My Mac Studio only recognizes my Thunderbolt SSD enclosure as USB 3.1 and not as a Thunderbolt device. Update....

[bigplume]

Hello guys, About a month ago, I purchased the Acasis tbu401e SSD enclosure and a 1TB Samsung 980 Pro. Many YouTubers and users recommended the Acasis tbu401e as it works well with the M1 Mac. Initially, the read and write speed in Blackmagic was around 2600MB/s, which I found satisfactory. However, Yesterday I noticed a decrease in speed when I copied files to the external SSD. Upon checking with Blackmagic, the write and read speeds were only around 900MB/s. With only 80GB of used space, I don't believe that the decrease in speed is due to the SSD becoming full.

I checked the System Information and found that the external SSD is recognized as a USB 3.1 device with a speed of up to 10 Gb/s, instead of a Thunderbolt device. I tried rebooting the Mac, unplugging and replugging the SSD cable, and open the enclosure reinstalling the SSD, but the issue persists.

I can't recall any significant changes made to the system apart from upgrading to the Ventura 13.2.1 operating system last weekend, which may or may not be the cause of the problem. As I rarely unplug the SSD from my MacStudio and it has been working 24/7, I'm uncertain if the issue is related to hardware. I'm hoping someone can help me troubleshoot this issue. If you have the same enclosure, can you confirm whether it appears under the Thunderbolt section in System Information? Thank you in advance for your help.

Update 20230217

I received a new identical enclosure and tested it today. Surprisingly, it also works with USB 3.1. This makes me suspect that the issue is with my Mac itself. However, I cannot find another Mac to test it with, so I need to figure it out on this one.

My Mac has two external monitors that are both connected to the rear thunderbolt port. I don't use the HDMI port because I can't control the monitor's brightness via I2C commands from HDMI, but I can with the thunderbolt port.

I unplugged one of the monitors and connected the SSD enclosure again. To my surprise, it was recognized as a thunderbolt device. I plugged in the monitor again and everything worked fine. The SSD was working at the correct speed. However, if I restart the computer, it doesn't work again, so I have to repeat the steps. My current solution is to switch one monitor to use HDMI and the other to use thunderbolt. This works fine after a reboot.

It's strange that the Mac doesn't work with all three thunderbolt ports simultaneously. I think it's a software bug because I've tested it and all the ports actually work fine with the SSD if there are only two connections. But a month ago, the Mac works for sure with 3 thunderbolt ports simultaneously..

 

[mcnallym]

Dual Chip：Intel® JHL7440 Thunderbolt™3 with REALTEK® RTL9210B

looks like is connecting with the Realtek which is the USB chipset. Wonder if the Thunderbolt part failed.

 

[bigplume]

Dual Chip：Intel® JHL7440 Thunderbolt™3 with REALTEK® RTL9210B

looks like is connecting with the Realtek which is the USB chipset. Wonder if the Thunderbolt part failed.

Thanks for reply, If the Thunderbolt chip fails, can the device automatically switch to the USB port instead of ceasing to function altogether?

 

[Pressure]

Have you tried another Thunderbolt cable?

 

[bigplume]

Have you tried another Thunderbolt cable?

Yes, I tried another very expensive cable, it's the same...

 

[BrianBaughn]

Thanks for reply, If the Thunderbolt chip fails, can the device automatically switch to the USB port instead of ceasing to function altogether?

That's a question for Acasis, for sure. If the macOS update had anything to do with it they're going to be getting a lot of emails.

Testing it on other TB Macs…one with macOS 13.2 and another with 13.2.1…seems to be the next step unless Acasis can already tell you something about the issue.

EDIT: Instead of waiting for possible responses from someone with the same enclosure you might search the forums for "TBU401" and reach out to anyone that has indicated they're using one.

 

[bigplume]

That's a question for Acasis, for sure. If the macOS update had anything to do with it they're going to be getting a lot of emails.

Testing it on other TB Macs…one with macOS 13.2 and another with 13.2.1…seems to be the next step unless Acasis can already tell you something about the issue.

EDIT: Instead of waiting for possible responses from someone with the same enclosure you might search the forums for "TBU401" and reach out to anyone that has indicated they're using one.

I am ordering another enclosure to try, cannot find another mac around me..

