Addietollen
Level 1 (1 points)

Q: Macbook Pro USB Ports stopped working completely

Hello everyone,

 

My macbook pro has been updated to the 10.7.3 software.

 

I have had my mac for quite a while and over time my USB ports have slowly stopped working.

 

I have tried deleting junk, updating everything, and nothing is working.

 

My Mac has been updated to the new lion and everything (I bought it online for $30, because it did not include it when i first recieved the mac)

 

I tried resetting my computer, shutting it down and what not. I have looked at other forums about this and nothing I do works.

 

The mouse I have is not recognizeable along with my Droid phone, printer, and iPod.

 

I took my macbook to the nearest computer lab (I am a college student on campus) and power was being drawn from the farthest port but none from the closest. They did not know how to fix it, except recommending I update lion. I did and well, nothing happened.

 

If anyone can please help me out, I am not sure if it is the hardware or what, but nothing is working and it has become very frustrating.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.3)

Posted on Feb 20, 2012 1:18 PM

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Addietollen

Q: Macbook Pro USB Ports stopped working completely

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  • by WALTER-MILANO-ITALY,Helpful

    WALTER-MILANO-ITALY WALTER-MILANO-ITALY Feb 20, 2012 1:25 PM in response to Addietollen
    Level 4 (2,205 points)
    Feb 20, 2012 1:25 PM in response to Addietollen

    Have you tryed this

     

     

    Reset the PRAM > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379

     

    1. Shut down the computer.

    2. Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.

    3. Turn on the computer.

    4. Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.

    5. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.

    6. Release the keys.

  • by Addietollen,

    Addietollen Addietollen Feb 20, 2012 1:27 PM in response to WALTER-MILANO-ITALY
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Feb 20, 2012 1:27 PM in response to WALTER-MILANO-ITALY

    I will try this right now....thank you

  • by Addietollen,

    Addietollen Addietollen Feb 20, 2012 1:57 PM in response to WALTER-MILANO-ITALY
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Feb 20, 2012 1:57 PM in response to WALTER-MILANO-ITALY

    okay so resetting the pram did not work either...

     

    any ideas?

  • by Philip Tyler,

    Philip Tyler Philip Tyler Feb 20, 2012 2:27 PM in response to Addietollen
    Level 4 (2,255 points)
    Feb 20, 2012 2:27 PM in response to Addietollen

    Have you tried resetting the SMC which is the System Management Controller?

     

    I think it used to be called the PMU Power Management Unit on older laptops.

     

    Anyway a link for you to follow with instructions:

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964?viewlocale=en_US

     

    Phil

  • by Addietollen,

    Addietollen Addietollen Feb 20, 2012 2:48 PM in response to Philip Tyler
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Feb 20, 2012 2:48 PM in response to Philip Tyler

    Yes I tried that right after the PRAM and there was no recognizing of anything...

     

    I tried putting it to sleep, then restart, then shut down as well with no success.

     

    I really just have no idea...

    Thank you though

  • by Philip Tyler,

    Philip Tyler Philip Tyler Feb 20, 2012 6:18 PM in response to Addietollen
    Level 4 (2,255 points)
    Feb 20, 2012 6:18 PM in response to Addietollen

    Oh dear other than booking an appointment with an Apple Genius at your nearest Apple Store I don't know what else to suggest.

     

    It does rather point to this being a physical problem rather than software, so may mean a board replacement.

     

    I wish you luck.

     

    Phil

  • by pictricks,

    pictricks pictricks Mar 25, 2012 2:24 PM in response to Addietollen
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 25, 2012 2:24 PM in response to Addietollen

    I have a similiar issue with my usb ports after upgrading to Lion 10.7.3. Did you find a solution that worked?

     

    Thanks

    steve

  • by Harris Edmonton,

    Harris Edmonton Harris Edmonton Apr 4, 2012 1:07 PM in response to pictricks
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 4, 2012 1:07 PM in response to pictricks

    I have had a similar problem since upgrading to Lion 10.7.3. I have a MacPro and all was going well. However, now I have huge problems with my USB ports. Some are recognized some of the time if I unplug then replug, but not in a reliable manner. This applies to USB ports at both the front and back of my computer. My printer won't work or my mouse won't work (but at times I can get one or the other), but any external USB drives (including camera's) and my iPhone are not recognized. Obviously very frustrating. Other issues that seem to have occured are recognition of Outlook for Mac, so have reverted to MacMail (not as good, but working).

