USB Port operating intermittently

Since yesterday, the iPhone plugged into the left USB port on my Macbook Pro (the one next to the power cable), was repeatedly dismounting from iTunes, then mounting and synching. To rule out a problem with the iPhone, I moved it to the other USB port, which worked fine. I then plugged my Wife's older iPhone into the left USB port, and it was behaving even worse. Has anyone heard anything about USB ports failing, and is this a hardware or software fix? My Macbook pro is about 9 months old, and this is the first issue I've had with it.

It definitely seems that you have a faulty hardware issue that needs to be sent to apple to get repaired. Call apple on this and ask if it is a frequent issue and they will determine if it needs to be sent to them. This problem often arises when the usb cord connected to the port is pushed down or up. usb ports do not like to have any play and a very slight amount can cause the soldering to come off of the motherbaord leaving you with a poor connection that will sometimes work and for the most part not.
Simple answer: Contact Apple.

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Macbook pro retina 13 late 2013, usb ports are intermittent with iPhone

Macbook pro retina 13 late 2013, usb ports are intermittent with iPhone
when i connect my iPhone 5 to the laptop it keeps connecting and disconnecting, I've had this problem since owning the macbook. change of cables makes no difference neither does which port i use.
is there any advice anyone could give me?
many thanks.

Hello there Jake,
It sounds like your phone is acting like you are connecting and disconnecing it over and over again even with another USB cable. I would use the troubleshooting in the following article to help you determine what the issue might be.
iTunes: Resolve USB-related alerts
See if the cable connection at the device or computer has come loose or unplugged.
Unplug the cable you're using to connect your iOS device from the USB port on your computer, and then reconnect it. Then unplug it from your iOS device, and reconnect it.
Remove any third-party battery packs or cases from the device and ensure that the USB cable is connected directly to the port on the device.
If your Lightning or 30-pin cable is connected to a keyboard, display or USB hub, try plugging it directly into a USB port on the computer instead.
Close any virtualization apps (such as Parallels or VMWare).
These apps may interfere with your computer's ability to communicate over USB if they aren't properly configured, or up to date. If this resolves the issue, contact the developer of the app to see if an update is available.
Restart your computer.
Restart your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
If your iOS device displays the Connect to iTunes screen, reset your device and then restore it.
If you're using an accessory or third-party cable to connect your device, try using an Apple cable with the device instead.
Update to the latest version of iTunes if you haven't already.
Disconnect other USB devices from your computer, except for your keyboard and mouse. Then, reconnect your iOS device. If the issue is resolved, reconnect the other USB devices one at a time. Make sure your iOS device is still recognized by the computer after adding back each device.
If one of these steps resolves the issue, but it comes back later, make sure you haven't changed how the device is connected. For example, check to see if you plugged the device into a specific accessory, or used a specific cable that reintroduced the issue.
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Take care,
Sterling

USB Ports work Intermittantly on Pavilion Notebook

I have a HP Pavilion dv7-2270us Entertainment Notebook PC that is running Windows 7. The USB ports seem to work intermittantly. There are two regular USB ports on the left hand side and one on the right. I have an iPhone, Adidas miCoach, and wireless mouse that I usually have plugged in, and lately nothing is recognized.
Sometimes I get an error that the USB device is not recognized, sometimes I get nothing at all as though the ports aren't even there.
I have tried taking out the battery, replacing and rebooting. I have also tried uninstalling the USB Root Hub, and then the Root Hub plus controllers. When I did this it seemed like it worked - I plugged my mouse in and it worked! I plugged my iPhone in and now nothing works again.
I have Norton 360 Installed (in case that is an issue), and I also have some old Sony Ericksson software that I've recently uninstalled because someone told me that it wreaked havoc on their machine in terms of their device drivers.
The laptop is just out of warranty (Dec 2010) so this is a relatively new machine. But I love all my gadgets and need to be able to use them all!

