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

Device: MBP 13" 2020 10th gen i5

Catalina 10.15.6

Dock: CalDigit TS3+ with firmware 44.1

I'm not sure if this problem is exclusive to Catalina 10.15.6, but I can't say since my dock arrived after the latest update got shipped and I haven't tried if it works on 10.15.5.

Basically, I unplug the dock at night and put the MBP to sleep. After a few hours of sleep it seems to stop recognizing the USB devices plugged into the dock. The dock has a USB audio interface, a logitech wireless dongle (for G604 mouse), a DP monitor and the power supply for the dock. When I plug it after the mac has been in sleep for hours, the mac won't recognize the audio card and the mouse (just the USB issue we had in previous catalina versions with all kinds of USB hubs and USB devices), but the monitor works and everything has power supplied to it, including the USB devices.

If I then unplug the dock and replug it, often the mac straight-up crashes completely and shuts down, powering on with an error that it recovered from a problem ( it also does an SMC reset).

The error report later states: "Intel CrashLog recorded due to unexpected reset".

This reddit thread speaks of the exact same issue with a different monitor and some people with different docks:

https://www.reddit.com/r/macbookpro/comments/i0m9si

Basically, what I'm saying is that the original USB issue is not fixed yet and now it's much worse because:

You can't fix the USB problem unless you restart the mac - re-plugging the devices into the dock won't solve it
The macbook directly crashes and does an SMC reset if you unplug/replug the dock, wiping your unsaved data and crashing anything else you might have open at the time

Additional problem: Monitor sometimes doesn't wake up at all after mac is awoken from sleep. At one point the monitor went to sleep WHILE I was using the mac actively.

I have tried NVRAM/SMC resets and they did nothing.

I wrote an email to CalDigit and they confirmed a lot of other users have complained about this:

"Our engineers have been investigating into the brand new 2020 MacBooks as we’ve had detailed reports from several of our customers who have tried many different brands of docks, from OWC, Kensington, Elgato and ours and none of them have been able to function correctly via the latest chipsets in these Macs."

PLEASE FIX the usb/dock/monitor issues already! This is a problem of Apple devices exclusively. This is unacceptable for a laptop at this price from the year 2020. Cheap off-brand laptops do not have such issues with peripherals!!

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Aug 4, 2020 11:01 AM

Top-ranking reply

rachelbythebay

Level 1

4 points

Posted on Jan 16, 2021 2:25 PM

11.1 fixed it for me on my 2020 Intel MBA. I could reproduce it consistently every time before that version, and now I can't make it fail. It just picks up and keeps on going.

This is with multiple bits of TB hardware, too: a TB3 dock and an old Apple TB monitor. Both of them work, whether direct to the machine or with the monitor behind the dock.

It was bad, but it's over. Try it.

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344 replies

Aug 7, 2020 5:15 AM in response to broko_fankone

Having the same issue with my 2020 Air and an Apple Cinema Thunderbolt Display. None of my ports on the Cinema will be recognized and/or the machine will restart and give me the "Intel CrashLog recorded due to unexpected reset" error message. You would think a brand new machine would work better than this :(

Aug 7, 2020 12:09 PM in response to broko_fankone

Hello!

I've got the same issue. I'm using and eGPU to recharge the MBP battery and a DELL TB3 to Display Port monitor. When I open de lid, the same error. I'm sending the report to Apple every time.

It's a MBP 2020, 13" i5 10th gen 2.0 GHz.

Jochheim

Level 1

4 points

Aug 8, 2020 4:46 AM in response to broko_fankone

I have the exact same problem, only with a HP G2 Thunderbolt Dockingstation. After waking the MBP from sleep no attached USB device is working, only charging and the monitor is working. Trying to replug the Thunderbolt cable the MacBook crashes with the mentioned intel error. I also can not say if the problem is restricted to 10.15.6 since I only used the MacBook since this version.

Really disappointing from such an expensive machine (also the 2020 4TB standard config). I am still in the return window and now have to decide if I trust apple fixing this or if I would be better of sending the MB back....

cr_torac

Level 1

4 points

Aug 9, 2020 12:00 PM in response to cr_torac

So, in the end the support hotline asked me to bring the Macbook to a local service provider, for which I would have to travel to another city, as the local one currently does not accept any personal meetings for service. They still seem to ignore the fact that this is a systematic error, and not just a single hardware failure. Seems Apple does not have a great service management overall.

Aug 10, 2020 3:57 AM in response to VTubes

That's ridiculous. They sell CalDigit docks in their own store AND have received countless Intel crash logs already. They know more than enough to understand what the issue is and are fully capable to conduct a simple test on their own if they need to. It is a widespread issue exactly like the previous USB problem in 10.15.5.

If anyone has the desire to bring them a MBP for testing, go ahead, you might even get a replacement (won't fix the problem). I personally can't do it since there are no Apple stores in my country and there is no way I would mail my computer to another country. The other option is "authorized service" - which I already went to for the previous USB problem with hubs. All they did was inflict physical damage on my macbook pro and returned it to me with fully drained battery (very bad for the battery). I never want to let authorized service touch my computer again if I have a choice. I complained to Apple about the experience and they didn't seem to care at all. For them this was all normal, including the physical damage. It's basically the worst service I have ever received for a computer in my whole life, and I've had computers for the last 17 years. I should have just waited for the 10.15.6 fix, but obviously this "fix" created a brand new issue with TB3 docks. And now the wait begins again.

