Some 2020 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air Users Experiencing Issues With USB 2.0 Accessories

[ignatius345]

Interesting. My mechanical keyboard stopped responding the other day and I didn't think much of it -- but this adds up. If it's just an OS problem I can live with it until it's fixed.
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Oh my god, a Mac with a problem??? Who’d a thunk!!!

At least there Windows and Linux PCs. Because, as we all know, those are 100% trouble free.

 

[baryon]

"Depending on what you do, you can likely live without any form of Ethernet, floppies and CDs but there's no way around USB-A for the foreseeable future."

Right after I ordered my 2017 MBP three years ago I went to Amazon and purchased two USB-C to USB-A cables. For less than $20. That's mice nuts compared to the $3K+ cost of my laptop.

If you're a professional, why in the world would anybody futz with USB adapters when purpose-made cables are available? Makes no sense.

Because let's say I have 10-20 portable USB hard drives, which all came with a USB-A cable (and even today if you buy them new they'd likely come with USB-A). I also have a Wacom tablet with a USB-A wireless dongle, and a wireless mouse with a USB-A dongle. I also often share hard drives with people, people hand me hard drives and card readers, and I hand them mine so we can work together for various projects. Chances are, their device has USB-A, and their computer has USB-A only. So I have to have USB-A devices in case someone wants to use them, and I have to be able to unexpectedly be able to access USB-A devices in case I need to use someone else's. I can't carry around a USB-C cable for every possible weird micro USB 3.0 standard because then why don't I just use a USB-A adapter which handles all of that anyway. Adapters are just the only smart choice for me.

 

[throAU]

Yeah, that's some pretty strong revisionist history right there. I lived through that transition while working at a Mac/PC shop as a Mac specialist and then later at a Mac specialty store. I saw that transition happen firsthand, and it certainly didn't happen because of the iMac. There were a few companies that already traditionally catered to Apple users (Epson, Agfa, Lacie, Yamaha, Wacom) who came out with a few USB devices early on, but those were generally relegated to low-end products. The few who tried using USB on higher-end machines had a miserable experience (ask anyone who used a Kodak dye-sub printer in the early 00's. Hooked up to a PC using parallel, prints would come out immediately. A Mac using USB and you were waiting upwards of several minutes before the printer would even kick in). Higher-end devices started supporting Firewire, but it never did completely take over and for all intents and purposes, FW800 was a flop primarily because the PC world ignored it, and Thunderbolt was following that same tragectory and will only finally become ubiquitous because intel is finally opening up the licensing of the technology.

I lived through it as well, as a PC tech dealing mostly with ISP customers. My point was not that USB was initially better. FAR from it. A lot of early USB devices were hot garbage as you describe.

However...

The PC didn't really adopt USB in any significant way until at least 3-4 years later when peripherals became a little more common - BECAUSE OF THE MAC. Thew only way hardware OEMs could sell devices to iMac users (and later Macs) was to make USB devices, because there were no legacy ports.

if the iMac wasn't USB only, no one would have bothered making USB peripherals as much as they did.

 

[Purrged]

The PC didn't really adopt USB in any significant way until at least 3-4 years later when peripherals became a little more common - BECAUSE OF THE MAC. Thew only way hardware OEMs could sell devices to iMac users (and later Macs) was to make USB devices, because there were no legacy ports.

Apple moving to USB-only on the iMac helped push their own key vendors towards offering USB, but that hardly drove the rest of the peripheral or PC market. Even when plenty of peripheral manufacturers started offering USB, a very large number of them didn't support Mac OS. There were plenty of USB game devices, PDAs, microscopes, printers, scanners.. you name it.. that did not have any Mac support at all. Very few USB inkjets other than specific models by Epson or Canon supported Mac OS, and laser printers only worked by virtue of them supporting Postscript and being able to be generically set up in the Mac OS.

And this was still at a time when pretty much all shipping PCs still had Parallel and Serial ports on them and those same manufacturers could have saved themselves costs by sticking with the old connections. I'm not sure how you can think that companies that didn't support the Mac all of a sudden started coming out with all these USB devices because a computer they never intended on supporting only offered USB. I know Apple fans (including me, at an earlier, much more naive age) like to credit Apple for bring USB mainstream, but in reality the iMac isn't the main reason why USB became ubiquitous. Every PC manufacturer had USB ports on their shipping machines before the Blue-and-White G3 was released (recall that the Beige G3 preceding it didn't have USB), so Apple wasn't even a frontrunner in offering USB on all their shipping computers.