Right Click on all devices which are recognized as unknown and Choose Uninstall one by one.
Please ensure you also do this for any and every item under Universal serial bus controllers as well. After this restart your computer and you should be good to go.
//Click on Kudos and Accept as Solution if my reply was helpful and answered your question//
I am an HP employee!!

USB ports function intermittently

Same problem as many others but I've not read a satisfactory 'mend'.
Both my onboard USB ports function when they fancy. I've got a USB pcmcia card that works fine but I also need that slot for a firewire pcmcia card from time to time meaning there's a conflict.
I've tried resetting the PMU as appropriate for my model - I know the button press happened as I had to reset the time and date. But still no joy - although running techtool delux tells me the usb onboards passed data transfer tests.
Has anyone managed to mend their onboard USB ports at all?

Hey, what do you know? Looked at my Apple Hardware test CD and the OS on it was 9.2 so...
I just rebooted into my old OS 9.2 which is possible on the old Titanium beauty. Funny how quickly a desktop once so familiar becomes. I digress.
So the onboard USB ports both functioned perfectly. Mouse lighting up and the keypad I use had the green light on. Both working perfectly.
Then, rebooted back into 10.3.9 without removing the devices and hey presto! Both working under 10.3.9 once more.
Is there any more literature about 10.3 and the onboard USB ports I wonder???
Success in the meantime.

USB Port Dies Intermittently

I have a MacBook Pro 15" (early 2011) and every so often, one of the USB ports will die. I recently had to bring it into the genius bar because the entire machine suddenly became a paperweight. After opening it up, they found that the battery connection wasn't set properly. They unplugged it and replugged in the battery and the laptop was back again, and, lo and behold, so was the USB port. Now the computer is working but the USB port is dead again. What is the best way to attempt to get this thing working again? I'd really like to avoid taking it back to the genius bar every time it does this. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks. (If it makes a difference, it's the USB port closer to the top of the machine that seems to die.)

You can reset the SMC setting and PRAM (instructions below) and also boot in Safe Mode that clears some of the caches.
_SMC RESET_
• Shut down the computer.
• Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
• On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
• Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
• Press the power button to turn on the computer.
_PRAM RESET_
• Shut down the computer.
• Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step
• Turn on the computer.
• Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
• Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
• Release the keys.
_Safe Mode_
• Be sure your Mac is shut down.
• Press the power button.
• Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold the Shift key. The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone, but not before the tone.
• Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple icon and the progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).
• To exit Safe Mode restart machine normally.

Slot Load USB Ports.

My brother has an iMac 600Mhz Snow CD-R, appearently his USB ports dont work anymore. at first he thought his computer was freezing because he would move around the mouse and nothing would happen. he plugged the keyboard and mouse into a PC he had laying around and they worked. anyone know if this is a common problem? where can he get one if this is really his problem? and is it soldered to the logic board?
thanks

My brother has an iMac 600Mhz Snow CD-R, appearently
his USB ports dont work anymore. at first he thought
his computer was freezing because he would move
around the mouse and nothing would happen. he plugged
the keyboard and mouse into a PC he had laying around
and they worked. anyone know if this is a common
problem?
I don't know how common this is but I've just come to the conclusion that one of the USB ports on my iMac 350 is failing - it appears to have an intermittent fault which produces the same symtoms you describe your brother experiencing and, oddly enough, when it DOES work it is only usable for my keyboard & mouse the Zoom USB modem I use won't work with that particular port.
I have a "summer 2000" model iMac, I suspect the USB port's intermittent failure is most likely a sign of old age (internal modem has already died).
iMac 350 Mac OS X (10.3.9)
iMac 350 Mac OS X (10.3.9)

HT202731 Unstable operation when 2 or more USB devices connected to usb port on a MacBook Pro running Yosemite

