MBP 13 2020 won't recognize USB devices from TB dock after sleeping and connecting to the dock. After unplugging the dock MBP crashes and does SMC reset

I've been having this issue w/ my 13" 2020 MBP since I started using it a couple of months ago, with different dock models.

TL;DR

• Issue reproduced on 2 different 13" 2020 MBPs running 10.15.7, one running a clean macOS install (no additional software installed), w/ 2 different TB docks.
• 13" 2018 MBP works fine in all of the (same) tested configurations.

Details:

Since I have the benefit of having multiple MBPs and docks to test with, I'm (not that folks here require convincing) incredibly confident this issue isn't due to some people having faulty hardware (e.g. logic board, dock, whatever).

• I was easily able to reproduce the kernel panic ("Intel CrashLog recorded due to unexpected reset") on a freshly installed 13” 2020 MBP (clean macOS installation- zero software installed).
• This is consistently reproduced w/ 2 different 10.15.7 builds ((19H2 and 19H15 - didn't bother to test 19H4 and/or 10.15.6).
• 10.15.5 (19F2200) works fine.
• 11.0.1 (20B50 - didn't test 20B29) works fine.

I tested 2 different setups:

• OWC TB3 dock, with 2 devices connected to it- Dell U2719DC monitor (DisplayPort) and Logitech K120 USB keyboard:

                     +---------+
                     |   MBP   |
                     +----+----+
                          |
                          |
                         TB3
                          |
                          v
                   +------+-------+
                   | OWC TB3 dock |
                   +----+-----+---+
                       |     |
                      USB    DP
+---------------+      |     |      +--------------+
| Logitech K120 +------+     +------+ Dell U2719DC |
+---------------+                   +--------------+

• Apple Thunderbolt Display, w/ an Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter:

                     +---------+
                     |   MBP   |
                     +----+----+
                          |
                          |
                 Apple TB3/TB2 adapter
                          |
                          v
                 +--------+---------+
                 | Apple TB Display |
                 +------------------+

I also experience this issue with my 2020 MacBook Pro—13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports—when connecting to my Apple Thunderbolt Display—very, very frustrating, with seemingly no viable solution.

While I understand that some have had success upgrading to Big Sur; others report the same issue following the update, so I'm not absolutely convinced.

For me:

• I'm using MacOS Catalina 10.15.7 (19H524);
• I'm connecting the display via a Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter.

What appears to be working with some success—though I don't yet have a sizeable data sample to confirm—is switching off/sleeping the monitor prior to disconnection of the dock. This is achieved via pressing control + shift + eject.

I understand that it's also possible via the command line:

pmset displaysleepnow

My understanding is that this might also disable the display's dock—and thus, might make the display/dock disconnection a little safer—but I'm going to keep working on the theory by trialling it.

Helo,

I have experienced very same issues with not only Caldigit TS3 Plus dock but also with i-tec Thunderbolt 3 Dual 4K Docking Station ( https://i-tec.cz/en/produkt/tb3hdmiplusx-2/ ).

I have even tried installing naked Macos with no applications to ensure there is no application conflict and same issue happens. USB devices missing, even Thunderbolt device not visible and after replugging one more time it crashes.

Macbook Pro (2020, 13").

I have managed to install MacOS Catalina 10.15.5 in a separate partition. Though the testing was limited I did manage with no issues to put Macbook (Pro 2020, 13") to sleep, disconnect Thunderbolt docks, have it sleep for 5 mins and when reconnecting it all worked fine. Tried with both docks I own (CalDigit TS3+ and I-tec).

Therefore issue is not HW fault but bug Apple introduced in 10.15.6 .

I am aware that 10.15.6 was supposed to fix issues with sleep/wakeup and crashing 16" Macbook Pros ... and there was another issue with USB keyboards/mouse not working on 10.15.5 .... it is too much effort to move all files/apps to 10.15.5 plus my employer manages the machine so update to 10.15.6 maybe automatically installed.

