Help getting an old unsupported internal isight camera to work

[carl]

Hi. I have a OC Big Sur install on a 2008 24" imac case mod. The internal isight camera seems to be no longer supported, using USB connection. I've read that there is no longer a IOUSBFamily kext in big sur. Would it be possible to add this kext it in device property and work? Is there any chance of getting to work at all through some patching?

 

[UtterDisbelief]

Hi. I have a Big Sur install on a 2008 24" imac case mod. The internal isight camera seems to be no longer supported, using USB connection. I've read that there is no longer a IOUSBFamily kext in big sur. Would it be possible to add this kext it in device property and work? Is there any chance of getting to work at all through some patching?

Hi there.

If you have modern PC hardware in the iMac then of course Big Sur supports USB UVC cameras so that should cover it. The kext you highlight isn't just for iSight. How have you connected the USB so far?

 

[carl]

Hi there.

If you have modern PC hardware in the iMac then of course Big Sur supports USB UVC cameras so that should cover it. The kext you highlight isn't just for iSight. How have you connected the USB so far?

I thought so as well but when connecting to USB port it didn't work. I read that Big Sur dropped support for older hardware. I tested the camera on an older imac 20" with El Capitan and there the camera works. Here is the info.

Built-in iSight:
Product ID: 0x8501
Vendor ID: 0x05ac (Apple Inc.)
Version: 1.89
Speed: Up to 480 Mb/sec
Manufacturer: Micron
Location ID: 0x1d120000 / 7
Current Available (mA): 1000
Current Required (mA): 100
Extra Operating Current (mA): 0

​

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[UtterDisbelief]

I thought so as well but when connecting to USB port it didn't work. I read that Big Sur dropped support for older hardware. I tested the camera on an older imac 20" with El Capitan and there the camera works. Here is the info.

Built-in iSight:
Product ID: 0x8501
Vendor ID: 0x05ac (Apple Inc.)
Version: 1.89
Speed: Up to 480 Mb/sec
Manufacturer: Micron
Location ID: 0x1d120000 / 7
Current Available (mA): 1000
Current Required (mA): 100
Extra Operating Current (mA): 0

​

​

Okay. How are you connecting the iSight to your PC hardware?

It is very likely the pin-out allocation for the camera is the same between Apple iMac models, but we have to assume you have made an adapter for the PC USB header. The pin-out pattern or allocation may not be the same.

Please explain what you've done to configure this adapter.

 

[carl]

Okay. How are you connecting the iSight to your PC hardware?

It is very likely the pin-out allocation for the camera is the same between Apple iMac models, but we have to assume you have made an adapter for the PC USB header. The pin-out pattern or allocation may not be the same.

Please explain what you've done to configure this adapter.

So the existing original isight cable is USB compliant by color. I used a standard external USB 2.0 cable i cut and spliced the wires together. I plugged that to an existing external 2.0 and 3.0 port. That didn't work. I then tried an internal USB 2.0 header port. That also wasn't being picked up. In Hackingtool it shows up as IOUSBHostDevice. Pinout is good since it worked on the older imac. I also booted a windows drive and after installing a driver for it worked perfectly in windows on internal header and an external port. So camera and wiring is good. I think its driver related.

 

[UtterDisbelief]

So the existing original isight cable is USB compliant by color. I used a standard external USB 2.0 cable i cut and spliced the wires together. I plugged that to an existing external 2.0 and 3.0 port. That didn't work. I then tried an internal USB 2.0 header port. That also wasn't being picked up. In Hackingtool it shows up as IOUSBHostDevice. Pinout is good since it worked on the older imac. I also booted a windows drive and after installing a driver for it worked perfectly in windows on internal header and an external port. So camera and wiring is good. I think its driver related.

Okay. You probably don't need my help by the sound of it, but others with similar issues might read this thread so ...

What USB port configuration have you done? Big Sur needs different methods to previous macOS versions due to changed security.

You have not actually identified the driver you think is missing, only a part of the USB sub-system. IOReg will reveal all.

Of course it may well be that the DeviceID of your iSight camera has been deprecated in BS, but it is still UVC compliant so should work anyway with perhaps reduced functionality. Think about that - Windows has no native Apple drivers so the camera is UVC compatible if it is recognised there. What Windows driver did you install?

Not showing up at all points to USB port configuration.

 

[carl]

Okay. You probably don't need my help by the sound of it, but others with similar issues might read this thread so ...

What USB port configuration have you done? Big Sur needs different methods to previous macOS versions due to changed security.

You have not actually identified the driver you think is missing, only a part of the USB sub-system. IOReg will reveal all.

Of course it may well be that the DeviceID of your iSight camera has been deprecated in BS, but it is still UVC compliant so should work anyway with perhaps reduced functionality. Think about that - Windows has no native Apple drivers so the camera is UVC compatible if it is recognised there. What Windows driver did you install?

Not showing up at all points to USB port configuration.

I appreciate all the help. Basically its the only non working device before closure. I've looked of other cam options but nothing can fit except existing one in that slot.
I don't know what you mean about USB port configuration. I don't really know about drivers or which one is involved in isight camera operation.
I believe its a DeviceID issue that's no longer there. I thought I read that IOUSBFamily with plugins kext was responsible.
So looking at this article https://www.macobserver.com/news/macos-big-sur-kexts/ I'am assuming now its IOUSBHostFamily who has DeviceID's? If so, can this non working device be added?, or lets say put a Mojave IOUSBFamily kext in OC kext folder and add to config.
The Win driver I got off the web. I did a search for micron isight 8501 and a bunch came up. If interested in it I can attach.

 

[TheRadicalDuck]

A bit late to the party, but I came across this thread when trying to use an unsupported internal iSight camera from a 2006 iMac with my Big Sur hack. You were on the right track with IOUSBFamily.kext. There's a kext located at IOUSBFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns by the name of AppleUSBVideoSupport.kext that will load the required firmware to make your camera work. I simply put it in my OC kexts folder and loaded it with the config.plist. Hopefully this helps!

 

[tmbt]

A bit late to the party, but I came across this thread when trying to use an unsupported internal iSight camera from a 2006 iMac with my Big Sur hack. You were on the right track with IOUSBFamily.kext. There's a kext located at IOUSBFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns by the name of AppleUSBVideoSupport.kext that will load the required firmware to make your camera work. I simply put it in my OC kexts folder and loaded it with the config.plist. Hopefully this helps!

Hi,
i'm trying to use your method to load AppleUSBVideoSupport.kext in OC but i can't load it.
Could you help me ? Which version of AppleUSBVideoSupport are you using ?
Thanks
Mattia