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

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.

good news re CalDigit sending through supporting data. Hopefully that gets them moving a bit. In the meantime, anyone who can access the Feedback Assistant should log the issue through there with a link to this thread.

Another sequence that has been working for me (disclaimer: only tried it twice so not exactly proven!) is to open the lid first, let it wake up, switch off wifi (for me one of the issues has been ethernet not recognising), then after a few seconds plug in the dock cable. Ethernet has been working in these cases (usually doesn't until I reboot), the only issue being my monitors come back out of order - but i wonder whether that is another bug related to monitors of the same type

I have been having this exact issue. I own both the CalDigit TS3 plus as well as the Anker PowerExpand Elite. I have had this exact issue on BOTH docks. Most recently, upon returning to the CalDigit TS3 from the Anker dock, I have been having "USB Devices Disabled" despite the single cord coming from my MBP to the dock.

I have talked to a support technician a few times. I had even asked if this had been happening to others. I just want to do my schoolwork, lol. I cannot continue to have these problems. I am not made of money to just buy other docks.

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.

Same issue here. Same crash message: Intel CrashLog recorded due to unexpected reset

Latest 13inch MacBook Pro (13inch 2020, 4 TB ports)

CalDigit

But I did not have any issues with crashes before updating to 10.15.6. Now, already several times when unplugging the Mac from the dock. Really annoying.

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.

according to Apple here is the list of things 10.15.7 fixes:

Resolves an issue where macOS would not automatically connect to Wi-Fi networks
Fixes an issue that could prevent files syncing through iCloud Drive
Addresses a graphic issue that may occur on iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) with Radeon Pro 5700 XT

OBVIOUSLY Apple has done NOTHNIG after 2+ months of problems reported that no Thunderbolt Dock (excep USB-C only docks) nor some Thunderbolt Monitors work with 2020 Macbook's with 10.15.6 or later without crashing -

I have the same problem; Thunderbolt display camera and USB ports fail randomly when MBP2020 plugged in (Catalina 10.15.6).

Same issue with MBP2015 and Mojave. Spent hours online with Apple support and the best they came up with was "maybe there's a problem with your cable".

Maybe we should direct them to this forum... They should be well aware that we have been trying multiple ways to resolve it and it does not work. I changed my logic board and it did not work too... It's really an internal issue that Apple needs to acknowledge and help us resolve.

Just to give an update - possibly a positive one!

This morning I unplugged from my CalDigit TS3+ dock and then slept the machine.

Drove to office, used a bit on lap, then plugged in to my identical dock in the office.

Whereas previously this has caused a crash, it's carried on running, and the dock is shown in the Caldigit docking utility.

Have they sneakily fixed it? I've done this many times before and got the Intel crash every time.

Running macOS Catalina 10.15.7.

I was hopeful! Howver...

I got home and plugged in my dock - external monitors worked fine but dock could not be seen by CalDigit docking station software. So I unplugged again and boom - got the Intel crash.

Very disapointed that it's still not fixed!

Maybe we could all report this thread to theregister.co.uk or another tech news outlet, who will approach Apple for comment!

Wow! Twice a day? I only reboot once a day as try to keep my laptop "awake" for the day. But yes, apple really need to do something about this. This is not very helpful for all of us, especially during this period when we are highly dependent on our laptop for work.

I've also been experiencing this issue. Mostly after the 10.15.7 update, however, it seems others have had the problem for months.

Unplugging the dock causes a kernel panic, trying to use it causes a kernel panic, restarting causes a kernel panic, nothing works.

I also am using an eGPU for my external monitor. I noticed that when this happens, the eGPU isn't used. It's as though all of the Thunderbolt ports shut down.

I hope this is a firmware issue, but I fear it may be a hardware problem.

2020 MacBook Pro, 13", Intel Core i7 with 4 Thunderbolt ports.

So 10.15.7 is a backwards step for me...

10.15.5 -> No issues

10.15.6 -> Pretty much every time the USB ports and Nic on my dock don't work until a reboot - but if I let the laptop fully wake up first (ie. open the lid) then plug in the thunderbolt cable it would be ok

10.15.7 -> my above workaround no longer works