External USB Keyboard/mouse randomly stops working on New MacBook Air Early 2020 model running Catalina 10.15.4

I have a MWP42 MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) with i5-1038NG7 CPU. I've tried both macOS 10.15.5 and now 10.15.6 and I too am experiencing random USB glitches.

My external keyboard (Turtle Beach Impact 500) and Mouse (Logitech G900, usually with wire) have randomly stopped functioning until being reconnected. I think this happens after a period of inactivity but I may be imagining that.

I've tried various combinations of how to connect my devices to the computer. I've done it via a cheapo Unisynk 8-i-1 USB-C dock (https://unisynk.se/products/8-port-usb-c-docking-hub/) and also via Akasa Elite 10X USB hub (http://www.akasa.com.tw/search.php?seed=AK-HB-15BK) using a USB C to A adapter, and also with just a USB C to A adapter.

Those aren't the only problems though.

I also have a Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 Gen1 USB 2.0 audio interface which is recognized by macOS but its (latest) drivers / software doesn't work. It worked fine a MBP 13" early 2015 with macOS 10.15.5. I've reported this issue to Focusrite but it might be relevant to this issue too.

The Unisynk 8-i-1 has also failed with ethernet connection on a couple of occasions. It might be just a poor piece of gear but this might be relevant information. (Perhaps its ethernet chip works on top of USB?) Its HDMI connection however has never failed and I can also charge the computer through it.

The Akasa USB hub has also lost connection completely a couple of times. It has external drives connected to it so it's not a very enjoyable issue. This is worrying as I'm planning to connect 3 of USB hubs to the computer (perhaps daisy chaining them) to connect to various pieces of gear around the same room.

This stuff should be pretty much plug and play but now it's a bit on the side of plug and pray. My biggest problem is with the audio interface but I wanted to share my weird experiences from the last few days I've owned this computer.

10.15.6 might have been an improvement but did definitely not fix everything. The keyboard and mouse seem to be rather stable via the dock and the ethernet adapter of the USB-C dock has been working smoothly lately.

However my Akasa Elite X10 USB 3 hub connected to a computer's USB C port with a simple adapter disconnected just like before. It seems to be more stable via my USB C dock but still had another glitch and my drives unmounted for a second raising notifications about unsafe unmount. The hub was apparently immediately automatically reconnected.

A wireless dongle for the mouse does not work when connected to a computer's USB-C port directly with an adapter. Not sure why or if it even should but I think it should.

My Focusrite Interface is still not working but it might be a bug in their software. Who knows.

And weirdly enough the Logitech mouse dongle today works with a USB C/A adapter. Ethernet connection in the USB-C dock failed but it started functioning again after I removed the charging cable and disconnected the dock for a while. At the same time SD card readers in the device started functioning - didn't do that yesterday. Might be that my dock is just a piece of junk but based on what's happening with other users I put my blaming finger on the computer until an official explanation of what's going on is given. Of course The Manufacturer can never admit the problem is on their side, that's the world we live in.

The latest MacOS update (10.15.6) DID NOT fix my USB issues on the Late 2019 MacPro.

I am still unable to use a USB-C/TB port expander - - although the port expander used to work on the Late 2016 Mac Pro with an earlier 10.15 version - and it also continues to work on a 2016 MacBook Pro.

The update mostly fixed my issue.

I am NOT using any logitech devices, but I have the Microsoft Scult keyboard/mouse. If the dongle for these devices was connected then the ALL USB devices would all stop working every 1 - 2 hours. To fix I could unplug all the USB C dongles and plug them back in. (SUPER ANNOYING to have my webcam/speakers/mic stop working while on a video conference multiple times a day).

Now with the update, the USB devices keep working all day - but at what feels like the same interval as before when things stopped working, the mouse pointer becomes choppy (e.x. does not track smoothly across the screen). It is not too bad - but annoying. If I unplug and re-plug everything in then it works perfectly again.

We have app. 20 MacBook Pros 2020 different models. Only some of them haven't go this issue anymore since 10.15.6. But all our 16" still have the issue here.

The USB Hubs all work fine with 2019 models! Only 2020 models still suffer from it.

The 10.15.6 update seems to have largely fixed the issue with my 2020 MacBook Pro 13".

I have noticed occasional glitches with my mouse buttons getting stuck but so far this has been rare and fixable by re-plugging it in. It's absurd how long this has taken but I'm grateful that I can use my devices again.

Not sure if this is the same problem, but I have had a Mini 2018 for about a year and using USB hubs has been a nightmare since day one. For months I would get a kernel panic every time the machine went to sleep if the hub was connected. I tried 3 high quality hubs - always the same result. Apple replaced the logic board in my machine - and that failed to fix it. Finally after a year the latest Catalina update has fixed the kernel panics. But now my keyboard and mouse don't work after sleep (if they are plugged into a hub). I miss the days when my Mac "just worked". I feel like I'm back to using a Performa (remember the bomb icon?).

