macOS Catalina 10.15.6 Successfully Fixes USB 2.0 Issues Experienced by 2020 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air Users

[zedsdeadbaby]

Although I must admit USB 2.0 should be rare these days

Speak for yourself. My ilok has several thousand dollars worth of software licenses on it. Do I enjoy being tethered to a dongle? No. That's the reality of the situation for a lot of Logic users.
Not to mention that most MIDI and external controller devices still use USB 2 ports.

 

[mr_vinjah]

I have the TS3+ dock from CalDigit less than a year now. Recently upgraded from a 2017 13" MBP (2 port) to a 2020 13" MBP (4 port) and found many differences between how the dock passed signals to an Apple TB display connected to the TS3+ dock via an Apple TB3->TB2 adapter. All the problems were wait the 2020 MBP.

After waking, the BT magic keyboard display brightness keys (F1-F2) stopped working and even worse, the TB brightness could not be adjusted through Sys Pref of the TouchBar on the Mac. Audio dropouts when sending audio to the TB display. I'm just testing now and it seems like the Apple TB display won't even stay connected right now and after flashing a couple times, just shuts off and leaves me with the laptop display. Ugh. A weekend of troubleshooting awaits...

Ok, a little more testing and things to report. A reboot fixed the flashing/non-connecting Thunderbolt Display. AND, now the Magic Keyboard brightness keys adjust the TB display, even after a sleep/wake cycle. Also, it seems like music no longer getting dropouts on the TB display's built-in speakers. I still get some dropouts from Zoom call audio, but Zoom I find a bit buggy on many things.

So far so good-- it seems to have fixed the main issues I was experiencing. Now I have to test with a first-gen OWC Thunderbolt 3 dock which has been very problematic though the years. The 2020 MBP had all sorts of issues with that dock where the 2017 MBP did not.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

I've stuck with High Sierra b/c it's the last OS that implements sub-pixel anti-aliasing natively, and thus the last OS in which text looks sharp on my sub-retina 27" 4k monitor (which is 160 ppi, as compared with 220 ppi for a retina screen). So I can't comment on Mojave; but from what I've heard people say, it's now considered to be a stable upgrade.

You'll just want to make sure you don't have any mission-critical apps that Mojave breaks. If you want to test this and/or try out the OS to see if you like it, you could create a separate partition (using Disk Utility) and install Mojave there. I always do that before upgrading to a new OS. I use 100 GB for my "test" partition, but you could probably get by with less.

Thanks, appreciate the well educated viewpoint.

 

[usamaah]

This was definitely a frustrating bug. I had trouble with a Logitech keyboard/mouse connected to the MBP via CalDigit TB3 dock. I took to using a USB-C to USB-A adapter to connect the keyboard/mouse USB adapter which seemed to fix the issue. Before that typing with the keyboard would be impossible because the keys would randomly give out, and the mouse would freeze and skip across the screen. Can't wait to try it after the update.

 

[dawindmg08]

Hmmm ... even though my CalDigit dock is supposedly TB3, I wonder if the update might also fix its sporadic quirkiness. I guess I'll have to keep playing around with it to find out.

Please spill! I've been eyeing the CalDigit TS3 for my MacBook Pro, would love to hear about the issues you're having.
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Was this issue primarily with USB hubs? I've been using my 2019 16" MBP with an older Thunderbolt KVM switch without issue (printer, monitor, keyboard, mouse).

 

[JacquesleMac]

Great work. Now how about fixing some of the basics in Catalina, like the fact that Mail can no longer display columns properly, or vary the font in Message list font?

 

[slooksterPSV]

I love how I experienced this USB Bug and didn't even know it. I thought it was the adapter I bought off of Amazon. I ended up having to disconnect it and reconnect it. The mouse stopped working. My mouse is a laser one, not an optical one, so even though I could see the lights on top lit up, I was thinking it was the tracking laser got dust in it. Other than that, it worked fine after I unplugged it and plugged it back in. But this update should resolve it from happening? Okay awesome.

 

[jayducharme]

Please spill! I've been eyeing the CalDigit TS3 for my MacBook Pro, would love to hear about the issues you're having.

