Macbook Pro and Thunderbolt USB problem

My crashed again. I took it into Apple and they are replacing the logic board and the all in one cable.

This is crazy. So much troubles with TBD and MacBooks. Apple makes Software and builds Hardware for their own and it does not work at all. I have the same issues. First of all I had to wait 4 weeks to get my Display. I purchased in January.

1o days ago, i got my TDB. Yes. I was so happy. But now after 5 days of daily use, I have so much troubles.... The Display and my MacBook Pro 13", 1 Month old, couldn't be waked up. I operate in Clamshell mode as well... When I got it on, The TBD goes on and off, and the screen is very noisy. The MBP is getting really hot. I have to shut the system down and restart several times, connecting the Thunderbolt plug several times. Then, so god will, the system works. Until I set it into sleep mode in the evening or in the morning. Restart isn't possible!

Other issues: When it runs (the screen does not switch on/off), the Display-Sound does not work. So plug TBD out and in, then it works sometimes.

Has anybody encoutered the same temperature problems?

Apple now will take the TBD and send it to a repair center. I will report the next steps...

Cheers,

Rick

I have a MBP 15" and have no temperature issues. I mean sometimes it runs a little warm, but it is to be expected (nothing too warm to be out of spec). So, I can't address your temperature issue on the MBP 13".

However, on the TBD, your issues are identical to many messages posted in this thread. The symptom of the display working but sound and/or camera not working from display is a display problem (not computer problem). And, you will see that when this occurs, if you open "System Information" and look under USB (not "Thunderbolt") you wll notice that the USB for sound and camera is present for the computer only, and not the TBD USB. In other words, the TBD USB is not being recognized due to a fault in the cable or electronics of the Display. When this occurs, the video can still be seen, but if you had a mouse or keyboard plugged into the USB of the display, they would not work (they would work while plugged into the computer but not the display). That is all a Display problem.

In fact to demonstrate to yourself this is true, you could take a spare Thunderbolt cable, and after disconnecting the built in Thunderbolt cable from the display which goes to the computer, plug the spare cable into the Thunderbolt port on the display and the Thunderbolt port on the computer and all should work fine. This is merely to demonstrate the display issue. Apple fixed my TBD by either replacing the all-in-one cable and/or the electronic interface card in the display.

If you don't have an extra Thunderbolt cable and don't want to pay $49 to get one, then you'll just have to trust me on this.

You can monkey around with connections, on/off sequences, ad infinitum, and it will work a while (or not) and then not work. Just read through about 2 hours of this thread to prove that.

Hopefully, Apple will get your TBD working correctly. Sorry I can't lend a hand regarding the temperature in your MBP.

Hey Barry,

so this is all a cable problem... I wonder why Apple ships Displays not tested for this issue. Looking at the date when first reported this issue and indeed reported a solution... Enough time to implement in quality supervision. anyway.

I will buy a cable on monday to check if the cable is the bad guy.

I observed an increasing temperature when coming into trouble with the display. This is all in the Specs. But nevertheless unusual. And for describing the issue I think every bit is important. 🙂

So what to do? Check with cable, see if USB Ports are disabled, wait for Apple repair....

Keep you updated.

All the best and enjoy your Mac's.

Rick

Glad to try to help, Rick.

The only reason for specifically isolating what is wrong is so that the Apple Store repair folks can be shown: "Hey, here is what is wrong. It's something in the display. When I bypass the all-in-one cable (OR cable interface) in the display, it works. So fix it." As to why they haven't done something about this, I think it is gradually going away in that there may be only a few displays left with the issue that are in stock. Certainly an odd problem.

Barry

I brought my monitor in and they replace the board and the all in one cable and I am still having the problem.

Did you confirm you had the same problem by using another Thunderbolt cable and operate without the All-in-One cable prior to going to the Apple Store (to ensure you had the same problem)? That's what I did before taking mine in (mine worked for about 30 days with no issues when I did it; so, THEN, I went to Apple.

Sorry you are having so much difficulty. It is too bad Apple doesn't monitor any of the forums.

I didn't because I don't want to pay $50 for a cable I shouldn't need. First they replaced the board and I still had the problem and then they placed the cable and I still have the problem. So now they want my TB and my Macbook Pro which I can't afford to give up right now.

Hello guys,

yesterday I got my TBD back. Apple picked it up some days before and sent it to an authorized service provider. The TBD is in use for one day now. Wake up in clamshell works fine. No malfunction.

From the servicereport I can see they found out that display and display cabel is not working properly. And very important: They could reproduce the errors. They changed the parts. Evrything works fine. So worth contacting apple support and ask them to fix the problem.

Ten points for Apple....

Hope, this is long-term fixed 🙂

Cheers,

Rick

I've had two problems with my THB during the past year. Firstly, a few months ago, the display went fuzzy as if the layers under the glass were separating. Frightening. But I live in Phuket, Thailand, where the humidity can be high. So I turned on the air con and a dehumidifier, and within an hour the fuzziness started to reduce. After two hours, it had gone and so far hasn't returned.

