problems with Multiport AV adapter

I Have the same setup, but no issues connecting a USB 3.0 HDD to the port. I use a WD My Passport.

The downstream USB C is only for power. It has the apple power icon on it, and I tested with my USB C flash drive; don't work...

I have the exact same problem and it just cost me a few hours. I have two different Western Digital Passport Ultras, one 2 TB and one 3 TB. I had no issues with the multi-port adapter with the 2 TB unit while plugged in, but with the 3 TB the computer would "hang," fail to complete backup and show "disk ejected" warnings and lose the drive. The same 3 TB drive is fine on my MacBook Pro 17 inch via USB 2 or USB 3 hub.

So I switched to using just the USB C-USB adapter and the drive now works just fine. Obviously there is an issue either with the adapter or a driver in El Captain.

Yet another "feature" of my MacBook, which I am liking less and less every day.

I have the AV Multiport connected to:

• USB 3.0 --> USB Hub on the DELL monitor
  • USB --> Time Machine drive (Seagate 1TB external drive USB3)
  • USB --> Full size Mac keyboard
• AV HDMI --> Dell U2414H
• USB C --> Power

This is working fine except that I sometimes have issues when the MB wakes up from sleep mode.

Sometimes (I cannot see a pattern) the following happens:

• The DELL does not wake up
• The DELL does wake up but the keyboard does not work.
• The external drive wakes up each time

The same symptoms some times also occur after the AV Multipart was disconnected from the MB and it is re-connected (all peripherals remain connected).

To fix this the following works most of the time:

• Put the MB in sleep mode and then wake it up again from the MB keyboard.
• If the above does not work, disconnect the AV adapter again and reconnect
• If the above does not work, reboot

I suppose this is the downside to being early adopters of new technology.

Update on 6 July 2016.

The USBC Multiport AV adapter is causing system freezing.

Sometimes a Chrome tab or Firefox tab gets stuck and cannot finish loading a new page. When this happens usually progressively the whole system freezes. No way to close individual unresponsive apps. As soon as I unplug the USB C multiport adapter everything unblocks and once all stuck processes get a chance to clear themselves all is back to normal.

Has anyone seen similar issues.

(PS - I have the latest version (2.33) of the driver installed).

The USB-C port on the Multiport Adapter is just for power, correct.

I have a USB3 SuperSpeed hub connected to the USB3-A port on the Multiport Adapter, then connect my external drives to the external hub. That seems to work with the no-name USB drive enclosures that I have, as well as some Seagate-branded external drives. These are all bus-powered drives that don't need a separate 12V power adapter. Do you have access to a USB3 hub to try? It may be a power issue, in the sense that the MultiPort adapter can't provide enough power through its USB3-A port to power the drives, which I'm resolving by using a powered USB hub.

Hello Gordon,

Thanks for the info.

I have the following attached to the multiport AV Adapter (MAVA) as a default configuration at my desk.

- USB3: external Seagate 1TB drive

- HDMI: Dell 24" monitor

- USBC: AC power adapter

To follow your instructions I went to check the MB System Information for the USB details and find the USB3 bus empty - even though the drive is connected, but does not seem to be running (it does not appear in the Finder drive list either). I have noticed this before, that if the system goes to SLEEP mode or I disconnect the MAVA to use the MB somewhere else, that when I wake up the MB or reconnect, the external drive does not start or I get no connection on the external screen.

To reactivate the external screen I put the unit back to sleep and wake it up again - that works not all the time.

To restart the drive I need to put the MB in sleep mode and disconnect the MAVA and reconnect after several hours (i.e. the next morning).

It is really strange.

Are there some more tests I can do? I want to nail this before my warranty runs out.

Thanks

I use USBC for power. Don't know it it is limited to that.

I have an external drive directly connected to the USB3 port and a DELL monitor to the HDMI.

I sometimes have problems with waking up the drive or monitor after the MB was put in sleep mode.

I started to have problems with the USB-C plug soon after the latest upgrade to El Capitan v. 10.11.5

Finally I have narrowed what the issue could be. The USB-C connector is having troubles recognizing the 3.0 drives.

