USB C Power Issues with Peripherals (2017 15" MBP)

[aeterno]

Potentially having power issues with the USB C ports on my 15" 2017 MacBook Pro. Refer to detailed hardware setup and troubleshooting in below paragraphs. If there is any additional info needed, please let me know.

Setup:

Refurbished 2017 15" MacBook Pro 14,3 macOS 10.13.4

Apple USB C charger into hub's pass-through charging

Logitech M325 wireless bluetooth mouse (has USB A dongle)

QacQoc USB C ethernet converter with USB 3.0 ports https://www.amazon.com/QacQoc-Aluminum-Portable-Ethernet-Converter/dp/B075H5RBKN /ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&q…

VicTsing Gold-Plated HDMI to VGA Converter Adapter to Dell 1800 FP second monitor
SD, microSD cards into hub

Transcend USB 3.0 CF/SD card reader

Occasionally a hard drive into hub or into Aukey adapter

Aukey USB C to USB 3.0 adapters

Tested with two Satechi Aluminum Type-C Pro Hub Adapters (one at a time) Amazon.com: Satechi Aluminum Type-C Pro Hub Adapter - Thunderbolt 3 (40Gbs), 4K HDMI, Pass-Through Charging, SD/Micro Ca…

Also tested on HyperDrive USB C Ultimate 11-in-1 Hub https://www.amazon.com/HyperDrive-Adapter-Ultimate-Delivery-Charging/dp/B076524X FW/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=…

Troubleshooting:

For both USB C hubs, if more than a few peripherals are plugged in, my Logitech mouse either stops working completely or lags to the point that it is unusable. To make sure that it wasn't just the hub, I tried three hubs: one HyperDrive and two of the same Satechi - one of which was sent from the manufacturer to make sure the first hub from Amazon wasn't defective. All hubs presented the same problems with the mouse. The manufacturer of the mouse said to only plug directly into the computer but since that is impossible, I did the next closest thing: bought Aukey USB C to USB 3.0 adapters and used those on the opposite side of the laptop that the hub was plugged into. That worked perfectly... with only one USB C port in use on that side. Unfortunately when I plugged in my external hard drive via another Aukey USB C to USB 3.0 adapter on the same side, the mouse started lagging again. This to me (and Apple support via phone) seems like a power issue and is concerning especially since this laptop is brand new, the mouse works on my other laptops (two machines with USB A ports) and if there is a power issue I do not want to lose or corrupt data on my other peripherals. Did an SMC reset, issues still persist. Any suggestions as to how to fix this? Is it a limitation of the laptop/peripherals or did I just get a bad laptop? Any info is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[DeltaMac]

If not power, then it may be some kind of USB bandwidth issue, I suppose.
Could it be caused by the unifying receiver that Logitech uses?

Is there lag if you try a bluetooth mouse?
That Logitech A325 is wireless (RF), but is not a Bluetooth mouse.
Logitech sells several bluetooth models, such as the M535. It uses the bluetooth that is built-in to your MBPro.

 

[aeterno]

If not power, then it may be some kind of USB bandwidth issue, I suppose.
Could it be caused by the unifying receiver that Logitech uses?

Is there lag if you try a bluetooth mouse?
That Logitech A325 is wireless (RF), but is not a Bluetooth mouse.
Logitech sells several bluetooth models, such as the M535. It uses the bluetooth that is built-in to your MBPro.

Good point - it isn't bluetooth. Not sure why I thought that.

I use a bluetooth Apple keyboard and Magic Trackpad with this laptop and they work perfectly. So sounds like you ay be onto something...

 

[arpena]

I think you are probably hitting 2.4GHz interference. Those RF mouses uses the 2.4 GHz band that gets in the way of what is generated as noise by a USB 3.1 connection. See https://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1381791

 

[aeterno]

I think you are probably hitting 2.4GHz interference. Those RF mouses uses the 2.4 GHz band that gets in the way of what is generated as noise by a USB 3.1 connection. See https://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1381791

That's an interesting idea. What I don't understand still is why it only has this problem on this laptop. Is it because my old laptops have USB 3.0 not 3.1?

 

[arpena]

From what I understand form the Intel paper and the Ars thread, USB 3.0 generates interference as well. But it is the cable that generates the noise, in most cases. Are you using the same cable on both laptops? Are you sure that the old laptop is using the disk at USB 3.0 speeds? Or only USB 2.0?

 

[aeterno]

From what I understand form the Intel paper and the Ars thread, USB 3.0 generates interference as well. But it is the cable that generates the noise, in most cases. Are you using the same cable on both laptops? Are you sure that the old laptop is using the disk at USB 3.0 speeds? Or only USB 2.0?

There is no cable involved in this setup. Just an Aukey USB C to USB A adapter and the universal RF transmitter. There is 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz wifi nearby but that doesn't affect the issue when the adapter is plugged into my old laptops directly. From the specs of the MacBook Pro 15" 2012 (the old laptop) it has USB 3 ports. Not sure what they are running at though... Do they change depending on what is plugged in?

 

[arpena]

There is no cable involved in this setup. Just an Aukey USB C to USB A adapter and the universal RF transmitter. There is 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz wifi nearby but that doesn't affect the issue when the adapter is plugged into my old laptops directly. From the specs of the MacBook Pro 15" 2012 (the old laptop) it has USB 3 ports. Not sure what they are running at though... Do they change depending on what is plugged in?

I think only the hard drive will we running at USB 3.0 speeds with the old MacBook Pro. But maybe, and this is pure speculation, the USB C hubs and/or the Aukey adapter are causing the interference. I had a very good experience with this cable AmazonBasics USB Type-C to Micro-B 3.1 Gen2 Cable - 3 Feet 0.9 Meters - Black to connect a USB 3.0 hard drive to the new MacBook Pro. but then I don't use an RF mouse.