I have tried connecting a number of devices to my MacBook Pro but I have found if I try to connect 2 or more using either usb ports or a usb hub the computer reports 'disk not ejected properly' and sometimes it will fail to recognise the device and remove it from the desktop or it stalls operation and I have to turn the computer off at the power button.
I have tried erasing the hard drive and reinstalling the operating system.
I have done various types of reset suggested by apple support.
The computer has been to an Apple dealer who has tested the hardware but found nothing due to the intermittent nature of the problem.
I have operated the computer with only the software originally installed on it present.
Could it be possible that a virus could be present on the usb devices I am trying to connect?
My computer is a MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012)
Processor 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5
Memory 4 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Startup Disk Macintosh HD
Graphics Intel HD Graphics 4000 1024 MB
Operating System X Yosemite 10.10.1
Devices I have connected to USB ports all USB 3.0 compatible in a variety of combinations:-
7 port superspeed USB 3.0 hub (powered).
4 port Inateck USB 3.0 portable hub (not powered).
Buffalo ultra portable 500Gb USB 3.0 hard drive.
Seagate Expansion portable 500Gb USB 3.0 hard drive.
Seagate Expansion desktop 2Tb USB 3.0 hard drive (powered).
Seagate Expansion desktop 3Tb USB 3.0 hard drive (powered).
ScanDisk Cruiser Edge 16Gb USB stick.
ScanDisk Cruiser Edge 32Gb USB stick.
Hewlett Packard 16Gb USB stick. (This causes an instant crash now.)

Why?
- Because when I'm editing/ rendering lots of HD video everyday, I don't want to share system resources between virtual machines... I want the entire system's resources devoted to what I'm doing.
- I don't want to spend anymore money than I have to in order to buy one of the faster virtual systems. Not to mention, I've had a bad experience with Parralels in the past and I'd rather not use one again.
- I really don't want to clutter up my system anymore than I have to for a project that's only going to take a few weeks.
- I don't mind swapping hard drives... it takes two minutes, and I have an empty ssd just sitting on the shelf.
So, back to my original question. Can I just swap the computer's drives, then install Ubuntu on the second drive and be good to go without any harm to my MacBook Pro or OSX on the other drive (which wouldn't be connected when Ubuntu is running)?
Thanks.

Non operational USB ports and stuck on grey apple start up screen

Two problems
1. USB ports are non operational. I believe I fried them by accident. When hooking up an external USB hub, I may have connected an incorrect power supply. Now the USB ports on the front and back of my tower are non operational/do not work. As a work around, I bought a USB pci card and installed it. This has been working for my keyboard, mouse and external hard drives but my iPhone will not sync. My ilok is recognized in system profiler but I cannot download anything to it.
Anyone know how to fix this? Is it possible I fried my main USB port?
2. I was reading different threads and a possible solution to the USB port problem was to reset my PMU. I have no clue why or if this would fix it but I gave it a try. Disconnected power supply and everything else after shutting down the computer. Found the pmu button on logic (or is it the motherboard or is it the same thing?). Pressed it, waited 20 seconds, put computer back together, connected power supply mouse and keyboard and tried to power up. The computer would not power up and the front power light was on but would not power up/boot. In a dumb panic, I opened up the tower and pressed the pmu button again without disconnecting the power. This seemed to work bcause my computer powered up! A red light on the logic board turned on and I got to the grey apple screen. This is where it froze. Hard reset, powered up, same problem. Unplugged power supply and tried again. Same problem. Tried pmu reset (unpluged power this time) and a repeat of the first pmu attempt. I tried starting up with cmd opt o p (I forget the exact letters but it was a reset with starting chimes), then I tried reinstalling with boot DVDs. It would get through the first DVD then restart and get stuck. Finally, I got it to accept second Boot DVD and finish installing and tried starting in safe mode. Got to safe mode and went to disk utility and checked first aid. No reported repairs necessary. Copied all files needed from HD and shut down. The computer did not shut down properly (this has been an ongoing problem before all these current problems and it has had problems booting fulling with hard resets needed once and a while). From here I tried restarting, pulling power supply, staring again and it keeps gettin stuck on grey apple loafing screen. The spinning wheel spins and then gets stuck, fans increase in speed and nothing. I can get back to safe mode either.
I'm very wordy I guess but more info the better, right?
The tower is very very very dusty. I will compress air it to clean it and attempt to clean connectors with alcohol. I will let it sit over night disconnected an then try powering it up.
What could the possible problems be? What can i do? Any suggestions on proper cleaning. I know how to ground properly and not to use a vacuum. I might have pressed the pmu button more than once. I'd the battery dead? Could it be a power supply problem. ****, I'm out of ideas and I really tried solving without posting but I'm poor and need my computer! Help!

