Sequoia and USB Issues

[Rick Cornish]

Hi folks........
Since upgrading to Sequoia, I've had persistent problems with my USB audio interface (in my case, an Apogee Quartet) not being recognized. After a note to Apogee, they responded by saying that there have been several instances of this going around on different USB interfaces:

We've had many reports of Sequoia users needing to unplug and reconnect USB devices for them to be detected after a restart:

https://www.reddit.com/r/mac/comments/1 ... usb_issues

Just wondering if anyone else here is noticing this problem?

[mikehalloran]

Hi folks........
Since upgrading to Sequoia, I've had persistent problems with my USB audio interface (in my case, an Apogee Quartet) not being recognized. After a note to Apogee, they responded by saying that there have been several instances of this going around on different USB interfaces:

We've had many reports of Sequoia users needing to unplug and reconnect USB devices for them to be detected after a restart:

https://www.reddit.com/r/mac/comments/1 ... usb_issues

Just wondering if anyone else here is noticing this problem?

The failure of USB to wake from sleep is not a Sequoia problem nor is it new. Apple has been announcing the fix in various macOS updates over 25 years.

I've been dealing with it since macOS 10.5 on my G5 in 2007. Keyboards, hubs, interfaces, iLoks and external storage if they are connected through a hub. Some USB hubs are more resistant to this wake from sleep issue than others, I had a D-Link that shut down on me daily. This Anker goes down once a month or so but none are immune.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VDVCQ84?re ... in_title_9

I don't have this problem if devices are connected directly to the Mac. The built-in USB-C hub on my Studio Display has not given me grief on this yet, either.

Nowadays, everything connects directly to my Studio, Studio Display hub or the USB-C ports in my OWC TB4/5 hubs. Not trusting the USB-A port in those hubs but I may in the future. The only thing my Anker is used for is a 3-way card reader—if the card isn't recognized, I unplug the reader and the Anker (from the USB-A port in my TB5 hub), replug and am good to go.

Except for that one data use, I took my Anker out of service only 6 weeks ago when I got the "This iLok cannot be found" error yet again. It has three 15W charging ports that I use for charging my keyboard and trackpad where data is not an issue.

These USB-A to USB-C adapters are my friends. As you can see, I've ordered them 4x as recently as 3 weeks ago.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CVX3516?re ... tle_4&th=1

USB-A to USB-A adaprets.jpg (591.95 KiB) Viewed 14327 times

[Rick Cornish]

Thanks for the reply, Mike.

To clarify, my audio interface is NOT plugged into a USB hub… it's plugged directly into one of the USB-A jacks on the back of my Mac Studio. Nor is this a "wake from sleep" issue (once my interface is working, it reappears from sleep just fine).

Upon startup, my Quartet is not detected by my Mac. It doesn't appear in either the Sound control panel or Audio-MIDI Setup until I unplug the USB cable from the back of the Quartet and plug it back in. Sometimes (but not always), it will also be detected after a Restart.

According to Apogee Support, this behavior is common under Sequoia with many brands of USB audio interfaces.

[mikehalloran]

Thanks for the reply, Mike.

To clarify, my audio interface is NOT plugged into a USB hub… it's plugged directly into one of the USB-A jacks on the back of my Mac Studio. Nor is this a "wake from sleep" issue (once my interface is working, it reappears from sleep just fine).

Upon startup, my Quartet is not detected by my Mac. It doesn't appear in either the Sound control panel or Audio-MIDI Setup until I unplug the USB cable from the back of the Quartet and plug it back in. Sometimes (but not always), it will also be detected after a Restart.

According to Apogee Support, this behavior is common under Sequoia with many brands of USB audio interfaces.

That is the "USB failure to wake from sleep" issue. If you've not encountered it before, you have now. My Anker hub plugged into the USB-A ports of my Studio has done it about once a month since October 2023 till I took it out about 6 weeks ago.

I have my Yamaha keyboard and my M•Audio Air 192|14 plugged into the USB-A ports of my M2 Studio over Sequoia 15.4 and haven't seen this—but I'll be looking for it now. Sequoia 15.4 was released last week and fixed a number of things. I have also discovered a couple of new bugs in 15.4 that are unrelated to this involving Font Book.app.

Here's what I recommend: Plug it into one of the USB-C ports using one of those adapters or a USB 2 Printer cable. If this fixes the problem (and I don't know that it will) and you need more ports, this is the hub I recommend since I've tested it back to USB 1.1 with USB 2 cables.
https://www.amazon.com/Thunderbolt-Hub- ... r_1_4?th=1

If it doesn't change anything, escalate it to Apple. Engineering claims it is not a known problem but I have heard that nonsense too many times before.

I swear that I don't go looking for these things but, when something doesn't work, I dig until I find it.

[stubbsonic]

One of the Fractal forum moderators posted this last week:

"We are currently investigating an issue affecting the FM3 when used as a USB audio interface on macOS Sequoia 15.4.

After updating to macOS Sequoia 15.4, some users have reported that system audio and third-party applications (such as Logic Pro, YouTube, Spotify, etc.) fail to pass audio when the FM3 is selected as the output device. In some cases, applications may freeze or crash. FM3-Edit and Fractal-Bot continue to function normally, indicating USB connectivity is intact, but USB audio streaming appears to be affected.

The FM3 is a class-compliant USB audio device and does not use a custom driver. This issue did not occur in macOS Sequoia 15.3 and earlier.

