iPod Shuffle 4th Gen won't mount to Macbook Pro 2016 but does on Macbook Air

I just purchased a used fourth generation ipod (red) shuffle for running and mountaineering (lightweight with good battery life).

When I try to connect the shuffle to my Macbook Pro 2016 with Catalina 10.15.4 it does not show up in iTunes nor on the desktop as a disk nor in Finder as a disk.

When I connect the shuffle to someone else's Macbook Air with Catalina 10.15.4 it shows up in an older version of iTunes and on the desktop as a disk and in Finder as a disk. So the good news is it's not a brick, but the bad news is, it doesn't work with the right laptop!

I am connecting it to the Air directly from a USB. I am having to connect it to the Pro with a USB-C dongle to USB. The dongle works with other hard drives and my iPhone so I know that's not the problem. I have also included a screenshot of the USB System Report which shows the Mac is not recognizing the shuffle at all when it is connected to the USB port. I have tried two of the USB ports. When I connected it to the Air and iTunes I was able to "reformat it" but that didn't seem to make any difference on the Pro.

Connecting it to the Air is not a permanent solution as the laptop is not mine but someone else's and doesn't have my music on it. I borrowed just for troubleshooting.

I love Apple stuff but its finnicky nature and compatibility issues are exhausting. Any ideas on this one?