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Reason why both Thunderbolt network adapters show "not connected"?

G

GoetzPhil

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 30, 2019
55
30
I habe my M1 iMac (running 12.5.1) connected via a 30cm T4 cable with the OWC Thunderbolt4 Hub. On the Hub I have a 2nd Monitor connected via USBC to Displayport which works fine. I also use the build USB3.2 port for my Sandisk SD Card Reader and this also works fine.
So I suggest the Thunderbolt connections on the Hub work.

But I also used the OWC T4 to connect to the QNAP QNAT310G1T 10GbE Adapter - and until about 4 weeks ago it worked fine.
Since then the connection isnt working any more and I have no clue why.
From iMac to Hub I use a 30cm T4 cable and on the Hub I use the 2m T4 cable to connect to the 10GbE Adapter.
I switched the 2 T4 cables, connecting the Hub with the iMac and both cables (30cm and 2m) work.

If I try to connect the QNAT310G1T directly to the M1 iMac T4 port for testing, I get a message from OSX telling me "This accessory needs more power", so the M1 iMac seems to be not powerfull enough... Apple LOL

When I connect the QNAT310G1T from OWC Hub its blue LED lights up and the fan inside is running, so it gets power from the Hub to work.
The 10GbE connector of the QNAT310G1T is connected via a CAT6 cable to the 10GbE expansion that I fitted in my TS453D.

Both Ethernet sides on the QNAT310G1T and the QNAP adaptercard show the yellow LEDs blinking.
And I also see in the TS453D console that there is a small data transfer bewteen the QNAT310G1T and the TS-453D, so that line works.

What I see on my iMacs network settings is that both Thunderbolt connectors "Thunderbolt Ethernet Slot 0" and "Thunderbolt Bridge" are "not connected".

Now I dont know what is causing this as the connection to the T4 hub is ok and working.
Maybe you can give a hint on what to further check to find out what is wrong here.
 
From my experience, Thunderbolt devices daisy-chained from downstream dock needs to be connected directly to the host port once after each macOS update since.... some version of macOS(can't remember which).

My guess is that the thunderbolt devices needs to be "authorized" first so that the macOS will allow it to connect. Such authorization will happen automatically when the device is plugged to the host port. By plugging the device directly to the Mac fixed such issue for me on my 10G Adapeter and the interface is showing up, and I can connect it to the docker afterwards. I don't know why your device is reporting no enough power, maybe you plugged it to the wrong port?(Only 2 of the USB-C ports are TB ports).
 
Thanks, but the problem is that if I plug the QNAP 10GbE Adapter directly into the T4 port of the iMac I get a message "This accessory needs more power to perform correct" - that way the M1 is not powerfull enough to power just that adapter...
 
What does the Thunderbolt tab in System Information.app show?
Also the PCI tab and the USB tab.
 
When you plug the adapter directly in the iMac, is anything else connected? Can you remove any other connected devices to see if the iMac can provide enough power to the adapter?
 
GoetzPhil said:
Thanks, but the problem is that if I plug the QNAP 10GbE Adapter directly into the T4 port of the iMac I get a message "This accessory needs more power to perform correct" - that way the M1 is not powerfull enough to power just that adapter...
Click to expand...
Have you tried use other ports? It is quite strange that you see this message.
 
The adapter is detected.
My usual config is like this: iMac - 50cm T4 cable - OWC T4 Hub - 2m T4 cable - QNAP adapter.

T4 Devices connected to iMac.png
 
GoetzPhil said:
The adapter is detected.
My usual config is like this: iMac - 50cm T4 cable - OWC T4 Hub - 2m T4 cable - QNAP adapter.

View attachment 2047011
Click to expand...
How about disconnect everything and connect the Ethernet Adapter only? I see you are using an external SSD and that will consume bus power and maybe that is why you are notified that power is insufficient when directly connected. The power here has the same meaning as power charger's power, not processing power.
 
GoetzPhil said:
Thanks, but the problem is that if I plug the QNAP 10GbE Adapter directly into the T4 port of the iMac I get a message "This accessory needs more power to perform correct" - that way the M1 is not powerfull enough to power just that adapter...
Click to expand...

That is suggestive that there might be a problem with the adaptor, not the Mac. You can try the other TB port on the Mac and also to try to find someone's Mac ( TBv3 or TBv4 ) port to see if message is the same. If the same message across multiple Macs then pretty good chance it is the adaptor. The T4 hub may get the power handshake error and just squash it and just provide a lower/'safe' amount it thinks will work.

If the message goes away on another port then that port has an issue. Similarly can rotate the downstream connection to another port on the T4 hub. The system report diagram suggests it is at the end. Put it first on the hub and see what happens.


The 2m cable is bit long for high power. It is in the standard , but if it is cheap implementation may be an issue also. The 0.3M cable is kind of odd. OWC dock comes with a 0.8m cable. The shorter cables tends to be more universal (cover the whole TB spec) cables. Mac port --> shorter cable --> 10GBE is another test to see if get "too low power" message.
[ If there is a tiny fan in the adaptor to keep it cool then it isn't some very low power sipping device. A 100W should be enough but it may be out of the single digit range. ]

After testing across more than several ports across systems and the adapter doesn't work, the adaptor should be the more likely suspect. [ for other operating systems it appears there are drivers for the device. They seem to be sitting on the macOS default drivers. If there was an OS update and things went sideways then perhaps that part is out of sync. Can look for other devices that use the same chip and see if they are having problems. ]


P.S. Not sure if you QNAP server has a free 1GbE port, but plug the ethernet cable into that instead of the 10GbE port. Yes it is slower, but trying to check whether the adapter can send any substantive data across Ethernet at all. Worry about 'fast' data later.
 
Last edited:
Yes QNAP also thinks its the adapter hadware. I now wait for RMA to send it in, luckily it has 2 years warranty till September 2023.
 
Short update, the 10GbE Adapter is now in Taiwan for repair.

U use now a USBC to 2.5GbE Adapter and that one works fine.
As soon I get the 10GbE back I will update again.
 
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