We’ve escalated this to Apple and their engineering teams are actively investigating. In the meantime, we recommend avoiding the macOS Sequoia 15.4 update if you rely on the FM3 for USB audio on your Mac.

We will post updates as soon as more information becomes available. We appreciate your patience and understanding while we work with Apple to resolve this."

[Rick Cornish]

this is the hub I recommend since I've tested it back to USB 1.1 with USB 2 cables.
https://www.amazon.com/Thunderbolt-Hub- ... r_1_4?th=1

Thanks for the suggestions, Mike. I have this dock:
https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TB3DK14PSG/

I gave it a try, but no love after re-start. The USB-A to USB-C adapters I have are older, so I doubt they'll make a difference. I think we need a fix from Apple.

[mikehalloran]

One of the Fractal forum moderators posted this last week:

"We are currently investigating an issue affecting the FM3 when used as a USB audio interface on macOS Sequoia 15.4.
…
We will post updates as soon as more information becomes available. We appreciate your patience and understanding while we work with Apple to resolve this."

this is the hub I recommend since I've tested it back to USB 1.1 with USB 2 cables.
https://www.amazon.com/Thunderbolt-Hub- ... r_1_4?th=1

Thanks for the suggestions, Mike. I have this dock:
https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TB3DK14PSG/

I gave it a try, but no love after re-start. The USB-A to USB-C adapters I have are older, so I doubt they'll make a difference. I think we need a fix from Apple.

Did you try both the TB3 and the USB 3.2 over USB-C ports?

(1) Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) Port
(1) USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C Port up to 10Gb/s (1250MB/s) - USB 2.0/3.0 backwards compatible

It wouldn't be the first time that Apple has screwed this up. Going into the Wayback machine, one OS crippled USB 2 for over a month but USB 1.1 allowed keyboards and mice ro work—El Capitån, I think. Then there was Mojave 14.0 through 14.3 that crippled CoreAudio over USB for everybody—well, except those of us who had MOTU interfaces since the MOTU Audio Drivers were unaffected (the M2/4/6 didn't exist for another couple years).

I just double-checked my AIR 192|14 and it's good as is my 828mkII but that requires a driver. I have other CoreAudio interfaces from Mackie, MOTU, M•Audio and Zoom—I'll try the Zoom at least since it's sitting on my desk. My Neumann has a driver but I don't know if that's required for basic connectivity or extended features.

I'm supposed to be calling Apple tomorrow about that Font Book bug they don't think exists. I'll add this one to the list and see if they acknowledge it.

[Rick Cornish]

I'm supposed to be calling Apple tomorrow about that Font Book bug they don't think exists. I'll add this one to the list and see if they acknowledge it.

I’ll be interested to hear what they say.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[mikehalloran]

I'm supposed to be calling Apple tomorrow about that Font Book bug they don't think exists. I'll add this one to the list and see if they acknowledge it.

I’ll be interested to hear what they say.

Treated me as if I'm the only user in the world who has ever encountered this. I created a case and let them know that many users are having this problem. Since I wasn't willing to submit to Senior Advisors playing guessing games and wasting hours of time, no engineering callback has been scheduled.

My Font Book.app case has been reopened as well. This tech at least did screen recordings so that he could see what the issue is,

[mikehalloran]

…
According to Apogee Support, this behavior is common under Sequoia with many brands of USB audio interfaces.

One of the Fractal forum moderators posted this last week:

"We are currently investigating an issue affecting the FM3 when used as a USB audio interface on macOS Sequoia 15.4.
…

The Sequoia 15.4.1 update dropped today.

My CoreAudio interfaces have not exhibited this behavior so I have no idea if this was afddressed.

The Font Book.app bug I found is still there, however. I'll complain to Apple tomorrow or Friday.

[Rick Cornish]

The Sequoia 15.4.1 update dropped today.

My CoreAudio interfaces have not exhibited this behavior so I have no idea if this was afddressed.

The Font Book.app bug I found is still there, however. I'll complain to Apple tomorrow or Friday.

That’s somewhat encouraging. I’ll update next time I’m in my studio and see what happens.

[stubbsonic]

This was posted on the "USB Audio and macOS Sequoia 15.4" thread by an admin at Fractal yesterday. Could be related or coincidental.

"I tested a fix for this issue today, and it worked! We've coordinated with Apple so the problem can be resolved either through a future update from them, or—sooner—via an upcoming FM3 firmware update from Fractal Audio. We'll post another update once the details are finalized."

[James Steele]

The Sequoia 15.4.1 update dropped today.

I should have been patient. I got a wild notion last night and installed Sequoia 15.5 Public Beta last night. Honestly, seems to be working fine after some initial hiccups seeing my EUCON surfaces. That resolved itself with a reboot. Since then, it seems okay.

[Rick Cornish]

After updating to Sequoia 15.4.1 I can report no change from the behavior previously under Sequoia… that is, my Mac Studio does not detect my USB audio interface on startup.

The struggle continues...

[CharlzS]

Don't know if related, but had difficulty with drive not being recognized. Found a suggestion somewhere (maybe here) to change setting System Settings --> Privacy and Security --> Accessories --> Allow Accessories to Connect to "Ask for New Accessories". Disconnected the device, changed the setting, restarted, plugged in drive and responded to prompt. I have not had issue since.