Ultralite Mk3 broken after plugging into USB C Port?

[Rich O'Connor]

Heya,

I have a new iMac with Mojave 10.14.4. The first thing I did with it today is install the latest drivers for the MOTU, then I plugged the MOTU into the laptop via 2 adapters into the USB C port

The connection is like this;

MOTU - Firewire 800/thunderbolt 2 adapter - thunderbolt 2/thunderbolt 3(USB C) adapter

I turned it on then within a second the screen went black and it will not turn on again. Have tried simply plugging into the wall without any other data connections and it just won't turn on at all.

I must have been foolish to assume it would work! Not sure what to do now other than take it in somewhere to be looked at, but thought it is worth a post here. Any thoughts?

[mikehalloran]

Can you reset to factory specs?

https://motu.com/techsupport/technotes/reset

[Rich O'Connor]

Thanks for the reply!

I haven't been able to turn it on again to do that, but have just plugged back into the 2013 laptop via the single adapter to thunderbolt 2, and it turned on!

So now I'm going to reset to the factory settings with it plugged into the laptop, then will try turning on with the iMac again

[Rich O'Connor]

Yeah The same thing happened again unfortunately.

The Ultralite will not turn on when it isn't connected to the laptop that it has been connected to for the past few years. So strange.

[HCMarkus]

Are you providing power other than via USB? Try an appropriate wall wart. Maybe it is not receiving power adequate to operate.

https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-Replacem ... B077J9WND6

[bayswater]

On my laptop, there are two USB ports, but only one supplies power to devices like an audio interface.

[Rich O'Connor]

I'm hoping its just a firmware update away from being ok.

Using the thunderbolt 3 connection not USB (but it's also called USB C), although I have tried via USB and with the MOTU power supply and that doesn't work.

It also doesn't work via USB on the old laptop however, and it works via firewire on that just fine, taking power from the laptop as well.

[bayswater]

I'm hoping its just a firmware update away from being ok.

Using the thunderbolt 3 connection not USB (but it's also called USB C), although I have tried via USB and with the MOTU power supply and that doesn't work.

It also doesn't work via USB on the old laptop however, and it works via firewire on that just fine, taking power from the laptop as well.

FWIW, my 2018 Mini has 4 TB3 ports with USB-C connectors. I have a USB-2 interface connected to one of them via a simple adaptor.

[mikehalloran]

I don’t understand. Isn’t an Ultralite mk3 a hybrid interface? Why did you use the FW port into an Intel Mac when USB is available?

TB3 passes quite a bit of power, 65W, but the Apple TB–FW adapter isn’t supposed to be able to pass it. Bus powered TB3 devices can’t be used with TB2 because, supposedly, that adapter doesn’t pass enough juice either. If something is fried, that supposition must be wrong somewhere.

You can get USB-C to USB2 and USB3 adapters. $8 or so for a pair. Yo have to be careful if you need USB3 because a USB2 adapter slows everything down. I have both and have verified this. They do not pass bus power.

USB-C is just a port. On the iMac, only those with TB3 have it which is all from 2017 and later. USB-C equipped notebooks can support TB1, TB2, TB3 or, in the case of the MacBook, no Thunderbolt at all.