I have found a weird issue with Mac Studio’s USB-A ports. I aimed at keeping most of my previous accessories arrangement when setting up the new MS. I connected a Fifine K669 USB microphone to a hub on the display. The display is now connected to one of the MS USB-A ports. The Sound system preference pane shows the mic but it registers no input from it. Two other devices connected to the display hub (printer and speakers) work fine.
Then I connected the mic directly to the other MS USB-A port. Same problem: mic recognised but no input.
Then I tested connecting it to a travel USB hub, which plugs into one of the USB-C ports. It worked!
Then, I connected the mic to a USB-C port, using an adapter and it also works fine.
It looks like the USB-A ports have some weird issues
My guess is the Mac is not providing enough power through its USB Type A ports. Did the materials with the mic say how many amps it draws? Any computer’s USB power should be able to provide, at minimum, 7.5 W (5 V, 1.5 A). I think if the K669 drew more than that, it would easy to find mention of it online, it seems to be a decent, bargain microphone that’s been around a while and gotten a good amount of attention.
As a troubleshooting step, if you have another high-power USB bus powered device like a hard drive, you could try it on the Mac Studio’s Type A ports. If another device that draws a comparable amount of power also doesn’t work properly, I think there’s a problem with your Mac’s ports and it needs Apple support. If another high-power device does work on those ports, the Mac & K669 problem is more mysterious.
I have no idea about the mic’s power requirements, but the travel hub is not powered, nor (i think) the display hub, so that shouldn’t be the issue. I contacted the manufacturer and they didn’t have a clue either. They couldn’t replicate the issue with the Macs they have available (none an MS, though)
If you’re curious to pursue this and you happen to have access to a powered USB hub, it would be interesting to learn if the mic works when connected to that and the Studio’s USB-A ports.
That could be the issue. A non-powered USB 2 hub can not deliver more than 100mA (0.5W) to a downstream port. USB 3 is a little more generous at 150mA (0.75W), but still may not be enough to power a microphone
But a hub built-in to a display should be powered. It wouldn’t make sense to use a non-powered hub, since the display has a power supply that almost certainly has enough headroom to provide maximum power (500mA / 2.5W for USB 2 or 900mA / 4.5W for USB 3) per downstream port.
With the mic connected, your should browse the USB device tree (System Information → Hardware → USB), locate the mic and select it. The display will show you the power it has available and the amount it is requesting.
That’s the weird thing. The microphone works well with the non-powered travel hub which connects to a USB-C port, while it does not work when connected directly to a Mac Studio USB-A port nor when plugged into the display hub.
A travel hub can still pass along power supplied by the Type C port.
Checking the USB power info in System Information while the mic is directly connected to the Mac Studio Type A ports and again when it’s connected to the hub plugged into a Type C was a good suggestion.
This is very strange. I would definitely want to look at System Information and see what this device looks like when it is connected to the various ports.
Could it be that the device is available but has a different ID when connected to a different port, so your apps don’t automatically recognize it as the same device?
I’ve seen this before - where software thinks I have multiple devices, using a different ID for each port where I’ve connected to the device. The result is that I need to explicitly select (and maybe even tell the app to search for) the device whenever I change its connection.
Just tangentially I would think it would be worth a call to AppleCare to ask them about it, and potentially report it as an issue (in case they don’t already know.)
Thank you all for your suggestions. I checked the power available and required on both USB-A and USB-ports. For the USB-A port, with the mic plugged, the System Report shows 500 mA available and 100 mA required. When plugged into the USB-C the available is 900 mA and the required 100 mA as well,
I plugged an iPhone to the USB-A port and it got charged. The report showed 500 mA required.
I posted this issue in Apple’s Community forum as well. But I agree it could be a good idea to call AppleCare just in case is an isolated issue with my machine.
I, too, am having problems with my USB keyboard on my new Mac Studio. There are reports I am finding on the web that the USB ports on the Mac Studio have issues. I personally have to move my keyboard around to find one that works. Once it starts working, it usually keeps working until a restart.