Net is - am too tired from testing for Apple and not knowing if they acknowledge the issue at all nor whether they plan to fix it.

They do have from quite a few of us Crashlogs (and i assume number of people who do have thunderbolt docks is probably in 1000s if not more but only 10 complained on this forum) so I hope they do.

FYI Big Sur Beta 4 has the same bug and it crashes the machine and loses the ports as well.

So net is - issue is not HW but Macos. Whether Apple will do anything about it - I don't know if anyone will answer that question ?

After two weeks of almost daily contact with Apple support and what amounts to several days of work on my part; three re-installations of the OS (including on a separate partition), testing with two other MBP models that did not have the problem, and running diagnostic analysis the final answer came back from Apple's engineers: This is normal and expected behavior of the product. To avoid crashing always shut down your computer before unplugging any peripherals.

That's it. The oficial word from Apple is that our computers are supposed to crash if we expect to be able to plug in and unplug devices while the computer is running. I am shocked. I was given a link to a feedback form where I could leave feedback: http://www.apple.com/feedback

I would urge others with the problem to fill out this form in the hope that Apple can be convinced that normal behavior of a MBP should not be several daily crashes, or if you want to avoid that, rebooting every time you unplug a device. Ironically the page states that "Apple strives to bring the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals, and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software, and internet offerings." Apparently the best experience is to shut down your computer several times a day. Sorry Apple — I expected more.

@logicito: firstly, thanks a lot for your time and investigation!

For the differences - open Terminal and paste in

for i in /System/Library/Extensions/*; do echo -ne "$i - "; find -s $i -type f -exec md5 {} \; | md5; done

10.15.7 checksums from my macOS attached, so we can compare them and hopefully we find some difference

Unfortunately, the CalDigit Support gives a completely different picture of the problem in Big Sur.

As long as I cannot be sure that Big Sur has fixed the Sleep Mode Problem with MacBook Pro 2020, I will not install it.

You can read the answer of CalDigit CalDigit EU Support which I have received today:

-----------------------------------

Hello,

Unfortunately the issues still seem present on Big Sur at the moment. Our engineers initially confirmed that Big Sur beta 11 fixed a lot of issues and these were also confirmed on the Apple official forums but, since the launch version of 11.0, most of these changes have either been reverted or made worse. Our engineers haven’t been able to properly test Big Sur 11.0 at the moment due to current circumstances with California still on state wide lockdown and we haven’t been given approval from our head office to upgrade to the latest OS version here in the UK/EU at this moment in time. They have confirmed that, kernel panics on MacOS Big Sur still haven’t been addressed by Apple and are still present as they were in 10.15. 

From a couple of reports we’ve had, some customers have been lucky and have had a lot of their issues fixed as soon as they’ve upgraded but the majority who have upgraded are having even more issues than before, even without a docking station. Dual monitors still haven’t been fixed by MacOS Big Sur and there is now a new forum post regarding this here: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/651131. It’s the luck of the draw as to who can get Big Sur to successfully run and fix their issues and who just has more issues than before.

We’ve had no official report or update from Apple on this. 

Regards,

CalDigit EU Support.

------------------------------

This message was the reply to my question:

------------------------------

Dear Support Team,

A few weeks ago, your support team gave me the information that 2020 MacBooks may crash after sleep mode if they were connected to the TS3 Plus before. I was informed that this was a problem of the MacOS and that your are in contact with Apple regarding this problem. The problem is not solved in Catalina an would be solved in Big Sur was the information at that time. 

Now that Big Sur is published, I have read many people’s comments who say that the problem is resolved with Big Sur. Can you confirm this, or give me any other info about this problem and possible solutions? 

I really like the TS3+, but the shutdowns are annoying.

Kind regards

------------------------------

Same problem here with

• MBP 13 2020
• Elgato dock 3
• Samsung 4K 28" screen

When disconnecting from the dock the Mac will crash and upon restart show the "Intel CrashLog recorded due to unexpected reset" error.

