El Capitan breaks USB Hub

Question

El Capitan breaks USB Hub

I upgraded to El Capitan, and now my USB hub no longer works.

The hub still works fine when connected to my MacBook that still has Mavericks installed.

The hub has an NS850A chip (Vendor ID 0x0a05, Product ID 0x0001), which is fully compatible with the more popular Genesys Logic GL850A USB hub controller.

It seems Apple forgot to include the NS850A in their list of USB 2.0 hub controllers for which they load the default drivers included with OS X.

Is there any way to convince El Capitan to load the drivers for this hub?

Here's what shows under System Information with El Capitan:

and here's what it looks like working properly while plugged into a computer running Mavericks:

User uploaded file

Thanks!

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11)

Posted on Oct 25, 2015 6:48 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Oct 25, 2015 6:59 PM in response to Czech Username

That second picture didn't work, let's try it again.

Reply

Answer 2

Oct 27, 2015 5:10 AM in response to Czech Username

I have the same issue after I upgraded to El Capitan.

Trying to fix it.. but if there is really no way to solve this issue,, I know unfortunately I should buy a new hub. :-(

Reply

Answer 3

Oct 27, 2015 9:11 AM in response to Czech Username

I had the same problem. Resetting both the NVRAM and SMC fixed the issue. However, I'm 99.9% sure I tried this originally and it did not work. After upgrading to 10.11.1 it seems to now be fine. It's possible I just didn't follow all the steps correctly a few weeks ago, or maybe the latest update in combination with the resets helped!

NVRAM

How to Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support

SMC

Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support

Reply

Answer 4

Oct 28, 2015 6:54 PM in response to Brian Davidson2

I tried the NVRAM & SMC resets, still have the same issue.

I also tried plugging it into am iMac running 10.11.1, didn't work there either.

Which Vendor and Product IDs show up for your hub controller under System Information?

Reply

Answer 5

Oct 29, 2015 3:57 AM in response to Czech Username

Here's what I have:

Product ID: 0x0812

Vendor ID: 0x2109 (VIA Labs, Inc.)

If you haven't, you may try the resets again. I know I tried twice, maybe even 3x, before it worked.

Reply

Answer 6

dwb

Level 7

33,244 points

Oct 29, 2015 5:32 AM in response to Czech Username

I’ve been USB hubs that were incompatible with devices for hardware reasons (usually very cheap no-name units that were probably using pirated components) but I’ve never heard of a hub becoming dysfunctional due to an OS upgrade. Not saying it can’t happen but in my 20+ years in the biz I’ve just not heard of it.

Try this: unplug the hub from the computer and unplug all the devices from the hub. Unplug the hub (assuming it has a power brick) and after about 10 seconds, plug it back in and then plug in all the peripheral. Meanwhile reset the computer’s SMC - Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support and then plug the hub back into the computer.

Reply

Answer 7

Oct 29, 2015 9:05 PM in response to dwb

Apple completely reworked their USB driver system for El Capitan, which probably explains why support for this USB controller disappeared.

The hub isn't powered, and there are two peripherals built into the hub (which is why it would be such a shame to junk it) but I went ahead with redoing the resets on my MacBook as well as doing an NVRAM + SMC reset on the iMac with 10.11.1, but it's still not working on El Capitan.

Is there any way to file a bug report with Apple?

Reply

Answer 8

Nov 9, 2015 6:47 PM in response to Czech Username

Just ordered new USB data hub (from Anker http://www.ianker.com/product/A7516011 ).

Hope newly order one is working fine with El Capitan.

Reply