 

[lcubed]

which thunderbolt is the ssd attached to?
the front ports on the mac studios withOUT the M1 Ultra are USB only
(rear are TB/USB).

 

[bigplume]

which thunderbolt is the ssd attached to?
the front ports on the mac studios withOUT the M1 Ultra are USB only
(rear are TB/USB).

rear port... it worked fine

 

[lcubed]

is your samsung 980 pro SSD one that's being affected by reliability issues?

Samsung Issues Fix for Dying 980 Pro SSDs

Download the firmware fix ASAP if your 980 Pro is affected

www.tomshardware.com

980 Pro 1TB Drive Read and Write Speeds Slow compared to my other 980 pro drives?

One of my 980 pro drives has slowed significantly in both read and write speeds ~ 5500 read / ~ 4200 writes speeds (533k / 849k IOPS), while my other 980 pro drives have near the advertised read/write speeds of 7000/5000 (1M / 1M IOPS) respectively...? I have removed the drive and reinstalled...

us.community.samsung.com

 

[bigplume]

is your samsung 980 pro SSD one that's being affected by reliability issues?

Samsung Issues Fix for Dying 980 Pro SSDs

Download the firmware fix ASAP if your 980 Pro is affected

www.tomshardware.com

Thank you very much for the information, I don't know this issue for 980, I will check if there are any new firmware for mine

 

[bigplume]

is your samsung 980 pro SSD one that's being affected by reliability issues?

Samsung Issues Fix for Dying 980 Pro SSDs

Download the firmware fix ASAP if your 980 Pro is affected

www.tomshardware.com

980 Pro 1TB Drive Read and Write Speeds Slow compared to my other 980 pro drives?

One of my 980 pro drives has slowed significantly in both read and write speeds ~ 5500 read / ~ 4200 writes speeds (533k / 849k IOPS), while my other 980 pro drives have near the advertised read/write speeds of 7000/5000 (1M / 1M IOPS) respectively...? I have removed the drive and reinstalled...

us.community.samsung.com

I checked, my firmware is already the newest one. But I figured out the problem see the update

 

[lcubed]

Hello guys, About a month ago, I purchased the Acasis tbu401e SSD enclosure and a 1TB Samsung 980 Pro. Many YouTubers and users recommended the Acasis tbu401e as it works well with the M1 Mac. Initially, the read and write speed in Blackmagic was around 2600MB/s, which I found satisfactory. However, Yesterday I noticed a decrease in speed when I copied files to the external SSD. Upon checking with Blackmagic, the write and read speeds were only around 900MB/s. With only 80GB of used space, I don't believe that the decrease in speed is due to the SSD becoming full.

I checked the System Information and found that the external SSD is recognized as a USB 3.1 device with a speed of up to 10 Gb/s, instead of a Thunderbolt device. I tried rebooting the Mac, unplugging and replugging the SSD cable, and open the enclosure reinstalling the SSD, but the issue persists.

I can't recall any significant changes made to the system apart from upgrading to the Ventura 13.2.1 operating system last weekend, which may or may not be the cause of the problem. As I rarely unplug the SSD from my MacStudio and it has been working 24/7, I'm uncertain if the issue is related to hardware. I'm hoping someone can help me troubleshoot this issue. If you have the same enclosure, can you confirm whether it appears under the Thunderbolt section in System Information? Thank you in advance for your help.

View attachment 2159479


Update 20230217

I received a new identical enclosure and tested it today. Surprisingly, it also works with USB 3.1. This makes me suspect that the issue is with my Mac itself. However, I cannot find another Mac to test it with, so I need to figure it out on this one.

My Mac has two external monitors that are both connected to the rear thunderbolt port. I don't use the HDMI port because I can't control the monitor's brightness via I2C commands from HDMI, but I can with the thunderbolt port.

I unplugged one of the monitors and connected the SSD enclosure again. To my surprise, it was recognized as a thunderbolt device. I plugged in the monitor again and everything worked fine. The SSD was working at the correct speed. However, if I restart the computer, it doesn't work again, so I have to repeat the steps. My current solution is to switch one monitor to use HDMI and the other to use thunderbolt. This works fine after a reboot.

