Thunderbolt dock not connecting upon startup/restart

OWC Thunderbolt mini Dock with M4 Max studio doesn't connect upon startup unless I unplug and plug the dock back in. I haven't had this issue with other docks but this one was over $150 so I'd really love it to work! Unfortunately the person in my company who purchased it last year is no longer around so I can't return it. Has anyone else had any issues with this dock? Or any recommendation to get it to work?


Mac Studio, macOS 15.7

Posted on Nov 21, 2025 7:51 AM

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Posted on Nov 30, 2025 3:51 PM

For anyone else that stumbles upon this issue, it's fixed...kind of.


I contacted OWC regarding this and they suggested that my other peripherals (A stream deck and a midi/USB controller) were drawing too much power upon startup. I have never had this issue on other Macs, but indeed I moved one of my peripherals to the front USB C port and the dock was then recognized upon startup. Not ideal as I'd like to use my front ports for other things and it seems odd that such a powerful computer would have an issue like this but there it is.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 30, 2025 3:51 PM in response to JRose7

For anyone else that stumbles upon this issue, it's fixed...kind of.


I contacted OWC regarding this and they suggested that my other peripherals (A stream deck and a midi/USB controller) were drawing too much power upon startup. I have never had this issue on other Macs, but indeed I moved one of my peripherals to the front USB C port and the dock was then recognized upon startup. Not ideal as I'd like to use my front ports for other things and it seems odd that such a powerful computer would have an issue like this but there it is.

Thunderbolt dock not connecting upon startup/restart

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