The industry went with USB for the same reason it went with USB2 and then USB 3.1 - those standards offered a tangible improvement and were developed into a universal standard that all device manufacturers could offer cheaply and easily. If Apple had the kind of influence in the late 90's and early 00's you think they did, then we'd all have adopted Firewire and Thunderbolt for everyday devices instead of the various improved USB standards, because clearly Apple has far more influence today than they did back then. But instead, those connections remain relegated to high-end specialty products. Firewire, even though it was altogether a stronger standard than USB, went by the wayside. At least Thunderbolt might be adopted more rapidly, but that's only happening because the connector followed the new USB standard and the protocol itself is getting rolled into the USB standard.

 

[citysnaps]

"I can afford" is different from "it is a good deal". I'm sure most people can "afford" to buy all the extra stuff that is needed to make a $3,000 laptop work with all your existing peripherals as well as a $900 laptop does, but that's hardly the point. Either the extra expense is providing a benefit to you, the user, or it is not. In this case, not only is it not providing you an actual benefit, it is actually costing you productivity thanks to a broken implementation. Hopefully for the sake of your own customers you don't follow Apple's lead in the systems engineering or customer service department. I know my customers certainly wouldn't stand for it, but hey, I guess I could just call them "crybabies" when they complain, instead of actually look at what I can do to improve their experience.

One of the best benefits is not having to lug around a much thicker and heavier laptop. To me that's huge.

"Hopefully for the sake of your own customers you don't follow Apple's lead in the systems engineering or customer service department. I know my customers certainly wouldn't stand for it, but hey, I guess I could just call them "crybabies" when they complain, instead of actually look at what I can do to improve their experience."

Huh? Such drama. What are you going on about? You're obfuscating. The discussion is about adapting to changes in technology. Apple has been pushing those changes since, well, forever.

If you long for a thick/heavy laptop with USB-A ports, there are certainly many options out there. Simply pick one and find happiness. Why anyone reward a company with their currency and purchase a laptop that doesn't meet their requirements is baffling.

 

[Purrged]

One of the best benefits is not having to lug around a much thicker and heavier laptop. To me that's huge.

See, here's the thing. My current everyday work laptop is a Dell Latitude. Along with USB-C (which drives the dock on my desk which in turn drives three displays, keyboard, mouse, webcam, external SSD, speakers, headset, and gigabit ethernet, along with providing power to the laptop), it has all those what you would call "legacy" ports. HDMI, Ethernet on-board, micro-SD, 3.5mm Combo port, and of course, USB-A 3.1 ports. At the most, your Apple laptop is maybe 1/4" to 1/2" thinner, and 100 grams lighter than mine. I can certainly tell you, I have never remarked to myself that I wish my laptop was slightly thinner or lighter when taking it to a client. It fits in my backpack just as well as your Macbook would, and it fits on every desk and table I've ever worked on just as well as your Macbook would. I'm obviously not you, so your use-case may differ from mine, but all those so-called "legacy" ports, along with the much better keyboard and touch screen offered on the Dell provide me much more actual everyday benefit than the shaving off of a couple millimeters of thickness and a chocolate-bar's worth of weight would have.

"Hopefully for the sake of your own customers you don't follow Apple's lead in the systems engineering or customer service department. I know my customers certainly wouldn't stand for it, but hey, I guess I could just call them "crybabies" when they complain, instead of actually look at what I can do to improve their experience."

Huh? What are you going on about? You're obfuscating. The discussion is about adapting to changes in technology. Apple has been pushing that since, well, forever.

The discussion is about dissatisfied customers "crying" about being dissatisfied, rather than just shutting up and taking whatever medicine their vendors decide is good for them, all in the name of being "a professional".

 

[citysnaps]

The discussion is about dissatisfied customers "crying" about being dissatisfied, rather than just shutting up and taking whatever medicine their vendors decide is good for them, all in the name of being "a professional"

You don't have to take it. Simply purchase whatever meets your requirements. And try to find happiness.

 

[Purrged]

You don't haver to take it. Simply purchase whatever meets your requirements. And try to find happiness.

Well, as I said in my last comment, I did. But that's easier said than done for other people, including people I work closely with who have to deal with Apple's heavy-handed tactics because they are tied to Apple's ecosystem.

 

[Big Ron]

"Right after spending $3,000 on my new laptop, I had to spend another $40 on cables just so that my new laptop works with all my stuff as well as my old laptop did."

Right, but I'm assuming that you knew that before you opened your wallet?

 

[simonmet]

I miss those wallpapers...

Who approved these monstrosities??? These are bad even for Windows standards!

 

[PBG4 Dude]

Right, but I'm assuming that you knew that before you opened your wallet?

Maybe it’s because I’ve bought many computers now, but I expect to be in the hook for new accessories for every computing device I buy. Whether it’s a USB hub, a new backpack / carrying case, skin, second power supply, or whatever else comes along. It’s part of the territory.

Do you go online and complain about having to buy new protective cases with each new phone you buy? Did you go off the deep end the first time you realized it didn’t come with a car charger?

