USB hub malfunctioning on iMac with Monterey

Question

USB hub malfunctioning on iMac with Monterey

I have a Satechi USB hub iMac Stand which was working fine on my iMac with Big Sur. I just updated to Monterey and now the audio (headphone) socket is not working.

In the menu bar, "iMac Stand Audio" appears momentarily in the list of audio output devices when I plug headphones in, and then after a few seconds the menu item turns to grey and cannot be selected.

I had read that generally Monterey was causing problems with hubs but that Apple approved units (such as Satechi) were not affected..

Can I do anything to fix this issue?

Thanks, Bill

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Nov 30, 2021 5:41 PM

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Answer 1

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lllaass

Level 10

210,423 points

Dec 1, 2021 1:15 AM in response to Bill Bradford

Does it work if you boot to Safe Mode. The boot takes minutes

How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

If works then boot normally.

If still problem then maybe Apple will fis in future update.

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Answer 2

Dec 5, 2021 1:34 AM in response to lllaass

Hi Illass - thanks for the suggestion.

I just tried that and in safe mode the system does not seem to recognize the hub audio port at all.

I think I have solved the mystery though.

User error!

Back in normal startup mode (not safe mode) I plugged a pair of open backed headphones into the hub audio port and suddenly the option to select "iMac Stand Audio" remains active and it works fine.

Earlier I had been plugging in a break-out cord attached to the mic/line inputs for my mixer. ie. 3.5mm stereo -> 2x stereo RCA jacks.

I think the hub's audio port could not handle the impedance for those mixer inputs and somehow informed the OS that the audio port should not be used.

The native headphone jack on my MacBook Pro handles that connection just fine though, it is just the hub that is objecting.

I'm not going to worry about it now though - it's not a big deal.

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USB hub malfunctioning on iMac with Monterey

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