USB audio issues after upgrade to Catalina

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Level 1

9 points

USB audio issues after upgrade to Catalina

Since upgrading my mid-2014 15" MacBook Pro to Catalina, I've had a number of issues with USB-connected audio devices. I've tried everything other support forums have suggested (reset USB PROM for example) and nothing has worked. Specifically, when connecting my USB port to my Pro-JECT Maia S2 Integrated Amplifier, after connecting initially, it will begin cycling between connecting and disconnecting. When plugging in my Audio Technica LP120 USB Turntable, it produced some kind of weird feedback with the USB audio output device. None of this was an issue before upgrading to Catalina. I see a lot of the same kind of problems people are experiencing in support forums with USB audio devices and Catalina, but no solutions that actually work. I was hoping the last OS update would fix these issues, but nope.

Posted on Sep 4, 2020 8:42 AM

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Answer 1

jd2020

Level 1

67 points

Sep 4, 2020 8:59 AM in response to watkino

I've experienced many issues on Catalina -- including audio not working -- using a Mac Mini. Catalina seems to cause a lot of woes. I found that audio problems seem to be fixed after restart, tho.

It's hard to suggest more steps without knowing what Mac you have and what steps, specifically, you tried. Anyway, here are some general troubleshooting steps; they might help. Disconnect all external devices before doing any of these, for good measure.

NVRAM Reset (maybe you did this? Never heard of USB PROM reset) https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063
Reboot in Safe Mode - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262
If any of your audio devices use 3rd party plug-ins, extensions, or drivers, check that they are compatible with Catalina, and update.
Try force-quitting the coreaudiod process in Activity Monitor or from Terminal...

sudo killall coreaudiod

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Answer 2

jd2020

Level 1

67 points

Sep 5, 2020 9:59 AM in response to watkino

So force-quitting coreaudiod didn't help either? After 5-10 min when the situation gets poor?

I know you said it started with Catalina, so possibly an error in updated Mac drivers installed with OS. I'm pretty much out of ideas, except for these:

Open Audio MIDI Devices app in Utilities folder. See if you notice anything odd before/after problems occur. Also, see if you can make any adjustments with the USB devices attached.
Create a new user account; see if the problem occurs in that account (yes=problem is in your main user account or software loaded there).
Try Apple Diagnostics/Hardware Test to see if any issues identified.
Reinstall Catalina from Recovery Mode. I've done this many times and newer macOS makes it easy to do without loosing data. Still suggest making a backup of your data and/or entire Mac first.

That's about all I've got! I hope something here works for you.

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Answer 3

watkino Author

Level 1

9 points

Sep 4, 2020 11:12 AM in response to jd2020

Thanks. Sorry for the typo: Meant PRAM not PROM. Same procedure as resetting NVRAM. I did try Safe Mode. None of the devices use plug-ins, extensions, etc. Which only leaves your suggestion to force-quit the coreaudio process. I will try this and report back.

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Answer 4

watkino Author

Level 1

9 points

Sep 5, 2020 8:54 AM in response to jd2020

Well, I was so hopeful, but alas still no dice. However, I did realize there may be an important clue: The USB audio connection to the device works just fine for 5 - 10 minutes, then the problem begins. So this leads me to believe something isn't happening right away, then it happens and the connection begins to cycle on and off. And that is important to note too: It disconnects, then immediately reconnects and repeats the cycle continuously.

Oh, and here's more info about my laptop:

Model Name: MacBook Pro

Model Identifier: MacBookPro11,3

Processor Name: Quad-Core Intel Core i7

Processor Speed: 2.5 GHz

Number of Processors: 1

Total Number of Cores: 4

L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

L3 Cache: 6 MB

Hyper-Threading Technology: Enabled

Memory: 16 GB

Boot ROM Version: 162.0.0.0.0

SMC Version (system): 2.19f12

Serial Number (system): C02NMAKHG3QD

Hardware UUID: 28B36D80-19EB-538A-8534-E6AFA8B64E18

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Answer 5

jd2020

Level 1

67 points

Sep 4, 2020 12:11 PM in response to watkino

Yeah, I believe Apple changed the name to NVRAM with the move to Intel processors... a long time ago. I wonder whether there will be NVRAM on "Apple Silicon" Macs. Let me know how it goes.

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