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USB-C plugs fall out

Is anyone else having problems with USB-C plugs falling out when you move your MacBook Pro even slightly, while using it? I have a 2017 MacBook Pro with the touch bar, and it has only USB-C plugs on it. I thought it would be GREAT having four plugs, two on each side, so I could sit anywhere and always have the power cord and my external hard drive on the side that was most convenient. What I didn't anticipate was that these plugs are WORTHLESS!! They don't stay plugged in. I will be working on photographs, shift position, where I'm seated, and the hard drive comes unplugged, causing my entire library to have to shut down. I then have to wait, sometimes an infernally long time, before the drive will mount again, once I plug it back in. I'm concerned that, at some point, this may damage my rather sizable photo library, or my external hard drive. These are by far the worst plugs ever. At least slow USB 2.0 had a plug that would stay in. I loved my thunderbolt plugs, since they didn't fall out, especially when I used a cord long enough so it wouldn't put tension on the plug. I have a very long cord on my hard drive, now, yet, the slightest tension on the cord, or pull to one side or the other, and it disconnects. I'm also not impressed with the speed of this type of port, compared to my old Thunderbolt 2.0. Why does Apple keep over-simplifying everything until it loses its value? This is crazy!

MacBook Pro TouchBar and Touch ID, macOS Sierra (10.12.3), 15 inch, 16gb RAM, 2.7Ghz Core i7

Posted on May 21, 2017 9:45 PM

Best reply

Stephen Durrenberger1 Author

Level 1

52 points

Posted on May 22, 2017 5:35 AM

Read my post again, please. The problem is with USB-C connections NOT mag-safe connections. There is no mag-safe connection on the new MacBook Pro. The cables fall out with very little provocation. I have never tripped on my hard drive cable. That would be very foolish since it could send my hard drive flying!

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26 replies

Dec 28, 2017 4:26 PM in response to William Rivas

I also have this issue.. The slightest movement and the power cable is unplugged.. Apple has really slacked off in a HUGE way and still demands the big bucks... There is really no testing done or atleast that's the way it seems with alot of recent flaws... But this one seriously is annoying.. NEVER "move" data to a thumb drive.. Always COPY and then delete from the source.. Thanks APPLE!

Jan 1, 2018 10:36 PM in response to William Rivas

Me too.

I have 2017 MBP with Touchbar model. Only 4 USB-C ports. I only have to bump my laptop or touch the TB3 cable and it disconnects my monitor and external hard drives. I get warnings about not ejecting my drives when it happens.

I have inserted the TB3 cable into the adjacent USB-C port and after jiggling the connector and moving the laptop, there have been no disconnects. It's definitely not the cable.

So what happens when the adjacent connector suffers the same fate? I think I will be taking mine to a repair centre. This is unacceptable quality. Particularly for a machine that cost AUS$5,000.

Damo.

sodagod

Level 1

4 points

Jan 6, 2018 12:50 PM in response to Stephen Durrenberger1

I'm having the same issue. The USB-C connections on the new macbooks are horrible. My 15" 2016 TB macbook pro connections got very loose and now my 13" 2017 TB has the same issue.

This isn't a design fault with USB-C because my Samsung Galaxy Note 8's USB-C connection is very sturdy. I can literally have the usb-c cable/port hold the weight of the phone. When I plug a USB-C cable into my note 8 I feel a solid click and it stays in place until you use some force to disconnect it.

Apple need to get their stuff together!

Jan 7, 2018 10:42 AM in response to Stephen Durrenberger1

I too have a new 2017 MBP that I love for many reasons, but the USB-C ports seem to be poorly designed. The slightest movement dislodges both the apple provided power connection and other connectors including my hub. I noted that at least one corespondent suggested rubber bands around plugs to help hold them in. My hope is that Apple is not relying on users with rubber bands to fix this problem. The company needs to come up with a solution and pronto. Is anyone at the company listening?

A.Cherry

Level 1

4 points

Jan 9, 2018 3:53 AM in response to Stephen Durrenberger1

I have exactly the same issue Stephen and am getting fed up with it. Booking an Apple Genius Bar appoint and asking for a new machine its ridiculous. The wind from a butterfly disconnects a drive attached. You just move the computer slightly and booofff... there goes your attached drives and all your work....

Jan 9, 2018 8:01 PM in response to snakenewton

I have exactly the same problem with my USB-C ports. The USB ports on the Mac should be solid like on the power brick. I spent over two grand on this computer and the plugs fall out due to poor engineering.