At this point I hope Apple have started working on a fix, otherwise we'd have to hope for articles to get written again and for the issue to gain more popularity until it is no longer easy to ignore.

laffomb

Level 1

4 points

Aug 10, 2020 11:37 AM in response to broko_fankone

Hello,

I'm experiencing the very same issue.

New 2020 4-port Macbook Pro 13, having TS3+ at home and at work.

I have experienced multiple resets, tried resetting SMC and it did not help.

It happens more frequently when the lid of macbook is closed.

I shall hope this will be fixed soon.

dwalkr

Level 1

4 points

Aug 10, 2020 8:59 PM in response to broko_fankone

Also experiencing this with a Kensington SD5550T dock with the same exact problem as reported where I get a crash message: Intel CrashLog recorded due to unexpected reset.

This is crazy! Get this fixed!

cr_torac

Level 1

4 points

Aug 11, 2020 5:33 AM in response to xoran-iblh

Thank you for that report, very interesting. Saves me some time to try out Big Sur. Really sad that support is ignorant of systematic errors which could easily be fixed with a kernel update, and instead push people to hardware repairs, despite all the reports.

Hacky_4

Level 1

4 points

Aug 12, 2020 5:17 AM in response to broko_fankone

I have the exact same issue with i-tec Thunderbolt 3 docking station.

Bought new 2020 Macbook just to fix the unfixable keyboard on the 2018 Macbook just to run into another AppleGate.

The Apple quality goes down really quick. It was not like this when I started using Apple products 10 years ago.

iimac123

Level 1

4 points

Aug 12, 2020 6:10 PM in response to broko_fankone

I have the same issue where the My MacBook pro 10th gen core i5 crashes after I unplug and plug the dock or vice versa. On top of that, it recognizes only one of the two monitors I have and it does not recognize my keyboard or mouse connected through the dock. I must restart in order to have the mouse and keyboard recognized and the monitor has to be unplugged and plugged back in after the restart to be recognized. I use the Caldigit Thunderbolt 3 mini doc which i purchased from Apple.com assuming that it would be the most compatible which doesn't seem to matter. This problem is still occurring today August 12th even after the update to Catalina 10.15.6

Aug 12, 2020 11:19 PM in response to iimac123

thank you @iimac123,

I confirm that August 12th update to Macos Catalina 10.15.6 (19G2021) does not solve the problem. With either of the 2 Thunderbolt 3 docks I have.

I have seen people being asked to bring in their laptop for 'repair' which is obviously not smart. Does anyone know of a way to get Apple to acknowledge and fix this via SW update ?

In all honesty, given that Apple has to support on macos maybe 50+ different devices and they own kernel/drivers for most of it as well - it is extremely disappointing to see that company that praises itself on 'customer experience' is struggling to fix ... I would not be surprised when people complained when Linux crashes and does not get fixed (hey it's open source) nor when Windows 10 have the similar problem but those two O/S litereally have to support 10,000+ different motherboards and various drivers (w/o 3rd parties) ... but with handful (or few hands) of different laptops that is many times easier yet Apple can not do it.

Really sad.

Aug 14, 2020 5:23 AM in response to xoran-iblh

Very true. It's disappointing how Apple have handled those issues.

With the first USB problem on 10.15.5, Apple advised customers to send their laptops for repair and diagnostics in the same way, for a problem that cannot be fixed at all by "repair" (it had to be patched in software). This led me to give my laptop to an "authorized repair" locally (no apple stores here) and the incompetent people there damaged my macbook physically AND returned it to me with a completely drained battery (god knows how long it sat like that, which is very detrimental to the health of the battery). Of course, they couldn't even reproduce the issue, being the abysmally incompetent people they are, and so I was left without a macbook for about 1 month and literally received new damage to it and its battery as a reward for trying to get some help. Horrendous experience.

Now it sounds like they are doing the same thing, advising their customers to go get 'repairs' for an issue that once again has to be fixed by software.

A correct and responsible way to handle this would be to make a statement early on, saying "We know about this problem and are working on a fix for it."

Oh and btw I did call Apple over the phone several times and they assured me the damage done by the authorized service is all within their right to do so with no repercussions of any sort. If they damaged my macbook, according to Apple that is considered "normal wear and tear". I couldn't believe my ears but this is the kind of company that we have now.

I really enjoy using my mac but if I have to go through the horrible customer support we have in my country again I'd have to just not buy from them again and continue using windows machines - cheaper and easier to service.

Sk42ers

Level 1

4 points

Aug 14, 2020 10:46 AM in response to broko_fankone

First time Apple customer, and have the exact same issues with my 3-day old MBP 2020 and TS3 dock. Spent more than an hour with Apple support, who seemed amazed that such a problem could exist. They should read these forums. :-)

Have been using PC for almost 20 years, this is not the best first Apple experience I hoped for.

Should I just use the return window and send back the TS3 dock and Mac?

__sleep

Level 1

4 points

Aug 17, 2020 11:23 AM in response to broko_fankone

Thanks for the thread; found it via google/reddit. I too am experiencing ~daily kernel panics preceded by USB keyboard and mouse not working on my Apple Thunderbolt display after wake. MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports).

Hacky_4

Level 1

4 points

Aug 20, 2020 3:46 AM in response to harald234

harald234: this is not really helpful. Apparently you can't use Feedback Assistant when running stable macOS.

This is what I get when trying to log into Feedback Assistant.

You are not enrolled in any beta software programs.

Please visit the AppleSeed home page for more information on the seed program and joining seeding projects.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

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