Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT
I have a MBP mid-2012 and recently started experiencing issues with USB posts - plugging disks or any USB stick in there. Time of transfer become extremely long, and often disconnect.
I tried with different USB sticks to ensure the problem lies with the ports and not with the stick itself.
MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15
Those are the exact reasons I am working hard to keep my 2012 13-inch going. It has 8GB RAM and an SSD and is quite fast. When this one dies, I will be hard-pressed to choose another MBP if they stay as they are today. If I want a delicate, hard-to service device, I'd rather pay US$600 for a throw-away.
Do you get errors on connecting USB devices? Are you using hubs? On that model any hubs should be USB 3 or slow comes back.
Have you used System Information to verify the speeds of connected USB devices? If not, post back and I'll walk you through it.
If directly-connected USB3 devices are slow, try an SMC reset:
How to reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support
and a general article:
Those are the exact reasons I am working hard to keep my 2012 13-inch going. It has 8GB RAM and an SSD and is quite fast. When this one dies, I will be hard-pressed to choose another MBP if they stay as they are today. If I want a delicate, hard-to service device, I'd rather pay US$600 for a throw-away.
Do you get errors on connecting USB devices? Are you using hubs? On that model any hubs should be USB 3 or slow comes back.
Have you used System Information to verify the speeds of connected USB devices? If not, post back and I'll walk you through it.
If directly-connected USB3 devices are slow, try an SMC reset:
How to reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support
and a general article:
I also have a 2012 MacBook Pro that has zero issues with its USB ports, so this is not a universal condition. Neither have I seen a similar concern posted here about the 2012 models. 2012 was the first year that MacBook Pros had fast USB3 ports.
My experience:
As both my main Macs now have USB3 ports I am slowly shedding older USB1 and USB2 device and replacing them with USB3.
I humbly beg your pardon if this is something you already know but:
Speeds: USB 2 has a max transfer rate of 480MB/sec; USB 3 is 5000MB/sec
Cables: USB 3 Cables have blue plastic inside, or are different shapes.
Oh that's an easy one... ;)
I do have some PCs that have over 10-12 years old, paid at prices much lower than a so-called higher-quality machine, on which ''things did not wear out as they got older''...
That one has only 6 yrs old (purchased brand new in 2014 even though a mid-2012 model - it was manufactured in 2014).
That is the kind of answer that will make me think twice (and more) before shedding a 3 Grand on a brand new MBP...
It's been a time when they would justify that 2X price by longer life and keeping value...
lanstrad1 wrote:
That is the kind of answer that will make me think twice (and more) before shedding a 3 Grand on a brand new MBP...
What kind of answer were you expecting? This is the nature of mass-produced electronics. Your anecdotal experience of “some PCs” has no statistical significance. PCs wear out just as fast Macs, if not faster. Your experience is actually unusual because PCs are replaced more frequently than Macs. It is common practice at large organizations to replace PCs after 3 years. But users with Mac usually have to wait longer between refreshes.
The thing I like particularly about this model is it's one of the last that one could open and replace parts (indeed I doubled RAM and have a 1TB SSD in there...)
That worries me to purchase a ''everything-on-one-card'' $3K to $4K mac nowadays.
Perhaps, at worst, there's a way to replace those ports ?
lanstrad1 wrote:
The thing I like particularly about this model is it's one of the last that one could open and replace parts (indeed I doubled RAM and have a 1TB SSD in there...)
That worries me to purchase a ''everything-on-one-card'' $3K to $4K mac nowadays.
Perhaps, at worst, there's a way to replace those ports ?
At no time have the USB ports ever been replaceable. If you have the equipment and technical skills to replace the USB port on a 2012 Mac by yourself, you can replace the RAM and SSD on a current model.
Things wear out as they get older.
Why USB ports are becoming unreliable