Welcome to the forums. Lots of good information and help to be had here.
OK, first, let us know more specifically which of five flavors of Power Mac G5 you have. Find the serial number on the build plate on the inner bottom panel just below the CPUs and use this site to get the exact configuration:
http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html
In the meantime, assuming that you haven't replaced the PRAM battery in quite a while or ever, that would be a good thing to do.
Getting dust out of the system is a must. The power supply is especially prone to dust buildup. You might want to deal with that by taking the machine outside, as it can get pretty thick coming out.

Iphone 4 makes an continuous intermittent vibration/buzzing sound when plugged into any of computer's 3 usb ports; does not show in itunes or Windows Vista device manager. No problem charging the phone with other power sources. What's going on?

This problem happened intermittently in the past but now happens every time I plug in the phone. I suspect it might be a problem with my computer, an Acer Aspire 4530, perhaps with it's charging function via usb ports? The phone makes the same buzzing sound twice when I connect to other power sources, but continues when connected to computer. I have this issue even when the phone is 100% charged.

This problem happened intermittently in the past but now happens every time I plug in the phone. I suspect it might be a problem with my computer, an Acer Aspire 4530, perhaps with it's charging function via usb ports? The phone makes the same buzzing sound twice when I connect to other power sources, but continues when connected to computer. I have this issue even when the phone is 100% charged.

USB ports only working intermittently

I have an MSI Z97 gaming 7 motherboard, the USB ports on the motherboard only work intermittently, MSI support have suggested I upgrade to the latest bios, which I believe is MS7916IMS.172 and they have sent me a link for this, however I want to use the forum flash tool this is what I used to flash from 1.1 to 1.5 and was very easy to do, could someone give me the correct link to this bios that uses the forum flash tool, I have seen this in posts made by Svet and other forum members for other bios
Thank you.
msi gaming 7
Intel i5 4690k
8 gb corsair ram
256 gb crucial ssd
AMD 7870
Windows 8.1

here it is: https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=184158.msg1323590#msg1323590
Use mode1:

How do you reset the firewire and USB? My ports are intermittent. I suppose

How do you reset the firewire and USB ports? My ports are intermittent. I suppose it could be a hardware isssue, but still wonder if I can reinstall/reset the software without reformatting my drive.

Hello! Resetting the ports is done by resetting the pmu. press the button once with all external cables unhooked. Below is a pict of an example of the pmu location. Also an intermittent problem is often a bad cable. Tom
[IMG]http://img470.imageshack.us/img470/1623/mddlogicbd4ga.jpg[/IMG]

My ipod will not charge will either a Memorex docking station or USB port on Windows based operating system. It did work at first but even after charging overnight I get a low battery warning and turn off.

I downloaded music from a Mac at my daughters house when I first got my Ipod several years ago and everything was fine. I continued to use a Memorex charging station (travel speaker). About 6 months ago it failed to charge on the docking station so I tried my USB port on my computer. It would not charge either but I also got a message saying I needed to reconfigure the Ipod to Windows (my operating system) but would loose all my data. Ouch! Any suggestions?