I hope this gets fixed quickly, it is becoming very annoying on a daily basis when I go from my office to any meeting or back home.

Like most people here I have the CalDigit TS3+ dock. I contacted apple over a month ago about the problems people in this thread are having and did many hours of troubleshooting for them. I’ve had a case open and have been waiting for a response for 2 weeks. I inquired about the status with the advisor assigned to the case yesterday but have yet to hear back. I was pretty lucky to have access to an older Mac that has no problems with the dock as a way to point at the issue being the MBP 13” 2020. Additionally I have the CalDigit Connect10G which the MBP 13” 2020 won’t load the Ethernet drivers if its plugged in before the system boots, not a problem with the older Mac I have access to.

Initially I was told it likely was some “third party” kext’s I had installed, dropbox being one of them. I removed those and went so far as to install MacOS 10.15.6 on an external drive, boot from that, have nothing installed, and was able to reproduce the kernel panics.

Here’s a short list of things support has had me do and nothing has fixed the problem

1. Remove any third party kexts
2. Create a new user account
3. Boot into safe mode
4. Install MacOS 10.15.6 on an external drive (nothing signed in or installed)

I don’t know what other options there are as I’ve been told the data I’ve collected from my system has already been sent to engineering.

I can reproduce this issue consistently using my 2020 13" MBP running MacOS 10.15.6 and an Apple Thunderbolt display (connected using a Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 USB-C adapter). Here are my repro steps:

1. After startup, connect the Thunderbolt display. Note that there is a USB 2.0 Hub listed in About This Mac > System Report > USB that lists "FaceTime HD Camera (Display)", "Display Audio", and "Apple Thunderbolt Display".
2. Disconnect the the laptop from the Thunderbolt display, close the lid and allow the laptop to sleep for a few minutes.
3. Open the lid and reconnect the Thunderbolt display. The display works, but the display audio, display camera and any USB devices plugged into the back of the display are missing. The USB 2.0 Hub is missing from System Report.
4. Disconnect the display and the system crashes after a few seconds.

No third-party docks or hardware at play here, this is 100% reproducible using only Apple products.

Follow these steps and the MBP will ALWAYS crash:

• Reboot
• Connect the LG Ultrafine Monitor 27" or 24" via the Thunderbolt 3 Apple cable
• Wake External USB Mouse works fine
• Select Sleep at the menu bar, then disconnect the Monitor
• Connect the LG Ultrafine Monitor 27" or 24"via the Thunderbolt 3 Apple cable
• Wake from sleep, the external USB Mouse stopped working
• Select Sleep at the menu bar, then disconnect the Monitor
• Wait a few seconds and the MBP will crash

This is exactly the scenario I experience:

• freshly restarted MBP connected to TB3 display (LG Ultrafine 5k in my case) -> everything fine
• disconnect from TB3 (no matter how - clean, sudden, manually putting machine to sleep before or not) -> still fine
• use machine w/o external display -> still fine
• reconnect machine to TB3 display -> crash or at least nonfunctional external USB

(As a developer, I filed an issue in Apple Feedback Assistant a few days ago, but no reaction there, so far)

I already tried these options (left and right TB3) extensively, didn't work more that 4-6 times, it will crash.

Based on extensive testing I have done, there are only two scenarios that work ok long term:

• Catalina 10.15.5
• Big Sur 11 Beta 10

It is unfortunate that Apple hasn't proactively fixed this, even after so many real cases.

My new 2020 MBP does exactly the same with my Apple Thunderbolt display, all of the issues you mention:

1. The Apple monitors built in hub doesn't work unless you reboot the MBP..... so I have to do this every time I come out of sleep.
2. If I unplug the monitor and plug it back in again it often crashes and reports "Intel CrashLog recorded due to unexpected reset"

My old mid 2014 MBP doesn't have any of these issues.

I am using all Apple products, so thats an MBP, Apple Thunderbolt display, and Apple Thunderbolt 3 to 2 adaptor.... No third party equipment involved at all.