USB Device Constantly Disconnecting!?

After I leave my MacBook pro open overnight, I always receive "USB Device Constantly Disconnecting" notification from BBT in the morning.

Any idea how to solve this?

Mac model: Macbook Pro 2018 touchbar
BBT version 3.02 (1159)

Thanks,

Stephen

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maybe you are turning off the external monitor that powers some of the connected devices or something like this? (this can happen if usb devices do not get enough power)

Thanks for the reply. Yes, that could be the reason. I connect my Mac with Dell U2415. My monitor also connects with my iPhone and webcam. Both Dell monitor and Macbook has energy saving features.

Any suggestion to solve this problem? Thanks.

Mhm it might be the iPhone or webcam then. You probably shouldn't leave them plugged in or use some powered usb hub otherwise they seem to constantly disconnect & reconnect which can cause all kind of issues on macOS.

If you want to ignore this, you can use this terminal command to disable the warning message:

defaults write com.hegenberg.BetterTouchTool BTTDontShowConnectWarning YES
(requires the latest BTT alpha)

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Yeah, same problem for me, very annoying! Older version of BTT never had this problem.

It's not a problem of BTT, it's just a notice that something is wrong with your USB devices. (which can cause all kind of issues with BTT) If you don't want to be notified about that, run this command while BTT is quit.

defaults write com.hegenberg.BetterTouchTool BTTDontShowConnectWarning YES

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@Andreas, is there a way to find out which USB device is disconnecting?

Thanks!

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Thank you for providing a way to turn off these messages. I suggest adding this to the preference UI.

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I have exactly the same problem. It just started three months ago. Whenever I plug my iPhone or iPod into a USB port to charge it it constantly disconnects and reconnects every second or two. When I quit BTT and it works normally. Note that I haven't upgraded BTT since version 2.570 so the problem began well after that.

I have:

  • 2015 iMac
  • Tripp-Lite USB hub model U360-007.
  • BTT version 2.570

This problem occurs with both the USB ports on the back and the hub (including the power-only charging port). I've checked the power supply to the hub (needed for faster charging) and it's OK.

I need to upgrade to the latest BTT but money is tight as I just purchased a tricked-out 2019 iMac. Soon.

This means your iphone is constantly disconnecting which will have a performance and power impact on your machine because macOS constantly needs to handle these disconnects. So possibly try with another hub. BTT only shows this message if it has received many disconnect / reconnects in a short timeframe.

You can disable the message BTT shows (either by disabling BTT notifcations in system preferences or using this terminal command:
defaults write com.hegenberg.BetterTouchTool BTTDontShowConnectWarning YES

However it will not prevent this bad behavior and may cause issues.

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Hey @Andreas_Hegenberg, will it be possible to find a log of which device is doing this, or show a device name or ID in the notification? I've been seeing this notification when waking up laptop up from sleep without anything connected to it, in addition to times when I have real devices connected, both directly and through a USB hub. Would be useful in problem-solving or at least isolating the underlying issue.

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Can confirm this is also happening with Macbook Pro 2020 Intel, connected to a 5k LG Ultrafine monitor (this combination should be supported from Apple, I guess, since they still market this monitor).

I have a usb-c to lightning cable connected to the monitor to charge my iPhone. Charging works normally, no interruptions (I would see the screen of the phone turning on upon reconnect).

Yet I still get these notifications.

I’d recommend to not use that cable then. BTT only shows that message if there are tons of usb connect/disconnect events which will slow down general performance of your computer. (BTT currently doesn’t check what devices)

However you can disable the message using this terminal command:

defaults write com.hegenberg.BetterTouchTool BTTDontShowConnectWarning YES

Thank you, it's not a bit deal, just curious. A full disconnect would make the phone turn on the screen upon reconnect and also sound that it started charging, yet this doesn't happen.

possibly just the data connection gets disconnected :man_shrugging:

Bumping this thread as I'm having the same issue on my MacBook Pro M1 with no external devices connected, not even power. I don't mind running the command to hide the alerts but figured I would mention it as the issue doesn't appear to be strictly linked to peripherals

Without further info this sounds like a possible hardware issue to me. Do you encounter any issues with your M1 MBP?

If BTT shows that message it has received quite a few USB connect and disconnect events in a short time span from macOS. Usually M1 MBPs don't do that. It could be some internal USB device that has a bad connection, but that's hard to tell. Keep this in mind if you encounter any weird issue with your M1 though.

It is still happening on my MBP i5 2020, connected to LG Ultrafine or directly. Not a huge deal, but I did notice that while the phone is connected (usually during the night for charging), trackpad gestures sometimes do not register.

Have been using M1 mini (also with the same LG Ultrafine) for a month now, no such issues.

Also tried different c to lightning cables.

No other issues on my M1, and other than power I never plug anything else into it. The notification seems to come up when the Mac is on but with the clamshell closed and the power plugged in. The recent notifications were 12.25am, 1.08am, 4.17am.

Interestingly, I don't get any MacOS notifications about anything being unexpectedly disconnected, like you do when you pull a hard drive out without properly ejecting.

I'm assuming BTT wouldn't pick up on the power being disconnected? That's the only thing I could imagine might be happening in the night somehow.

I get this on my M1 laptop with a USB-C hub, when connecting/disconnecting from the hub. Certainly it's a lot of USB devices disconnecting, since that's the reason for using a hub (6+ devices). If I hadn't found this thread I would have had to block notifications. Commenting in case it helps explain a common scenario!