I would charge it for at least an hour (vice the two minutes you did) and then try resetting it. I am afraid that there may be internal damage that is causing the problem and repair is the ony option. Apple's prices are:
http://www.apple.com/support/ipod/service/prices/#us

Intermittent USB port problems

I have a problem with my works Mac Pro - the USB ports on the back intermittently die, then come back!
Some problems are: An external HD connected via USB will be disconnected (the Device Removal error dialogue is displayed) then a few seconds later will remount; I will try to exit my screensaver and find that the keyboard and tablet are not working (neither the Caps Lock key light not the tablet light are illuminated), however these never come back.
I normally have to switch USB ports in the back to get a 'good' one, but it will happen once or twice a week.
I am running 10.4.10 which was a combo install with no problems, I have all drivers up-to-date and regularly run Onyx the clean everything up. Disk Utility says everything's OK and can't find evidence of a system error.
The Mac is a 2x2Ghz Dual Core Intel Xeon with 2Gb RAM. I can post the USB info from System Profiler if anyone has any clues as to what is going on.
Thanks, Lee.

Hi Thomas
I use the external HD at work and at home on my mini, but this never happens at home. The drive is mains powered. I ran TechTool on it a few weeks ago and the drive is sound, so I think the drive is ok.
Just this morning after hooking up the drive it was unmounted (just like pulling the USB cable out without ejecting) then mounted a few seconds later - the keyboard and tablet were unaffected.
The drive and keyboard & tablet problem do not occur at the same time, but the ports they use have been a problem at one time or another.
This has been happening since 10.4.8, through 10.4.9 and now in 10.4.10, but I thought I read somwhere on the Apple boards about USB port issues and now searching I can't find anything about it.
I tried resetting the PMU or SMC yesterday (inserting power supply plug while holding in the power button) and never had this happen all day... until this morning!

Elitebook 8770w X64 Win7 USB ports intermittant

I have a USB dongle used for a program and when the laptop was initially put into service it would intermitantly recognize the device. All other computers it is used on works everytime and is fine, only this laptop. I checked all power settings, and ensured they are set to keep the USB ports on regardless of condition. I have deleted and reinstalled the USB root hubs in device manager and the issue persists. I must emphasize that the device works perfectly on other machines with Win7 X64. I strongly suspect HP Protect Tools, and while I have verified the settings within that tool, the issue continues. I would like to try and completely diable HP Protect Tools for testing purposes, but removing it via msconfig didn't stop it from loading.

Hello Madera,
You are using a business/ commercial computer, and have posted on the consumer forum. To get the best and most accurate response to your issue please post on the business/commercial forum, see the link below that will direct you to the proper location. You also may have to create a new profile.
HP Elitebook Forum
Thanks
Clicking the White Kudos star on the left is a way to say Thanks!
Clicking the 'Accept as Solution' button is a way to let others know which steps helped solve the problem!

Intermittant USB port

When I purchased a docking station, I noticed that if moved it, the USB would ding down/up. I thought it was the station, but it turns out that it is the USB port on the Carbon. I tried a different docking station and USB cable. The only solution is to use the the USB port on the right side of the laptop. This laptop is about 9 months old.
Another problem is that the serial number is not readable. I has been worn off as the rubber feet fell of months ago.
There's no service station within a 2 hour drive.
Suggestions?
Thanks,
-Robert

winmaco wrote:
Yes i have it is working on my PC
One thing in setting up the usb I had to use a different password
my router has a password and the only way I could move forward was to use the default admin admin user name and password
I could not use my router user name and password.
The username and password for the share on your attached drive can be anything you want them to be. I assume you set up a share on the attached drive? That's where you need to add a password for the share, although for ease of use I never did assign a password to the shares.
You do know that the firmware for the Storage Link is buggy, right? File size limitations as well as file corruption issues? Connectivity issues also rise up, with the only workaround that I have found is a script that you have to run every time you boot up your computer. As far as I can see the Storage Link function is a poorly implemented idea. No firmware in sight to fix the issues, and no idea of when.

USB Port operating intermittently

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