I have some old flash and external drives of different brands, all of them are 2.0, and all of them work fine all the time. If I plug a new flash or external drive with 3.0, it fails to mount. Unless I restart or reboot the laptop. Then it will work for a couple of times and then it quits working.

I'm afraid that with the latest upgrade to 10.11.5, something was messed up with the software. Hopefully the guys at Apple can fix this annoying problem.

Try using a 2.0 flash or hard drive and see if you have the same problems.

Wow Gordon - you seem to be at the source here.

Update from yesterday evening:

- I ended the day at the office with the USB3 external drive and the HDMI external screen not waking up. I put the MB in sleep mode to go home.

- Last night at home I pulled out the MB (no accessories attached) to check some mail. No problems. Put the MB in sleep mode.

- This morning I plug in the MAVA with all the accessories attached (HD, screen, power) before opening the MB. Everything that should wake up, wakes up and all is fine.

Here is what the USB3 Hub reports (Remember last night this was empty).

USB3.0 Hub:

Product ID: 0x100e

Vendor ID: 0x05ac (Apple Inc.)

Version: 45.28

Speed: Up to 5 Gb/sec

Manufacturer: Apple Inc.

Location ID: 0x14300000 / 5

Current Available (mA): 1800

Current Required (mA): 36

Extra Operating Current (mA): 0

Capacity: 1 TB (1.000.204.885.504 bytes)

Removable Media: Yes

Detachable Drive: Yes

BSD Name: disk1

Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)

Volumes:

EFI:

Capacity: 209,7 MB (209.715.200 bytes)

BSD Name: disk1s1

Content: EFI

Volume UUID: 0E239BC6-F960-3107-89CF-1C97F78BB46B

Seagate Expansion Drive:

Capacity: 999,86 GB (999.860.912.128 bytes)

Available: 254,93 GB (254.930.464.768 bytes)

Writable: Yes

File System: Case-Sensitive Journaled HFS+

BSD Name: disk1s2

Mount Point: /Volumes/Seagate Expansion Drive

Content: Apple_HFS

Volume UUID: 40221B18-33AB-34B4-9FCB-EC48256C1F07

Boot OS X:

Capacity: 134,2 MB (134.217.728 bytes)

BSD Name: disk1s3

Content: Apple_Boot

Volume UUID: 5D57711D-CEC9-3963-B1AF-C2B17F663F12

Expansion:

Product ID: 0x2312

Vendor ID: 0x0bc2 (Seagate LLC)

Version: 2.19

Serial Number: NA462HFZ

Speed: Up to 5 Gb/sec

Manufacturer: Seagate

Location ID: 0x14310000 / 7

Current Available (mA): 1800

Current Required (mA): 36

Extra Operating Current (mA): 0

Capacity: 1 TB (1.000.204.885.504 bytes)

Removable Media: Yes

Detachable Drive: Yes

BSD Name: disk1

Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)

Volumes:

EFI:

Capacity: 209,7 MB (209.715.200 bytes)

BSD Name: disk1s1

Content: EFI

Volume UUID: 0E239BC6-F960-3107-89CF-1C97F78BB46B

Seagate Expansion Drive:

Capacity: 999,86 GB (999.860.912.128 bytes)

Available: 254,93 GB (254.930.464.768 bytes)

Writable: Yes

File System: Case-Sensitive Journaled HFS+

BSD Name: disk1s2

Mount Point: /Volumes/Seagate Expansion Drive

Content: Apple_HFS

Volume UUID: 40221B18-33AB-34B4-9FCB-EC48256C1F07

Boot OS X:

Capacity: 134,2 MB (134.217.728 bytes)

BSD Name: disk1s3

Content: Apple_Boot

Volume UUID: 5D57711D-CEC9-3963-B1AF-C2B17F663F12

Hello Nelson,

I am on El Capitan v. 10.11.5 as well.

My USB3 drive works when I wake up the system in the morning. It just does not wake up all the time after I unplug the MAVA or wake up the MB.

Also I noticed my MAVA can get very hot.

Keep an eye on what Gordon reports. I think he will come up with some answers.

Best.