If you have ever built or used a Hackintosh, you must be aware of the importance of kexts. They are like drivers for all the components of your PC and it is important you keep them updated to ensure your Mac Hackintosh is running perfectly. However, it can get a bit tiresome to keep checking for kext updates manually from different sources and then updating your Hackintosh accordingly. If you are looking for an easy method to update all the kexts in your Hackintosh, follow this guide.
The thing about kexts (Kernel Extensions) is that they vary from Hackintosh to Hackintosh. Depending on the configuration of your Hackintosh, it will require a different set of kexts compared to a machine with a completely different set of specs. The basic kext requirements from most Hackintosh PCs are the same, but there are still a lot of other kexts that will just be specific to your machine depending on your PC hardware.
Since there is no centralized roster to download all kexts, it means that you will have to manually keep a tab of their new releases. Updating kexts is important as it can help fix any system instability issues. It also plays a major role when you update your Hackintosh to a newer release of macOS, even if its a small one.
Thankfully, there is a handy app called Kext Updater that takes the pain away from updating kexts. Below is everything you need to know about the app and how to use it.
Kext Updater: Things to Know
You will still have to manually update all the kexts on your Mac even if you use Kext Updater. The app will only download the latest version of the kexts used in your Hackintosh inside a folder on your desktop. From there, you will have to manually copy the kext files to /EFI/Other/Kexts.
It is highly recommended that you don’t update to a new release of a kext straightaway as it might have some issues. Always wait for a few days before updating, that way any reported bugs would be fixed by then.
How to Easily Update Kexts in your Hackintosh Using Kext Updater
Step 1: Download the Kext Updater app from here and install it on your Hackintosh.
Step 2: Open the app and click the Check button at the bottom. The app will scan for the kexts being used in your system.
Step 3: Kext Updater will then automatically download the latest version of all the kexts in the ”Kext-Updates” folder on the desktop of your Hackintosh. This folder will be automatically created and if you wish to, you can change the download location as well.
If you want to download more kexts, use the Kextmanager option to select the additional kexts. If your Hackintosh has an Nvidia GPU, you can use the WebDriver option to download the latest web driver for the GPU.
Step 4: Click the EFI button in the Kext Updater app and proceed to enter the password of your Hackintosh. This will mount the EFI folder.
Step 5: Go to the ‘Kext-Updates’ folder on your desktop and copy all the downloaded kexts inside /EFI/Clover/Kexts/Other. All the kexts would have been downloaded in their individual folder so you will have to copy-paste them one by one.
Make sure to also update Clover. Kext Updater will download the latest version of Clover as well if it detects that the installed version on your Hackintosh is outdated. After you are done updating the kexts and Clover, restart your Mac.
Updating kexts from time to time on your Hackintosh is recommended especially if you wish to always run the latest version of macOS available. If your Hackintosh works perfectly after updating the kexts, make sure to update your bootable macOS installation drive with the latest kexts as well.