     

    Looking through a variety of threads, this issue isn't that new going back to at least July of 2011 (http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/os-x-operating-system/245665-os-x-lion-will-not -read-external-hard-drives-usb-flash-drives.html).

     

    I am also involved in long-running saga with "upgrade" from MobileMe to iCloud that has led to many individuals (including myself) losing "push" email capability despite 9 months and 35 pages worth of problems on the Apple Support site (https://discussions.apple.com/message/18033340?ac_cid=142432#18033340).

     

    Having been an Apple user since 1988 it is ironic that as it becomes more popular it becomes increasingly less reliable.

     

    Does anyone have any solutions for the USB problem that are reliable?

  • by patfromsan jose,

    patfromsan jose patfromsan jose Apr 7, 2012 11:50 AM in response to Addietollen
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 7, 2012 11:50 AM in response to Addietollen

    Had the same problem on a brand new 2012 MacBook Pro 15 inch, Model : MacBookPro8,2.

    After a couple of weeks the 2nd USB port would not work at all, just died one day for no reason I could tell, the only thing I ever plugged into it was Apple products, the 1st USB port worked fine. Tried all the above suggestions, nothing worked. The diagnostic About This Mac, More Info..., Hardware USB would never show anything connected to this port. Remember you have to restart this diagnostic everytime you plug something into it.

     

    Then I decided it had to be a stored value in some memory location that needed to be reset, and the only way to do that was to disconnect the laptop's battery so this memory would be reset. Therefore I had to open the MacBook Pro back cover, unscrew the 10 phillips screws with a #1 phillips screw driver, and just disconnected the battery connector, and let it sit like that for a minute. Then plugged in the battery connector, reassembled the back cover, turned it on, and the 2nd USB port now works fine.

     

    Apple should have some software diagnostic tool to do this for you, but if all else fails you can do what I did. If this doesn't work, then it's likely a hardware problem on the USB port, but that would be a very rare circumstance. The USB ports are protected electrically with bypass diodes to make sure they don't get damaged by a peripheral drawing too much power or some other electrical problem.

     

    Hope this helps someone...

  • by PaulBeton,

    PaulBeton PaulBeton May 7, 2012 1:18 PM in response to patfromsan jose
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 7, 2012 1:18 PM in response to patfromsan jose

    Hi!

     

    exactly the same machine model here and the same problem too

    Don't have actual time to unplugg the battery; I will try to let the battery drain itself so it can reset the mb.

    Who knows... :|

    <>

  • by Shootist007,

    Shootist007 Shootist007 May 7, 2012 2:46 PM in response to PaulBeton
    Level 6 (16,660 points)
    May 7, 2012 2:46 PM in response to PaulBeton

    Letting the battery drian to Zero is a bad idea. That puts undo stress on the battery. To do what Pat did, disconnect the battery, takes about 10-15 minutes (if not less) if you have the right size screw driver and know how to use one.

  • by LCollingridge,

    LCollingridge LCollingridge May 15, 2012 12:37 PM in response to Addietollen
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iTunes
    May 15, 2012 12:37 PM in response to Addietollen

    I have been struggling with this problem for weeks!  After resetting the PRAM and SMC, etc. I finally went to Apple to get the latest MAC OS update - installed it and restarted and voila!!! My USB port is now working again!!

    SOLVED!!!!

  • by Addietollen,

    Addietollen Addietollen May 18, 2012 8:28 AM in response to Addietollen
    Level 1 (1 points)
    May 18, 2012 8:28 AM in response to Addietollen

    I ended up going to the apple store about an hour and a half away from me. They dusted my mac and ran some tests. Everything seemed fine surprisingly (I felt like an idiot seeing as they found nothing wrong with it) and the ports were up and running mostly, except that my nearest port was drawing a little less power.

     

    No less than 24 hours upon returning back did they stop working again.

    It might have to do with something involving the download of iCloud or something? ^ or the new lion, both of which I am not sure of.

     

  • by norbertm,

    norbertm norbertm Jun 23, 2012 4:30 AM in response to Addietollen
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 23, 2012 4:30 AM in response to Addietollen

    Just solved a similar problem:

     

    A couple of days after installing the 10.7.4 update on a MacPro (4core, 14G RAM, early 2009) 3 of 5 USB ports stopped working. PRAM, SMC reset did not help.

    I rebooted from ext. disk into Snow Leopard - all ports OK.

    Reboot in Lion 10.7.4. - all ports working - for now.

     

    Hope that helps someone.

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