 

[Big Ron]

Maybe it’s because I’ve bought many computers now, but I expect to be in the hook for new accessories for every computing device I buy. Whether it’s a USB hub, a new backpack / carrying case, skin, second power supply, or whatever else comes along. It’s part of the territory.

Do you go online and complain about having to buy new protective cases with each new phone you buy? Did you go off the deep end the first time you realized it didn’t come with a car charger?

No

 

[Purrged]

Maybe it’s because I’ve bought many computers now, but I expect to be in the hook for new accessories for every computing device I buy. Whether it’s a USB hub, a new backpack / carrying case, skin, second power supply, or whatever else comes along. It’s part of the territory.

Do you go online and complain about having to buy new protective cases with each new phone you buy? Did you go off the deep end the first time you realized it didn’t come with a car charger?

Point taken with the protective case, but at the same time, you're comparing things that are supposed to be industry standards with something that is tailor-made for a specific model of device. I half expect that your USB hub, backpack, and power supply remarks were sarcasm, but in case they weren't, I personally haven't had to re-buy a car charger in 8 years (on my third phone since buying the car charger I still currently use at a corner gas station), my current laptop uses the same power supply that I used two iterations ago (that's going on 9 years now), my backpack is the same one I used for University (15 years ago). My mechanical keyboard, Bluetooth/USB hybrid wireless mouse, desktop webcam, monitors, speakers, headphones, mixer, and headset are all still operational after multiple computer upgrades, and I expect those will still work out of the box when I receive my next upgraded work laptop two to three years from now. Based on this thread alone, I would say that wouldn't be the case if my next laptop were to be an Apple branded one.

 

[scartart]

Yeah, but also the "good old days" where you had a 50/50 chance of plugging the USB-A cable in the right direction.

In my experience the odds were never that good. Seems it would be wrong 9 times out of 10

 

[Nica]

Have this problem with my 2020 MBA... it’s really frustrating to randomly lose my mouse and keyboard at my workstation. Hope they do fix it, I’ve been unable to find a workaround myself.

 

[rgbrock1]

I got the same issue with my 2019 16 inch..

Ditto.

 

[justperry]

Could be an issue related to power delivery.
I explain, I have a G-tech drive which I bought online for a fair price including shipping
from the States, problem was the charger, I had a charger laying around and for a couple
of weeks it disconnected intermittently.
Thought I bought a "brick", but then I had the idea to use a higher rated charger to it, that
was the end of the disconnects.

 

[coolbeep]

I've been having this same issue with my ilok e-licenser thumb drive. But if I connect it to a hub that goes to another hub, all is fine ??????

 

[fbr$]

Does anyone know if the latest iteration of the official Apple USB-C to Digital AV Multiport Adapter (USB, HDMI and power) Model A2119 has this issue? Thank you

Hi, I just got my USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter and tested it with a cheap USB 2.0 mouse on my 2019 16" MBP (Catalina 10.15.5), it worked OK, no issues when using or connecting it!

EDIT: it's Model A2119! 👍

 

[AppleFan1179]

And here I thought I was ****ing crazy. This is both nice and infuriating to see.

 

[RedBear]

This seems like a software issue since hubs that “present” USB 2.0 devices as USB 3.0 seem to avoid the issue.

Do you have any kind of reference for that? A link to where people might be talking about which USB hub models do that?

 

[BillyJoBob]

So 2018 late MBP here. my USB 2 audio input cable works fine until it dies at random times. so just proving that a USB 2 mouse works initially I think is missing the point. Its intermittent. It works great and then eventually randomly dies. Memory leak? Power issue? maybe but this one we need Apple to do a deep dive into ASAP please!!!

I forgot to mention we USE the official white Apple USBC -> USB 2 adapter so even their own adapter isn't working reliably.

 

[brandsteve]

Have this problem with my 2020 MBA... it’s really frustrating to randomly lose my mouse and keyboard at my workstation. Hope they do fix it, I’ve been unable to find a workaround myself.

I bought the latest Logitech Bluetooth mouse. It is a superior replacement to the MS Scupt.

Since disconnecting it completely I've had just one hang with my mechanical keyboard. If I can't reboot right then I bring out a Bluetooth keyboard until I can.

Fortunately, for me it doesn't happen very often.

 

[BillyJoBob]

For keyboards / mice yeah it wont affect you too much probably. but if you rely on a USB audio / video device to I dont know. actually work with a $3,000 boat anchor so you can live stream? Yeah not so much. lol

 

[carestudio]

If you dont want to pay a premium Caldigit Thunderbolt 3 docks with many many ports @ 200 dollars, you can actually buy a Caldigit Thunderoblt mini dock or belkin travel dock, which is around 120 bucks with 1x USB3, 1x USB2, 2x HDMI and ethernet. no charging feature, but it's about the same pricing as some premium usb-c adapters or docks which are not working now when it comes to USB 2 support. Just my 2 cents.