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Weird issue with MBA M1 and external HDD enclosure

W

woodbane

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 23, 2021
10
2
Hi everyone,

New to Mac's and have a new MBA M1. Working through the initial transition period as a solely Windows user until now has been interesting but so far I'm enjoying it.

I have run in to a minor issue that I wondered if anyone could shed some light on.

Basically I'm using an external 500GB hard drive in an enclosure to utilise Time Machine backups. I've been using a 'dongle' that plugs in to a USB C port on the MBA that gives me the facility to plug in SD/microSD cards and has a USB A on the end. I plug in the external enclosure to this dongle with a USB A to A (3.x) cable and all works fine.

As I was a tiny bit worried about any additional stress a dongle might place on the USB C socket I thought I'd take the 'middle man' out so to speak and purchase a USB C to USB A cable (USB 3.1 compatible) for a direct connection.

Problem is I'm now on my second cable and it doesn't work?! I thought initially I had a bad cable so ordered a replacement, but this doesn't work either.

Both cables ordered support both charge & data so I'm a little unclear as to what's going on?

So, why does it work with a USB A to USB A cable via the dongle but not using a direct connection using the USB C to USB A cable?

Any ideas?
 
Power delivery? Are you using a power supply for your backup drive, that might solve the issue. Some USB standards dont pass the necessary power..
 
External HDD enclosure does not require separate power supply, powered directly from ports as it's a 2.5" SATA enclosure.
 
I'm not quite sure what you mean by that, I wasn't being any "way". I just gave a direct non confirmatory answer to your suggestion that it might be a power supply issue related to the external HDD not using a separate power supply. It doesn't because it doesn't require one, there isn't even an option to use one.

Sorry if it wasn't a verbose enough answer for you but I think you mistook my succinctness for something else.
 
It's possible that your drive may be requesting more power than the port can give it. So it doesn't work.
I don't know how you'd prove/disprove that but it is a possible reason.
Do you have a powered HDD to try?
 
Cheers for the suggestion. Unfortunately I don't have a powered drive to try this out with.

I guess my logic is trying to process it as:

External HDD enclosure worked on Windows machines over USB 3 connection only - isn't that 5V / 1A max?

Surely USB C specs are higher than that, so why doesn't it work?

Could it be the drive enclosure?

It's not the end of the world as I can just connect using the dongle adaptor and USB A - USB A cable; it's just one of those niggly little mysteries that I have a tendency to want to get an answer to! I'm a bit OCD in that regard. :rolleyes:
 
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Is the dongle by any chance one where you plug your Air's power supply into as well?

I have a similar problem with my M1 Air. External USB drive won't work at all unless plugged into an active USB-C dongle with external power.
 
Last edited:
Hi, thanks for the reply. :)

No, the dongle is powered by the USB C port on the MacBook, no separate power supply. That’s why it’s weird, there’s clearly enough power for the drive when using the dongle, but nothing when plugged directly to the port.
That’s why I was leaning more towards a cable problem, but it can’t be two bad cables in a row.
I’m really flummoxed
mj_ said:
Is the dongle by any chance one where you plug your Air's power supply into as well?

I have a similar problem with my M1 Air. External USB drive won't work at all unless plugged into an active USB-C dongle with external power.
Click to expand...
 
To clarify…the USB-A to USB-C adapter cable is female on the USB-A end and you're plugging the cable from the external drive housing into the USB-A end of the adapter cable and the USB-C end into the M1 MBA?

Can you provide links to all the pieces involved?
 
BrianBaughn said:
To clarify…the USB-A to USB-C adapter cable is female on the USB-A end and you're plugging the cable from the external drive housing into the USB-A end of the adapter cable and the USB-C end into the M1 MBA?

Can you provide links to all the pieces involved?
Click to expand...

No, it's not an adaptor cable - it's a direct USB C to USB A (female) cable.

Hard drive enclosure

USB C to USB A cable - Plugging hard drive enclosure into USB C socket on MBA using this cable = not working (not this cable supports both charging AND data transfer)

USB C dongle - Plugging hard drive enclosure into dongle using standard USB A to USB A 3.1 cable and the dongle into the USB C socket on mBA = working
 
BrianBaughn said:
Everything is clear to me now except for the replacement cable you ordered. Was it the same kind as the first one?
Click to expand...
Same kind, different brand as first one was Amazon Basics version and I wondered if it was a quality issue.
 
Yep, I struggled to find one that really mentioned MacBooks at all TBH.

I started wondering if I needed to be looking for a Thunderbolt cable but they don't come with a USB A end to them, probably for obvious reasons.

Like I said at the start - it's not a massive issue, just one of those little niggles that I'm curious to try and understand.

At least it works with the dongle so I'm OK with that.
 
woodbane said:
Yep, I struggled to find one that really mentioned MacBooks at all TBH.

I started wondering if I needed to be looking for a Thunderbolt cable but they don't come with a USB A end to them, probably for obvious reasons.

Like I said at the start - it's not a massive issue, just one of those little niggles that I'm curious to try and understand.

At least it works with the dongle so I'm OK with that.
Click to expand...
Contact OWC and ask them. They are experts and probably have a cable that will work.

https://eshop.macsales.com/Service/
 
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