Major problems with Thunderbolt display & MB Air

I have been doing experiments with my Thunderbolt display to see if I can find out the problem. One thing that seemed to have affected mine is to have a Logitech wireless receiver connected to the keyboard that is connected to the display. When I took the receiver off, the keyboard seems to have been able to work upon reconnection to my MBP without rebooting.

I noticed that as even when things did not properly work (i.e. the USB keyboard connected to the display was not functioning after reconnection), a phone I had connected to the display for charging did bleep indicating that it was now charging. Have the others with the same problem had a similar experience? Perhaps the issue here is on Mac OS or the monitor firmware recognizing another USB hub connected to the monitor.

Has anyone tried this with other devices connected to the monitor? Or is this mainly an issue with the apple keyboard working as a USB hub? If this seems to be the issue, I will not go through the hassle of trying to exchange my monitor.

Thanks for any replies,

Felipe

I have tinkered with this issue quite a bit and found out what my problem is. If i have VMWare running, it has the USB connectivity issue. If i suspend and completely quit out of VMWare, and make sure when you right click it, it is completely QUIT... then USB devices work every single time!!!l

Hope this helps someone!

Meneguzzi wrote:

I have been doing experiments with my Thunderbolt display to see if I can find out the problem. One thing that seemed to have affected mine is to have a Logitech wireless receiver connected to the keyboard that is connected to the display. When I took the receiver off, the keyboard seems to have been able to work upon reconnection to my MBP without rebooting.

Have the others with the same problem had a similar experience?

Has anyone tried this with other devices connected to the monitor? Or is this mainly an issue with the apple keyboard working as a USB hub? If this seems to be the issue, I will not go through the hassle of trying to exchange my monitor.

Yes I had a very similar experience, as I posted to this thread a while ago in this post: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3339966?answerId=17541246022#17541246022

I found unplugging a Wacom graphics tablet from the keyboard and using another port on the Thunderbolt display solved my issues.

USB devices require different amounts of power from the port you plug them into. I bet your Logitech wireless receiver requires more than 100 mA.

The basic rule is don't plug anything requiring more than 100 mA into the Apple USB keyboard, anything wanting more than 500 mA into a port on the Thunderbolt display and anything wanting more than 2000 mA into your MacBook.

Sadly USB peripherals aren't labelled with their power requirements. So its hard to tell what needs what unless you use the Mac's "System Information" application, in the Hardware -> USB section.

Andrew

Thanks for your replies, now I'm not so sure about the power issues, since if I boot my MBP with the Logitech receiver, it does work. The glitch happens exclusively when I disconnect the monitor from a running computer, and then try to plug it in again. Power might be an issue, but I think this is not the primary one. I just checked the system information, and the Logitec Receiver is drawing 98mA from the keyboard, but the hub itself is drawing 300mA

Keyboard Hub:

Product ID: 0x1006

Vendor ID: 0x05ac (Apple Inc.)

Version: 96.15

Serial Number: 0

Speed: Up to 480 Mb/sec

Manufacturer: Apple, Inc.

Location ID: 0x40110000 / 5

Current Available (mA): 500

Current Required (mA): 300

USB Receiver:

Product ID: 0xc52b

Vendor ID: 0x046d (Logitech Inc.)

Version: 12.01

Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec

Manufacturer: Logitech

Location ID: 0x40113000 / 8

Current Available (mA): 100

Current Required (mA): 98

Apple Keyboard:

Product ID: 0x0220

Vendor ID: 0x05ac (Apple Inc.)

Version: 0.69

Speed: Up to 1.5 Mb/sec

Manufacturer: Apple, Inc

Location ID: 0x40112000 / 7

Current Available (mA): 100

Current Required (mA): 20

From your experience, it seems to me that the main problem is the use of the keyboard as an USB hub, perhaps the OS does not scan the USB bus properly on reconnection?

Message was edited by: Meneguzzi

Yep, count me in as another in a large and growing list of people having severe problems with their Mackbook Air and their Thunderbolt display. All of the symptoms described in this thread apply to my situation.

Key observations:

MBA 13" (late 2011)

Thunderbolt Display (Early 2012)

Continuous system crashes when plugging in MBA to display. Can't use the keyboard when attached to the display. Using a variety of USB peripherals on back of Thunderbolt display, but problem still exists even when just the Apple full-size keyboard is attached to the display. Finally have to completely disconnect the display in order to get the MBA to boot up properly.

Very, very frustrating to have a 27", $1000 boat anchor on my desk -- that I need to use for my daily work. I was going to buy a second Thunderbolt display for my wife's MBA, but I am now putting that purchase on hold until Apple gets this issue resolved completely.

Apple, please get this remedied.

Quick update on my side: Apple replaced my TBD after trying to repair it twice. The issue described here reappeared within 48h as expected. It seems they just can't resolve that issue.

I still believe it has the be a Software/Firmware issue and has nothing to do with the hardware.

So here I am, with a 1000$ display I can't really use!

At the risk of being slightly off-topic... I have a Thunderbolt monitor and a 17" Macbook Pro. Coming back from Easter holiday I didn't plug the laptop power adapter into the laptop by accident and that wasted an hour of my life. Normally my laptop and monitor work flawlessly, but this time I kept trying to get the monitor to wake up, opening the lid, closing it. Finally, noticed that I forgot the laptop magsafe adapter. So in the end the laptop was asleep.

Thank you for tracking this deadly bug.

I have NO idea what is going on there

I have same problem with all you guys.

i

bazaarone wrote:

OP back again.

I made it almost a whole month without any problems. Then about 2 weeks ago I plugged into the display, and it wouldn't recognize any of my USB peripherals. Restarted, and everything seemed fine.

Debating whether to bug Apple about this again. Maybe I'll give it a few more weeks and hope for another firmware update.

Sigh.

Did you apply the firmware update when you got the replacement? I've still not applied it - because the display works fine without it. I am convinced that's what screwed mine up in the first place.

Folks - if it's playing up, tell Apple. Get a replacement. Don't apply the TB firmware updates.

Sage advice, Phips, about returning it to the store. My device is still under 8 mos of warranty. I just made my Genius Bar appointment and will let everyone know how it turns out. Key thing is to keep up pressure on Apple to fix this well-known problem.

BTW, I did notice in a MacRumors forum that one individual pursued a replacement and, in the end, got a working unit. So, it appears that there may, in fact, be a manufacturing problem with the logic board on earlier units (which has now been resolved).

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1294287

Anyone else have a similar resolution (replacement fixed the problem)?

I wouldn't be that optimistic. They repaired mine twice (changed the all-in-one cable and the logic board) and eventually replaced it with a brand new one.

Still doesn't work. Had to reboot my computer no later than this morning to make the ethernet port work again!

urbicande wrote:

I wouldn't be that optimistic. They repaired mine twice (changed the all-in-one cable and the logic board) and eventually replaced it with a brand new one.

Still doesn't work. Had to reboot my computer no later than this morning to make the ethernet port work again!

Did you do the firmware update though?

I'll repeat myself, because I like doing it so much, don't apply the firmware update people ;-)

Mine has been working ever since it was swapped, and I still have the firmware update sitting in Software Update every time I run it. I am not applying that update ("If it ain't broke, don't fix it").

My replacement display is from a recent manufacturing batch and has already the latest firmware installed.

Okay, thanks for info. I'm still going to give it the "college try" and see if it will have any effect. If nothing else, just keeping up the pressure to get this issue fixed will be worth it...