External drives keep disconnecting

[imrazor]

I have a couple of external drives, and a couple of SD card readers, that I will frequently plug into my 2020 M1 MBA. Whenever I have more than one plugged in, I will get random disconnects from either of the devices. This most frequently occurs when copying files, or infrequently when the Mac is under heavy load. I'm not sure whether to blame the OWC USB-C travel hub I use, or an I/O problem with the M1 SoC. It does seem far less frequent when the OWC hub is unplugged.

Any thoughts on this? Are there any logs I can check, or other troubleshooting steps I could take? Would a new USB-C or Thunderbolt hub likely solve the problem?

 

[jdb8167]

I have this issue with a OWC Envoy Pro Enclosure that came with an upgrade to my 2013 Mac Pro SSD. It is a special version that supports Apple’s proprietary SSD M.2 card. The drive works fine with my Mac Pro but won’t stay connected on my M1 MacBook Air—neither connected directly to the MBA or a USB-C dock. I haven’t found a solution.

 

[imrazor]

The only real 'solution' I've found so far is to only have one storage device plugged in at a time. Not crippling surely, but decidedly inconvenient. If this is a flaw in some OWC controller chip, I'm surprised it hasn't been exposed by the community.

 

[matrix07]

I use Belkin USB hub and I plug in 4 HDDs all the time. Never has a disconnection.

 

[A Computer User]

I’ve also had an issue with a drive disappearing with my m1 iMac. I’m trading in for the 4usb model to avoid using a USB hub.

Is it a western digital drive by chance?

 

[imrazor]

One of the drives is branded WD, and the other is a rebranded WD drive (G-Technology.) But I’ve also had SD card readers disconnect too. The G-Tech drive seems a lot more stable than the WD SSD or the OWC card reader.

edit: What do you mean by ‘4usb model’?

 

[Slartibart]

. I'm not sure whether to blame the OWC USB-C travel hub I use, or an I/O problem with the M1 SoC.

Are you using an external power supply with the hub or not?

 

[imrazor]

It depends on the logistics of the situation. I can use the G-Tech drive as a power source, a regular wall wart, or use passthru usb-c power with the hub. The catch is if I use the drive as my power source, then daisy chain the hub and the M1 off of it, the M1 then can’t see the drive. Apparently the OWC hub features passthru power, but not passthru data. It’s a tricky situation, and I’m constantly having to swap cables around depending on what I need to do.

 

[Slartibart]

It depends on the logistics of the situation. I can use the G-Tech drive as a power source, a regular wall wart, or use passthru usb-c power with the hub. The catch is if I use the drive as my power source, then daisy chain the hub and the M1 off of it, the M1 then can’t see the drive. Apparently the OWC hub features passthru power, but not passthru data. It’s a tricky situation, and I’m constantly having to swap cables around depending on what I need to do.

I using this Uni usb-c hub when travelling with my Apple silicone devices, it allows power passthru parallel to data passthru. There is a version available without Ethernet. Maybe you should consider sellping your OWC hub.

 

[A Computer User]

One of the drives is branded WD, and the other is a rebranded WD drive (G-Technology.) But I’ve also had SD card readers disconnect too. The G-Tech drive seems a lot more stable than the WD SSD or the OWC card reader.

edit: What do you mean by ‘4usb model’?

High end iMac with 2 USB and 2 thunderbolt. That way I can keep my drives plugged in without a hub.

 

[legato01]

Now, my external SSD keeps disconnecting on a Mac mini M1.
Previously did not have any issues.

Only change is a new Focusrite Solo. Even if I remove the Focusrite, SSD still keeps disconnecting now.
Testing the SSD on a Mac mini 2012 and this has no issues.

Any suggestions?
Weird that a fully wired machine cant power a few low powered USB devices.

 

[400]

Just started a ssd non encrypted and it does not disconnect when my encrypted spinning hd's disconnect (one of which is not encrypted)

 

[Vanarak19]

I have the exact same issue with 2 of the below enclosures. Its so bad I don't use them anymore. Happens on both MBA M1, and MBP14. Not that I think it matters, but both have SSD interface drives in them, not pcie

M.2 NVMe SATA SSD Enclosure Adapter,USB C 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps M.2 NVMe,6Gbps SATA PCIe M-Key(B+M Key), Aluminum NVMe M.2 Reader Support UASP Trim for 2242/2260/2280 SSD

【M.2 NVMe SATA Enclosure】M.2 Enclosure Up to 10Gbps High speed M.2 NVME to USB 3.2 Gen2,6Gbps speed M.2 SATA to USB 3.1 Gen 1, perfect solution for data transfer and data backup.One HD movie transfer only takes 2-5 seconds.The actual transfer speed depends on the speed of your SSD, USB Port type,...

www.amazon.com

 

[satcomer]

I have the exact same issue with 2 of the below enclosures. Its so bad I don't use them anymore. Happens on both MBA M1, and MBP14. Not that I think it matters, but both have SSD interface drives in them, not pcie

M.2 NVMe SATA SSD Enclosure Adapter,USB C 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps M.2 NVMe,6Gbps SATA PCIe M-Key(B+M Key), Aluminum NVMe M.2 Reader Support UASP Trim for 2242/2260/2280 SSD

【M.2 NVMe SATA Enclosure】M.2 Enclosure Up to 10Gbps High speed M.2 NVME to USB 3.2 Gen2,6Gbps speed M.2 SATA to USB 3.1 Gen 1, perfect solution for data transfer and data backup.One HD movie transfer only takes 2-5 seconds.The actual transfer speed depends on the speed of your SSD, USB Port type,...

www.amazon.com

Are you sure it's not the cable?

 

[JoeJeans]

I'm having the same issue with 2 OWC Envoy NVME drives disconnecting from my new Macbook air M2.
Anyone found any fixes?