I still experience freezing on Catalina 10.15.6 - USB mouse and keyboard stop responding and only the built in keyboard and trackpad work. Reboot fixes it. It's less frequent than in the previous version, but still happens two-three times a week.

Similar, but perhaps not quite the same problem. I have a 2020 MBA, with a CalDigit usb-c pro dock and Logitiech keyboard/mouse with the unifying receiver. I believe shortly after the 10.15.6 update, if I unplug the dock in the evening and plug back in in the morning, the mouse and keyboard no longer work. Then either the Macbook freezes and reboots, or I need to reboot it myself. Prior to a couple of weeks ago, everything was great. Now a reboot when I "go to work" in the morning is part of setting up :(

Still have this issue on Catalina 10.15.6 MacBook Pro 16-inch 2019

Plug USB keyboard or mouse in, which powers devices but then lose responsiveness to applications some time after. Reboot or plugging devices back in works. They lose responsiveness to applications after 3 minutes of use.

Updated to Catalina 10.15.6 on my 2020 MacBook Air. I bought an Apple external USB 2.0 /HDMI adapter and the USB would randomly eject the USB (I'd get the message "USB not ejected properly") the HDMI for my external monitor worked. I decided to try another brand of adapter and had the same results. I just bought a LaCie external hard drive and have had no issues (still stays connected), however, I still cannot transfer files from USB 2.0 to my MacBook through ANY adapter. Please fix.

I've been having a similar issue -- have mined online resources for a solution to no avail. I use a 13" Macbook Pro 2020 with an external Royal Kludge keyboard and wired mouse connected to a Novoo USB hub. This is connected to an external monitor via HDMI. Beginning a few days ago, both my keyboard and mouse would suddenly become unresponsive. This would usually happen while in the middle of use. Unplugging the 2 USB A connections from the port does not seem to work. The only luck I've had was unplugging the entire USB hub from my mac's native thunderbolt USB-C port, which likewise severs the HDMI connection to the external monitor. Other than this very irritating work-around, I've had no luck. Hopefully someone can identify the issue for us all.

I have the same issue with my 13" 2-port 2020 MacBook Pro.

I have it connected to an Asus external monitor via the HDMI port of a hub. At first I bought a Satechi hub sold by Apple which had a number of ports on it. I hooked in my monitor and my LaCie Backup. Occasionally I would hook up a webcam as well. The monitor would completely lose its connection if I had the LaCie plugged in at the same time. I tried switching the location of the power cord (which was in the other port) and the LaCie - but this gave the same problem.

I then tried a J5 hub. This time the monitor gets the signal most of the time, but randomly blacks out several times a day. This is a problem because I'm teaching online (Covid). To get the signal restored to the monitor, I have to quickly move my mouse back and forth.

I called Apple about this, but they didn't have an answer (other than the resets that Apple support suggested but didn't work). I asked if they would refund my money on it (I bought Apple Care) and put it towards the purchase of a more expensive Apple laptop, one that would have 4 ports, but I got disconnected and they didn't call back. I had been polite the whole time; I think they just didn't want to deal with it.

At first I used a wireless Logitech mouse, but it kept losing connection too. I've since purchased a new Apple magic mouse and I have no problems with it.

I had hesitated to buy the 2-port for fear that something like this could happen, but decided that Apple was trustworthy and would have made sure that a hub attached to the 2-ports would take care of typical peripherals.

The laptop also has heat dissipation issues. I have to keep it on top of a cooling pad with 5 fans going whenever I use it. I don't know if that's contributing to the port problem.

I have the very same problem using a ThinkPad Thunderbolt/USB3 hub (supports both Thunderbolt and USB3).

I also happen to have another USB3/USB2 hub (from Anker) which shows the same problem but not AT THE SAME TIME!

Verified through testing:

1) After using the Thinkpad TB/USB3 hub for a while any USB1/2 device stops working on it and is no longer visible in System Information.

2) Switching all USB1/2 devices over to the Anker USB3/2 hub: the devices work and are visible while on the Anker hub.

3) Switching them back to the TB hub: the devices are not working and not visible in System Information.

4) After a random amount of time using the Anker USB3/2 hub the same problem can appear and affects all non-USB3 devices connected to that hub.

5) Bonus: The original Apple USB-C/USB-A adapter also does not work once the problem occurred on the Anker hub.

6) Only a full system Reboot seems to fix the problem for some time until it occurs randomly again..

*** update: a couple of hours later (I was able to work that long with the USB devices connected to the Anker hub) I plugged the devices back into the TB dock without rebooting first and they work again now.

I never noticed that before because I always rebooted the system when it happened.

The System went to sleep a couple of times inbetween.