Mac Mini M1 USB 3.1 Gen2 speeds are not 10 Gb/s as advertised

Some USB controllers found in external USB peripherals are not compatible with an M1 Mac. Speed issues are just one symptom of an incompatible USB controller. Contact OWC tech support to see whether this external drive is compatible with an M1 Mac. OWC tech support can also help you resolve the issue.

ARstring wrote:

But it shouldn't be required to use a 3rd party piece of hardware to achieve advertised Apple specs. Something is amiss.

No it shouldn't be required, but the M1 Macs are a lot different. I've had to use a USB3 hub in order to use an early USB3 drive dock on my Mac for the last 6 years. If I don't, the USB port on my Mac turns off requiring a system reboot to restore. I suspect the peripheral is at fault, but at the time I didn't have any other USB3 system to test it with.

Work with OWC tech support. If there is a compatibility issue they will need to know in order to fix it themselves or so they can work with Apple to fix it.

The Thunderbolt Dock cable is detachable or if you have an extra

Thunderbolt 3 cable, connect that Thunderbolt cable

directly to the drive and measure the results. There have been some reports

that with certain drives, a Thunderbolt cable restores much closer to the

expected transfer speeds.

SSD make+model and direct connection details please.

Here is my similar topic about this issue. It seems that the solution lies with Apple.. I don't know if they can fix it with OS/Firmware updates...

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252397943

ARstring wrote:

I tried that (see above)

"I've also now tested the drive plugged directly into the Mini using a TB3 cable (instead of the OWC-provided USB 3.1 Gen2 cable). = 5 Gb/s (~375 MB/s Blackmagic Speed Test)"

I am wondering whether the new Intel Thunderbolt/USB 4

controllers that are being used don't like some USB based USB-C controllers?

As of yet, I don't have any USB-C/USB 3.1 Gen 2 or better devices to check on

my M1 MacBook Air to see if that may be the case.

So what’s wrong with TB3? If I understand correctly, USB 3 Gen2 handshake isn’t working which could be a problem with firmware on either side. Could take a while before either party fesses, I’d stick with TB3 for now. Good luck.

I think it's not the Mac who has issues, I just got my Mac M1 and I tried to connect it to my Intel NUC (8th gen) via Thunderbolt cable (network bridge) and quick network speed test shows transfer rate at about 681 MB/s with USB-C cable which I got with my LG monitor:

https://lukas.zapletalovi.com/2021/02/thunderbolt-bridge-connection-in-fedora-33.html

I am going to retest this with a proper Thunderbird3 rated cable, but this looks like something which needs to be fixed on the OWC side (firmware update if possible).

Er, no, not conclusive, could be your card running older firmware and not updatable.