It's been issues with my Mac mini and eGPU setup. When I booted the mini with the dock plugged in, the mini would hang and never complete the startup process. If I first unplugged the dock, everything seemed to boot fine. It could be a quirk of the mini; it could be a problem with Catalina; it could be a problem with the dock. I submitted a report to Apple. For now, I'm not connecting the eGPU to my monitor (instead going directly from the mini to the monitor) and things have been stable. Other than that quirk, the dock has been working well for me. It does get really hot though.

 

[vgmrm]

With the latest versions of macOS the system crashes randomly. It makes versions (10.14.x) once a week, with 10.15.5 once a day and with 10.15.6 several times a day.
It may be an incompatibility with some program but this prevents normal operation and it does not matter if you send Apple activity reports, with each update the system becomes more unstable.
It is not a physical problem since it happens the same both on the desktop and on the laptop.
If you do not update you do not have access to certain programs, if you update you destabilize the system.

 

[thedocbwarren]

Sounds like it could be the eGPU. Maybe the firmware isn't up to date on the unit itself. I don't know a lot about it but will try with a Razer Core X Chroma. Maybe head here to troubleshoot your issue -> https://egpu.io/

With the latest versions of macOS the system crashes randomly. It makes versions (10.14.x) once a week, with 10.15.5 once a day and with 10.15.6 several times a day.
It may be an incompatibility with some program but this prevents normal operation and it does not matter if you send Apple activity reports, with each update the system becomes more unstable.
It is not a physical problem since it happens the same both on the desktop and on the laptop.
If you do not update you do not have access to certain programs, if you update you destabilize the system.

 

[deeprathod]

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After update to 10.15.6 I still have the constantly connecting and losing connection almost every two seconds using my trackpad. I have to use it connected with an usb cable and then no problem. I have an iMac 21.5 late 2013.
Thanks

I am facing the same issue in my macbook pro 2012. I just updated it to 10.15.6 and my trackpad is almost unusable.
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I just updated my macbook 2012 to 10.15.6 and my trackpad is unusable.
Do anyone know any fixes ?

 

[iwans]

I am facing the same issue in my macbook pro 2012. I just updated it to 10.15.6 and my trackpad is almost unusable.
.
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I just updated my macbook 2012 to 10.15.6 and my trackpad is unusable.
Do anyone know any fixes ?

My MacBook Pro 13 (2012) was pretty sluggish after 10.15.6 update, cursor was lagging, menu was not responding... After Parametric RAM reset seems to be OK.

 

[yotz]

It's not completely fixed. Catalina 10.15.6 still has USB issues though less frequently. It still freezes on me several times a week and I have to reboot.

 

[Jeewaranga]

macOS Catalina 10.15.6 successfully fixes a frustrating bug that prevented some USB 2.0 accessories from working properly with 2020 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models, according to MacRumors readers and users on Reddit.

Apple in the release notes for the macOS Catalina 10.15.6 update said that the update "resolves an issue where certain USB mouse and trackpads may lose connection," and people who were experiencing that particular problem have confirmed that their accessories are now able to successfully connect.

The bug was first noticed earlier this year by MacBook Air and MacBook Pro users who purchased one of the new 2020 machines. The Mac notebooks were unable to properly work with USB 2.0 accessories connected to their machines through hubs or adapters.

Problems included lost connections, freezes, and a failure to work entirely, and those affected were unable to find any kind of fix with methods like SMC resets, safe mode, Disk Utility repairs, and more. The only suitable fix was using a more expensive Thunderbolt 3 hub instead of a USB-C hub.

Though Apple's release notes mention mice and trackpads, the problem affected all kinds of devices, including keyboards and other accessories, though it appeared to be limited to USB 2.0 devices rather than USB 3.0 or 3.1 accessories.

There have been numerous reports from those who were experiencing the issue that confirm macOS 10.15.6 addresses the issue for all kinds of accessories. The fix doesn't appear to have been implemented in macOS Big Sur, however, so some users may still run into USB issues on the newest update until Apple adds the fix to Big Sur as well.

Article Link: macOS Catalina 10.15.6 Successfully Fixes USB 2.0 Issues Experienced by 2020 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air Users

No, it does not resolve the issue - if not it makes it even worse!
Wonder whether this is a hardware issue with only some MBP users experiencing it..