It's strange that the Mac doesn't work with all three thunderbolt ports simultaneously. I think it's a software bug because I've tested it and all the ports actually work fine with the SSD if there are only two connections. But a month ago, the Mac works for sure with 3 thunderbolt ports simultaneously..

There are known things issues if the total power load on the aggregate TB ports is too high. The issue goes away on externally powered enclosures

 

[bigplume]

There are known things issues if the total power load on the aggregate TB ports is too high. The issue goes away on externally powered enclosures

While this could be a reason, however it fails to explain two important points:

1. This configuration has been working fine for a month.
2. When I plug in the SSD first and then the monitor, everything works fine until I reboot. If it is a power issue, it wouldn't work at all I think~

 

[bobcomer]

While this could be a reason, however it fails to explain two important points:

1. This configuration has been working fine for a month.
2. When I plug in the SSD first and then the monitor, everything works fine until I reboot. If it is a power issue, it wouldn't work at all I think~

Just the power on sequence is exceeding the power threshold, so plugging them in separately takes less power. It's probably checking the threshold more strenuously now with the TB/USB ports. I know there was a lot of changes in the device drivers for that...

edit: or it could just be a bug.

 

[bigplume]

Just the power on sequence is exceeding the power threshold, so plugging them in separately takes less power. It's probably checking the threshold more strenuously now with the TB/USB ports. I know there was a lot of changes in the device drivers for that...

edit: or it could just be a bug.

If I have opportunity, I would like to try a powered enclosure

 

[pappl]

Can you daisy chain the SSD to a second Thunderbolt-port on your display?

Mac <-> Display <-> SSD

instead of

SSD <-> Mac <-> Display

Here is a possible solution:

https://www.caldigit.com/my-thunder...-as-a-usb-device-in-the-macos-system-profile/

Please first ensure:
1. Your computer is Thunderbolt enabled. (What is Thunderbolt3 ? )
2. You are connected to a Thunderbolt 3 enabled USB-C port.
3. You are using the provided ... Thunderbolt 3 cable.

Next:
4. Power cycle your computer.
5. Try using a different Thunderbolt port on your computer.
6. (On a Mac only:) Reset the NVRAM & SMC.

Maybe it needs a Thunderbolt controller firmware update from Apple if not working after NVRAM OR SMC reset.

Not the first time:

 

[bigplume]

Can you daisy chain the SSD to a second Thunderbolt-port on your display?

Mac <-> Display <-> SSD

instead of

SSD <-> Mac <-> Display

Here is a possible solution:

https://www.caldigit.com/my-thunder...-as-a-usb-device-in-the-macos-system-profile/

Please first ensure:
1. Your computer is Thunderbolt enabled. (What is Thunderbolt3 ? )
2. You are connected to a Thunderbolt 3 enabled USB-C port.
3. You are using the provided ... Thunderbolt 3 cable.

Next:
4. Power cycle your computer.
5. Try using a different Thunderbolt port on your computer.
6. (On a Mac only:) Reset the NVRAM & SMC.

Maybe it needs a Thunderbolt controller firmware update from Apple if not working after NVRAM OR SMC reset.

Not the first time:

My monitor is LG 27up850, it only has a usb-c input, no thunderbolt output. but the video is interesting.. I will watch it

 

[Lenry]

I have the same Acasis NVMe enclosure connected to my M2 Mac Mini. It shows up under

Hello guys, About a month ago, I purchased the Acasis tbu401e SSD enclosure and a 1TB Samsung 980 Pro. Many YouTubers and users recommended the Acasis tbu401e as it works well with the M1 Mac. Initially, the read and write speed in Blackmagic was around 2600MB/s, which I found satisfactory. However, Yesterday I noticed a decrease in speed when I copied files to the external SSD. Upon checking with Blackmagic, the write and read speeds were only around 900MB/s. With only 80GB of used space, I don't believe that the decrease in speed is due to the SSD becoming full.

I checked the System Information and found that the external SSD is recognized as a USB 3.1 device with a speed of up to 10 Gb/s, instead of a Thunderbolt device. I tried rebooting the Mac, unplugging and replugging the SSD cable, and open the enclosure reinstalling the SSD, but the issue persists.

