Macbook Pro USB Ports stopped working completely

I had this problem with both USB ports on my macbook pro - it turned out that each port had a perfect sized bead of something lodged in there which prevented proper connection, (lol, seemed obvious in hindsight!)

Hi Pat! I was having the same problem discussed here. I took my Macbook Pro 2011 to 4 different technical assistances, and the 4 condemned my logic board, and they wanted to charge me a fortune for the exchange. I didn't want to believe, so i started to research about it. After doing several tests, following the guidance of several people over the internet, I came across your post. It would be the last alternative before I surrender to the expensive technical assistance solution. I did what you suggested and I was able to solve the problem by myself. Your post was extremely valuable to me, and I believe it will be for other people as well. Keep helping the community, that's what makes the internet so strong. Thank you very much. Hugs from Brazil!

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.

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

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

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

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/thread/3401374?answerId=18033340022#18033340022&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?

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...

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... :|

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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.

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!!!!