An increasing number of users who have upgraded their Mac operating system to macOS 12 Monterey users reported that the newest operating system is causing connectivity issues with USB-C hubs and some other USB peripherals. Some even worse cases of which are not working at all. macOS Monterey Is breaking their USB hubs!

As a matter of fact, macOS 12 Monterey has just been released just a few days ago, it’s reasonable that some known macOS issues appear. However, this should not happen because macOS Big Sur had caused trouble with USB connectivity in the early days, and macOS Monterey users should not suffer from the same annoying trend.

Issue: USB Hubs Not Working on macOS Monterey

However, not to mention problems such as “gateway timed out” or “bad gateway” and Mac machines getting stuck on the “Setting Up Your Mac: message screen, a number of people are complaining about macOS connectivity problems and errors as well:

My USB-C hub has issues with this macOS Monterey update. The HDMI port connected to my second screen is working on the hub but none of the USB3 ports are working at all. I have tried different C ports on the MacMini and different hubs (I have 4). I also replicated this issue on my M1 MacBook Air after updating to Monterey. These hubs worked perfectly in Big Sur.

Had a call with Apple support and they said to try an Apple certified hub. I used this one I had floating around in my bag and both the HDMI and USB3 ports worked on it. I tried to daisy chain the Amazon hub to the Apple hub but that didn’t work either. Support told me that many people have been complaining about this issue and it will hopefully be fixed in the next patch to be pushed out.

—cite from macrumors forum

Many of the reports are from owners of M1-powered Macs, but not all. Some users have reported similar issues on Intel Macs. Therefore, this might not be an issue with the M1 chip but spread across the Mac mini, the M1-powered MacBook Air and Pro, and older Intel-powered MacBook Pro models among others.

The discussion in some Mac forums indicates that the USB 3.0 ports on USB hubs are rendered non-functional after upgrading to macOS Monterey. The other ports, such as USB-C and HDMI, are said to function on the same hub without any problems.

Fix: USB Hubs Not Working on macOS Monterey

Unfortunately, Some say users have experienced the glitches during the macOS Monterey beta, and they actually have reported them to Apple. But there is no obvious solution to this or probably have not been properly addressed before the public release.

With no fix just yet, the problem is present in all versions of macOS Monterey, including the latest 12.0.1 release. Here’s to hoping it is finally eliminated in a future software update.

But if your work relies on USB peripherals, a better way to deal with it is to downgrade macOS Monterey to macOS Big Sur. You can also switch to another computer for work until Apple proposes a feasible fix. After all, Some users have spoken with Apple support who claim to be aware of the issue. Apple will fix this via a software patch, just like the pitch for similar USB hub issues with macOS Big Sur earlier this year.

If you have not upgraded to macOS 12 Monterey yet and are afraid of USB hubs not working on macOS Monterey, wait and stay with macOS Catalina or Big Sur. Don’t be a guinea pig!