OWC Thunderbolt 3 dock randomly turning off and on, MacBook Pro Monterey

I have two OWC Thunderbolt 3 docks - one at work, one at home. The one at

work has never given me a single issue. The one at home randomly turns

off and on. If it happens while I'm using my system, the external monitor

goes off and on, which is quite annoying while trying to work. If it happens

overnight or when not in use, I get multiple warning messages for not

properly ejecting the external hard drive. Furthermore, I bought a third

OWC dock (thinking there was something wrong with dock #2) and installed

it at home. I get the exact same problems. After searching the blogs,

I tried resetting NVRAM (shutdown, CMD-OPTION-P-R) and it seemed to

fix the problem for a couple hours, then it started happening again. As a

last resort, I bought a UPS to eliminate possible power issues in the home

office. This did not solve the problem. So...how do I fix this? Or is there

a better dock out there that won't cause this problem? And of course, why

does this not happen with dock #1 in the work office? Thanks!

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Mar 8, 2023 07:05 AM

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2 replies

Mar 8, 2023 07:21 PM in response to pkuban

Just a few thoughts....


Maybe one of the other external devices you are using at home is causing the problem. Disconnect the other external devices to see if that makes any difference.


Theoretically a UPS will help eliminate home electrical issues. You may have some sort of issue with your home's electrical system which is causing odd behavior of these devices. Besides the home wiring, it includes possible issues with any surge/power strip being used, and even other appliances & devices not even connected to the computer. Home appliances (Refrigerators, Microwaves, Ovens to name a few), or a Laser Printer, or even florescent lighting that is turned on & off may affect the power circuit enough to cause a problem.


Have you tried taking this Mac and dock to another physical location (even taking it to work to test if the employer allows it)?


Do you have any software installed on the home Mac which is not installed on the work Mac? I know that some third party software has been known to interfere with some external devices. One common example is a Wacom tablet has been known to prevent an external drive from operating correctly unless the drive is mounted before connecting the tablet.


You may also have a hardware issue with the Mac that has not been noticed until now.


Is there any firmware updates for the dock?


Definitely agree that OWC has great tech support and should be contacted for advice. I would find it surprising to have multiple devices fail (although if you have my "luck" then it is possible).

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OWC Thunderbolt 3 dock randomly turning off and on, MacBook Pro Monterey

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