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MacBook Pro Freezes using Thunderbolt Ethernet

I have a MacBook Pro Retina, and switch often between wifi and thunderbolt Ethernet for my Internet connection at home. I get better speeds using Ethernet, but don't always need them so wifi most times is fine. About once a week I will be using wifi, but because I'm downloading a large file I want to connect using Ethernet. When I plug the thunderbolt Ethernet adapter to the MacBook, the MacBook freezes. This has happened three times now.


Has anyone experienced this?


Is this a known problem?


I have run update so I'm running Mountain Lion 10.8.1 (if I recall the numbers right).

MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012), OS X Mountain Lion

Posted on Sep 14, 2012 7:15 AM

Reply
21 replies

Oct 3, 2012 7:12 AM in response to Boris22

I experience a similar problem. I have a mid 2012 MacBook Air running Mountain Lion 10.8.2 now but also faced this problem with 10.8.1 once:


Let me describe how it appeared:


I use Wifi somewhere with the MBA running on battery. Without turning wifi off I put the MBA to sleep. Afterwards I connect the MBA to my power supply and to the thunderbolt adapter with the ethernet cable attached. Then, I open the MBA and half a second I'm able to move the cursor. Suddenly, nothing works anymore, the screen is frozen and even shutting the MBA won't turn out the display or anything.


The first time it happened running 10.8.1 and a screen appeared telling me that the system was frozen (can't recall the exact error notification though). The second time on 10.8.2 nothing happened and I had to push the off-switch some time to reboot.


The problem is very annoying, I would really appreciate any help regarding this issue.


Best


rb_trage

Oct 3, 2012 7:33 AM in response to rb_trage

Hi rb;


I ended up calling apple care and the tech had me do an SMC reset on my MacBook. Since then I've had no issues, no crashes or hangs whatsoever in several weeks.


I followed the procedure listed in this article:



http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964


Give it a try, you've nothing to lose, it's a safe and simple procedure. Post back if it works, of you can.

Jun 19, 2013 10:42 AM in response to Boris22

I have the same problem in which connecting any of my Thunderbolt devices to any Thunderbolt port freezes my MacBook Retina 15", except the mouse pointer still moves.


No rhyme or reason, I haven't been able to discern a pattern. On one TB chain, I have an external SSD drive connected to a FW800-to-TB adapter; the other has a Matrox DS-1 dock, which in turn has the Ethernet cable and a Dual-SATA adapter for an external RAID drive.


I have a sneaking suspicion that the MBP will be conveniently ignored, and all blame placed on everything except the MBP. The Matrox site points me to the Apple site; the Lacie site points me to Apple and Matrox sites...therein lies the problem: finger-pointing. I can reproduce the issue no matter which TB ports/devices are plugged/unplugged. This would seem to me to be an MBP issue with the TB ports, in which the OS or whatever doesn't like the voltage spikes/drops when plugging/unplugging devices.


Console logs haven't produced anything abnormal ("TB device plugged in", "TB device unplugged" doesn't say much that isn't already obvious.)


This issue occurs with the various user accounts I've created. My next step is to take the MBP into an Apple Store and demand a new one.


I've also performed the SMC reset, as noted above, to no avail.


OS X 10.8.4 / MBP Retina 15" 2.7GHz i7 / 16GB RAM / 512GB SSD

Jun 19, 2013 1:54 PM in response to PatrickL

PatrickL;


I'm still using my TB Ethernet adapter, though intermittently. I've not had any problems since my previous post above. This may seem totally obvious, but I know that there were several firmware updates for the MacBookPro that we both use. You might want to check to make sure they were installed. I believe some of them were supposed to address hanging like we both have/had.


Good luck!

Aug 11, 2013 9:15 AM in response to Boris22

I often use the TB port on my 13-inch MBPro (late 2011, M.Lion, 2.4Ghz.,not retina) for my 1TB external HDD. When it is in use, it causes my USB mouse pointer to intermittently freeze, quite hard to control.


I think this is probably because the USB and the TB ports suck either energy or processor power from each other.


Please keep here updated.

Dec 2, 2013 12:41 PM in response to Boris22

SOLUTION / WORKAROUND:


I am using a MacBook Retina Mid2012, OS X 10.9 Mavericks. The following solution/workaround works for me before and after upgrading to Mavericks. The following has worked reliably for me for the past year+ (2012-2013):


1) Plugin Thunderbolt Ethernet Adapter WHILE moving mouse around screen


2) If my mouse pointer immediately stops moving after I've plugged in the Thunderbolt Ethernet Adapter, then I immediately uplug the Thunderbolt Ethernet Adapter.


3) After waiting 1-2 seconds, I re-Plugin the Thunderbolt Ethernet Adapter again, WHILE moving the mouse around screen... and at this point it works fine for me. I have never had to repeat steps 1&2.


So, for me, on my Mid 2012 Retina MacBook I occasionally experience the "System Hang" when plugging in the Thunderbolt Ethernet Adapter. It does not always hang my MacBook. And, if I catch it within the first few seconds of plugging it in (because I'm watching the mouse pointer for quick feedback on whether or not it is hanging) as long as I unplug it and replug it in, then I have found that my MacBook never hangs or crashes.


Summary: Moving the mouse pointer while plugging in the Thunderbolt Ethernet Adapter seems to be a reliable way (for me) to witness whether or not my machine is beginning to hang. Subsequently, un-plugging and re-plugging the Thunderbolt Ethernet Adapter, at that point, has always resolved the problem for me.


I hope this helps others.

MacBook Pro Freezes using Thunderbolt Ethernet

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