I can't recall any significant changes made to the system apart from upgrading to the Ventura 13.2.1 operating system last weekend, which may or may not be the cause of the problem. As I rarely unplug the SSD from my MacStudio and it has been working 24/7, I'm uncertain if the issue is related to hardware. I'm hoping someone can help me troubleshoot this issue. If you have the same enclosure, can you confirm whether it appears under the Thunderbolt section in System Information? Thank you in advance for your help.

View attachment 2159479


Update 20230217

I received a new identical enclosure and tested it today. Surprisingly, it also works with USB 3.1. This makes me suspect that the issue is with my Mac itself. However, I cannot find another Mac to test it with, so I need to figure it out on this one.

My Mac has two external monitors that are both connected to the rear thunderbolt port. I don't use the HDMI port because I can't control the monitor's brightness via I2C commands from HDMI, but I can with the thunderbolt port.

I unplugged one of the monitors and connected the SSD enclosure again. To my surprise, it was recognized as a thunderbolt device. I plugged in the monitor again and everything worked fine. The SSD was working at the correct speed. However, if I restart the computer, it doesn't work again, so I have to repeat the steps. My current solution is to switch one monitor to use HDMI and the other to use thunderbolt. This works fine after a reboot.

It's strange that the Mac doesn't work with all three thunderbolt ports simultaneously. I think it's a software bug because I've tested it and all the ports actually work fine with the SSD if there are only two connections. But a month ago, the Mac works for sure with 3 thunderbolt ports simultaneously..

I have the same Acasis NVMe enclosure on a base level M2 mac mini. and it shows up under Thunderbolt/USB4. 40 Gb/S listed. The Western Digital NVMe is listed under NVMexpress Device Tree/Generic SSD Controller. It takes under 3 seconds to transfer a 5 Gb file from the NVMe drive to my MacMini drive. But, when I use the same Acasis on my new homebrew Windows 11 box it transfers the data at a rate of about 38 mbps. About ⅓ the speed of a spinning hard drive. Plus the Black Magic disk speed test doesn't work with it, but does when the same NVMe drive is put into an open NVMe slot on the motherboard directly, or plugged into a pcie slot via a $10 NVMe/pcie adapter.

 

[brandair]

I had exactly the same happen to me today.

One of my new two Acasis TB405 enclosures just semi-died after tow days of use and was forcibly ejected by Mac OS Monterey. The TB controller seems to be gone because that TB405 now reports under USB instead of Thunderbolt/USB4, with a speed of 10Gbps, and is not reliable anymore. Sh***y Chinese production quality once again, it seems. Are the Acasis TB enclosures actually certified by Intel?

Hello guys, About a month ago, I purchased the Acasis tbu401e SSD enclosure and a 1TB Samsung 980 Pro. Many YouTubers and users recommended the Acasis tbu401e as it works well with the M1 Mac. Initially, the read and write speed in Blackmagic was around 2600MB/s, which I found satisfactory. However, Yesterday I noticed a decrease in speed when I copied files to the external SSD. Upon checking with Blackmagic, the write and read speeds were only around 900MB/s. With only 80GB of used space, I don't believe that the decrease in speed is due to the SSD becoming full.

I checked the System Information and found that the external SSD is recognized as a USB 3.1 device with a speed of up to 10 Gb/s, instead of a Thunderbolt device. I tried rebooting the Mac, unplugging and replugging the SSD cable, and open the enclosure reinstalling the SSD, but the issue persists.

I can't recall any significant changes made to the system apart from upgrading to the Ventura 13.2.1 operating system last weekend, which may or may not be the cause of the problem. As I rarely unplug the SSD from my MacStudio and it has been working 24/7, I'm uncertain if the issue is related to hardware. I'm hoping someone can help me troubleshoot this issue. If you have the same enclosure, can you confirm whether it appears under the Thunderbolt section in System Information? Thank you in advance for your help.

View attachment 2159479


Update 20230217

I received a new identical enclosure and tested it today. Surprisingly, it also works with USB 3.1. This makes me suspect that the issue is with my Mac itself. However, I cannot find another Mac to test it with, so I need to figure it out on this one.

My Mac has two external monitors that are both connected to the rear thunderbolt port. I don't use the HDMI port because I can't control the monitor's brightness via I2C commands from HDMI, but I can with the thunderbolt port.

