Version 1.0 Installer Package for 10.13-10.15; Version 1.6 App for 11.0+

macOS 10.13-10.15

This release is a 1.0 release, and includes a signed kernel extension driver for macOS 10.13-10.15. This release supports both "pass through" and "overclock" modes.

Notes

• This release includes a signed version of SmashEnabler by jackoalan, which can be used for adapters that don't support higher polling rates. It is functionally no different than the existing SmashEnabler, but renamed to GCAdapterDriverPassThrough to avoid conflict with existing installations.

macOS 11.0+

This release is a version 1.6; prior version numbers were lost in a battle with notarization and systemextensionctl. This release does not have an "overclock" ability yet, but should suffice for some users (overclock will come in an update).

Installation

macOS 10.13-10.15 users (High Sierra, Mojave, or Catalina - Intel only) can run the Package Installer. It will guide you through installing the driver; you may need to reboot afterwards. This Package Installer will not work on macOS Big Sur and M1 Macs.

Big Sur (11.0) users can download the .app.zip. Put the app in your Applications folder, run it, and check your menu bar for a small icon. Clicking it will reveal a popover for GCAdapterDriver that can be used to toggle the driver.

Unsigned extensions can technically be loaded on Big Sur still, for those interested in "overclocking", so preview/developer versions of these are supplied in this release for those wishing to test or debug. This does mean you will need SIP disabled (generally csrutil disable && csrutil enable --without kext in Recovery Mode) - but this lessens security, and you should be aware of what you're doing before running those commands.

Running the kext on Apple Silicon Macs

If you don't need overclocking, you should run GCAdapterDriver.app.

If you want to try the kext on an Apple Silicon Mac, you need to grab the ARM build/developer preview below. Do not install the Intel build. Note that kernel extensions are different on Apple Silicon machines - it involves extra steps in Recovery Mode that are not covered here.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Kernel Extensions are a weird art in macOS. If you choose to manually install this extension on macOS 11.0+, or with a mismatched architecture, note that we're not responsible for whatever goes wrong. If you wind up in a strange state and need to recover, booting into recovery mode and running one of the following:

• rm -rf /Library/Extensions/GCAdapterDriver.kext
• rm -rf /Library/Extensions/GCAdapterDriverPassThrough.kext

And then then rebooting into normal mode should put you back at your original setup.

Beta (Unsigned) Release

Note that this kext is not currently signed; this unfortunately means you will need SIP disabled (generally csrutil disable && csrutil enable --without kext in Recovery Mode - but this lessens security and you should be aware of what you're doing before running those commands). The eventual goal is to offer a signed version of this kext alongside a DriverKit extension, so that High Sierra and Mojave users can use the Kernel Extension, and Catalina and Big Sur use DriverKit.

Notes

• DriverKit is a work in progress.
• If you have a separate driver installed (e.g, SmashEnabler.kext) be sure to unload it before loading this one.
• Disabling SIP is a security risk; without the extension being signed there's unfortunately no way to avoid it at the moment though. As such, consider this pre-release/preview until signing issues are sorted out (they are a work in progress).
• Make sure you download the correct build for your architecture.

Read: Apple Silicon

If you want to try this on an Apple Silicon Mac, you can try the ARM build/developer preview below. Do not install the Intel build. Note that kernel extensions are different on Apple Silicon machines - it involves extra steps in Recovery Mode that are not covered here. SmashEnabler.kext works fine in that environment and has less potential for error as it's a codeless extension - if you're unfamiliar with kernel extensions and their changes, consider just running SmashEnabler.kext until the DriverKit port of this is released.

Fixes

• Adjusts the probe score to be higher, which may help issues where adapters are not detected.
• If your device supports it, this driver will attempt to bump the bInterval value higher for enhanced polling rates. If your device doesn't support this, it should operate as normal.
• Tested on High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina and Big Sur.

Feel free to open an issue if you have questions or concerns!

NOTE: Kernel Extensions are a weird art in macOS. If you choose to install this extension, note that we're not responsible for whatever goes wrong. If you wind up in a strange state and need to recover, booting into recovery mode and running rm -rf /Library/Extensions/GCAdapterDriver.kext, then rebooting into normal mode should put you back at your original setup.