing! :)

Did you connect it directly to one of the MBA's USB ports? Have you tried hooking it up to a USB hub? Any difference?
 
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