I unplugged one of the monitors and connected the SSD enclosure again. To my surprise, it was recognized as a thunderbolt device. I plugged in the monitor again and everything worked fine. The SSD was working at the correct speed. However, if I restart the computer, it doesn't work again, so I have to repeat the steps. My current solution is to switch one monitor to use HDMI and the other to use thunderbolt. This works fine after a reboot.

It's strange that the Mac doesn't work with all three thunderbolt ports simultaneously. I think it's a software bug because I've tested it and all the ports

actually work fine with the SSD if there are only two connections. But a month ago, the Mac works for sure with 3 thunderbolt ports simultaneously..

 

[bigplume]

I had exactly the same happen to me today.

One of my new two Acasis TB405 enclosures just semi-died after tow days of use and was forcibly ejected by Mac OS Monterey. The TB controller seems to be gone because that TB405 now reports under USB instead of Thunderbolt/USB4, with a speed of 10Gbps, and is not reliable anymore. Sh***y Chinese production quality once again, it seems. Are the Acasis TB enclosures actually certified by Intel?

do you have a monitor directly connects to the mac via usb-c to c (no hdmi/dp adapter)?

 

[brandair]

do you have a monitor directly connects to the mac via usb-c to c (no hdmi/dp adapter)?

Indeed, yes - 32" 4K NEC monitor connected with an USB C 3.1 (Mac Studio) to DisplayPort 1.4 (monitor) cable. It's a temporary setup until the ordered HDMI cable arrives. Why, do you think this could cause the problem?

 

[bigplume]

Indeed, yes - 32" 4K NEC monitor connected with an USB C 3.1 (Mac Studio) to DisplayPort 1.4 (monitor) cable. It's a temporary setup until the ordered HDMI cable arrives. Why, do you think this could cause the problem?

yours is not directly connection, the cable includes an adapter to DP. However, for my mac, if I use c-to-c cable to connect a monitor (my monitor has usb c port), the ssd enclosure doesn't work as thunderbolt. If I use C-to-DP/HDMI adapter, the enclosure works fine. Looks like some inside conflict... anyway, you may try hdmi port to monitor to see whether the problem is solved.

 

[brandair]

Thanks for sharing your experience because that seems to have been exactly the cause here!

I connected the two Acasis TB405 enclosures for testing to my Intel Mac Mini with 4 unused TB 3 ports and indeed, the system profiler now lists both enclosures in the Thunderbolt/USB4 tab.

On my Mac Studio, TB port 3 is connected by TB3 cable to an external Aikitio SATA quad drive enclosure. Port 4 and 2 were connected with TB3 cables to the two Acasis, and port 1 via USB-C-to-DisplayPort 1.4 cable to the monitor. So, the Aikitio TB3 connection caused no disruption but the USB-C did, which must be either due to an inherent limitation (mixing TB with USB-C connections) of the Mac Studio's or the Acasis' Thunderbolt controllers.

I'd never would have thought of such a cause - quite a limitation for the TB ports!

yours is not directly connection, the cable includes an adapter to DP. However, for my mac, if I use c-to-c cable to connect a monitor (my monitor has usb c port), the ssd enclosure doesn't work as thunderbolt. If I use C-to-DP/HDMI adapter, the enclosure works fine. Looks like some inside conflict... anyway, you may try hdmi port to monitor to see whether the problem is solved.

 

[brandair]

Just as a final update...

So I purchased a new USB-C to DisplayPort 1.4 cable from Amazon - brand name "uni" and supports 8K@60Hz, 4K@120Hz, 2K@240Hz, 5K@120Hz, HRD, HBR3, HDR10, ARC, 32.4Gbps, FreeSync, G-Sync, MST, DSC. This cable was recommended in a forum as being compatible with the Mac Studio for connecting to a 4K DisplayPort monitor.

After running this setup for 2 weeks now I am pleased to report zero issues with the attached TB drives and the display being connected simultaneously. But initially even the "uni" cable did not work until I plugged-in the USB-C plug reversely, even though this should not matter with USB-C. It seems the Mac Studio has some rather funky UB-C ports - as also some USB-C cable plugs fit only loosely while others again are hard to plug-in. And it's definitively rather selective about which USB-C cables it will agree to work with.