Then yesterday, the screen suddenly went black while in use. No green/orange light on the mag connector, no response. On checking the display settings in system preferences, no THB recognised. Basically there were all the symptoms of a power supply failure. On reading the little white book, I noted that the humidity range is 10-80%. Now 80% is not high is many parts of the world. Maybe it is in California in the Apple ivory tower, but not in the real world. So I repeated my solution of months ago - turn on a/c and dehumidifier. This morning, bingo, it was all working again.

So it could be that many of the problems I've read about on these forums are environmental. Worth a try, anyway before lugging your THB to the Apple store.

Come on, Apple, if you are going to sell your products in places where the climate can be a challenge, make them a bit more robust. It shouldn't be too difficult.

Hope that more prosaic solution helps someone out there.

exact same setup, exact same problem.

Logitech mouse w/ usb dongle plugged in to display, keyboard plugged in to display, and my iPhone lightning cable.

if i unplug the display (to bring my laptop somewhere) and come back, plug it in, USB isn't recognized at all, but display will flicker. after a second of trying, it actually freezes up the entire system, and forcing a reboot is necessary. when it boots up, usb works again. I swapped my computer with another (this is at work, we've got a bunch of retina mbp and thunderbolt displays around) and the issue seems to not be happening now with this one.

the president of the company i work for emailed me last night, saying she too was having usb/ethernet problems when plugged in to the display. i swapped the display this morning (after it tested ok for me) and she called me up 2 hours later after she got in to the office to show me that in fact, her USB was not working again. i unplugged and plugged in the display again, and it started working again.

what a frustrating problem. especially when i am dealing with the possibility of 80 users all experiencing the same problem. so far it's not been that way, but the potential is there.

basically its as if the computer isn't acknowledging that the display is hooked up, and to pass through the USB.

This is an established issue with the Thunderbolt displays. Documented months ago on this thread .

I worked with Level 2 Apple tech months ago and learned this.

I had similar issues- especially Logitech

The solution thus far:

remove the Logitech dongle from the TD before you take your Laptop elsewhere and do not plug in again until you have re connected your laptop to the TD.

Or,better yet, leave the dongle in the USB port on the laptop.

If you leave a USB dongle, especially Logitech, in the TD , disconnect and then re connect your Laptop to the TD, you WILL have trouble

Don't do it this way.

i've done all that troubleshooting already... it's not simply an issue with logitech mice tho, and unplugging things, plugging them in a certain order, etc. etc. isn't a solution, it's a work around..one that would be okay for me, not the president of the company who has more important things to do than troubleshoot usb and remember to plug things in certain order. another user here having the same issue is using nothing but an apple keyboard, and a printer on her display USB. i tested it, worked fine. i replaced her display anyway, and she came in to the office after i left, tested it, didn't work at all. couldn't log in at the login window, nothing..so i feel like the liklihood that it was just the display is low. unplugging and plugging in the thunderbolt port again kicked it back on, but again, this isn't a solution. I've been using Apple products since the mid 90s (when i could afford to buy myself a computer) and up until recently, my reason for using Apple products is "because it just works." - which more and more is happening less and less.

i guess the reason im posting here is the off chance someone at apple will see it and do something about it.

My TBD came about two week ago from Repaiur sewrvice. They changed the Display and the complete cables like power and TB. The major problems are solved: Like black screen, noise display and jittering screen.

Yesterday, I had the same problems you reported: Disconnecting MBPro and when re-connected, no USB alive on TBD. My setup: Dock for iPad 2 and charging wiring for iPhone. Plus one BassJump. I recognized the problems when iPhone and iPad were fully discharged.

A restart solved the problem. Restart when TBD is connected. I am with you: This is not problem solving. This is a workaround. And for this class of display not acceptable. I wonder if Apple reads these kind of threads.

In my opinion, this is a software related problem considering the past repair of my TBD (everything new).

I will get in contact with Apple. I also have an APP now and hope this issue will be solved soon.

Btw: The Display is amazing besides this USB-Problem. I Like it very much and can't imagine to work without it.

Cheers,

Rick

I am convinced Apple is aware.

I had the problem of my MBP not responding, seeming to be "dead"when reconnected to my TD,

Worked with very responsive Apple tech. They had me send logs. One of the first questions asked of me was if I had anything plugged into any of the TD ports. I replied in the negative. One of the techs challenged my response as he saw something in a log file that indicated I had something plugged into a USB port on my TD.

Yup, it was the tiny receiver from a USB Logitech mouse.

The techies immediately "knew" that was the problem. They advised to NOT leave the receiver in the USB port when I remove my MBP.

I switched to an Apple mouse (Bluetooth) , do not leave anything in the USB ports and the problem is gone.

The Apple Techs KNEW of the problem. This was approximately eight months ago.