How to Uninstall Drivers on Mac

Mac users rarely need to deal with regular drivers because the operating system will make sure that their audio chip, video card, and other integrated hardware works out of the box. However, the situation may be different when it comes to peripherals – attaching a USB hub, a drawing tablet, or a fancy keyboard may require the installation of additional drivers to unlock the full features of the peripheral in question.

If you have installed such drivers but no longer use the device they are meant for, then you might want to consider removing the drivers completely. They take up unnecessary space, and some of them are likely to run in the background even though they are not needed at all. Keep in mind that this is not the only situation in which you may want to uninstall drivers – sometimes removing the old driver version may be required in order to install the newest one.

Keep in mind that removing Mac drivers manually is not that simple, and you should perform this action manually if you are an inexperienced user.

Finding Driver Files

Unlike Windows, Mac does not have a separate menu for all system and peripheral drivers. You will need to search for them manually. Typically, this happens by opening Finder and then typing either the name of your device or the manufacturer's name in the search window. This search will usually return a large number of files that need to be deleted.

Typical Directories to Check for Drivers

Depending on the type of peripheral driver you are looking for, you may need to explore multiple folders. Typically, driver-related files and folders are stored under the following directories, which can be accessed through the Finder -> Go -> Go to Folder menu: