I am using a Macbook Pro running Sierra 10.12.6. All of sudden when I went to the studio to record an artist, I found that one of the USB ports (one next to the SD card slot) won't recognize any of the devices that I plug-in. While recording I need to use both the USB ports as I need one for the iLok and another one for my audio interface (Roland Quad Capture).
As my studio is in a basement, it get's really humid there. Initially I thought that the port has died because of the humid conditions as I have faced a similar issue with my MSI dragon series gaming laptop (which again I use for recording and music production) where some of the keys on the builtin keyboard won't respond after I accidentally left my laptop in the studio for a couple days.
I still wanted to be sure so I researched online and a lot of people had exactly the same issue and resetting NVRAM or SMC fixed it for them. I was really excited to try these solutions. When I did, unfortunately, none of them worked for me. Though, I noticed something weird.
Weirdness
The iLok dongle has a tiny blue led light that is turned on when you insert it into a USB port. When I try to use the iLok in the other USB port it works absolutely fine, but when I insert it into the USB port in question, the light never turns on.
After resetting the SMC, when I plug the iLok dongle into the faulty port, The light comes on but it keeps blinking. It is not a continuous light like when you insert it into a working port.
when I take out the dongle and insert it back again, the light is gone.
Yet another weird thing is that when I use the port in question to charge my iPhone, the charging part works but the phone does not show up in iTunes.
NOTE: Also, I would like to bring to your notice that for some reason I feel that resetting the NVRAM has caused this issue. I tried resetting the NVRAM before this issue as my screen saver/login screen had recently started hanging real bad. I read at the Apple forums that resetting the NVRAM was the solution so I did it. It did not solve the screen saver issue. After this, I drove to my studio where I had to record with an artist, and this is when I came to know about the faulty port. I recorded with the same artist last week and both the ports were working fine. Since the last recording, I haven't really used the USB port, so I am not sure whether this happened within this week (I have not installed anything within this week though) or after resetting the NVRAM.
Devices I tested
I tried testing the port with multiple devices. Please note: all of these devices work absolutely fine with the other port.
- USB Flash Drive
- Audio Interface (External Sound Card)
- Wireless Keyboard & Mouse
- iLok Dongle
- iPhone charging cable
What I have already done
I have already tried the following solutions, multiple times.
- Shutting down the machine (+ unplug everything) and let it rest for about 30 minutes
- Resetting NVRAM (using CommandOptionPR)
- Resetting SMC (using ControlShiftOption + Power Button)
Information about the Mac
Following is some information about the machine that may help you experts guide me in the right direction.
About this mac
Output of /usr/sbin/system_profiler SPUSBDataType
USB:
USB 2.0 Bus:
Host Controller Driver: AppleUSBEHCIPCI
PCI Device ID: 0x1e2d
PCI Revision ID: 0x0004
PCI Vendor ID: 0x8086
Hub:
Product ID: 0x0024
Vendor ID: 0x8087 (Intel Corporation)
Version: 0.00
Speed: Up to 480 Mb/sec
Location ID: 0x1a100000 / 1
Current Available (mA): 500
Current Required (mA): 0
Extra Operating Current (mA): 0
Built-In: Yes
FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in):
Product ID: 0x8509
Vendor ID: 0x05ac (Apple Inc.)
Version: 5.16
Serial Number: DJHF1906YTDH7FL0
Speed: Up to 480 Mb/sec
Manufacturer: Apple Inc.
Location ID: 0x1a110000 / 2
Current Available (mA): 500
Current Required (mA): 500
Extra Operating Current (mA): 0
Built-In: Yes
USB 2.0 Bus:
Host Controller Driver: AppleUSBEHCIPCI
PCI Device ID: 0x1e26
PCI Revision ID: 0x0004
PCI Vendor ID: 0x8086
Hub:
Product ID: 0x0024
Vendor ID: 0x8087 (Intel Corporation)
Version: 0.00
Speed: Up to 480 Mb/sec
Location ID: 0x1d100000 / 1
Current Available (mA): 500
Current Required (mA): 0
Extra Operating Current (mA): 0
Built-In: Yes
Hub:
Product ID: 0x2513
Vendor ID: 0x0424 (SMSC)
Version: b.b3
Speed: Up to 480 Mb/sec
Location ID: 0x1d180000 / 2
Current Available (mA): 500
Current Required (mA): 2
Extra Operating Current (mA): 0
Built-In: Yes
Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad:
Product ID: 0x0252
Vendor ID: 0x05ac (Apple Inc.)
Version: 2.19
Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec
Manufacturer: Apple Inc.
Location ID: 0x1d183000 / 4
Current Available (mA): 500
Current Required (mA): 40
Extra Operating Current (mA): 0
Built-In: Yes
IR Receiver:
Product ID: 0x8242
Vendor ID: 0x05ac (Apple Inc.)
Version: 0.16
Speed: Up to 1.5 Mb/sec
Manufacturer: Apple Computer, Inc.
Location ID: 0x1d182000 / 3
Current Available (mA): 500
Current Required (mA): 100
Extra Operating Current (mA): 0
Built-In: Yes
BRCM20702 Hub:
Product ID: 0x4500
Vendor ID: 0x0a5c (Broadcom Corp.)
Version: 1.00
Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec
Manufacturer: Apple Inc.
Location ID: 0x1d181000 / 5
Current Available (mA): 500
Current Required (mA): 94
Extra Operating Current (mA): 0
Built-In: Yes
Bluetooth USB Host Controller:
Product ID: 0x821d
Vendor ID: 0x05ac (Apple Inc.)
Version: 1.54
Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec
Manufacturer: Apple Inc.
Location ID: 0x1d181300 / 7
Current Available (mA): 500
Current Required (mA): 0
Extra Operating Current (mA): 0
Built-In: Yes
USB 3.0 Bus:
Host Controller Driver: AppleUSBXHCIPPT
PCI Device ID: 0x1e31
PCI Revision ID: 0x0004
PCI Vendor ID: 0x8086
I am really hoping that this can be fixed on my own. Any help regarding this will be really helpful. In case, you need more information about the machine, please let me know and I will update my question with the required information.
