Finder doesn't see my iPad

[Howard Brazee]

I gave up plugging my iPad directly into my M1 iMac. Too many times I get "USB Accessories Disabled Unplug the accessory using too much power to re-enable USB devices.". So I plugged it (and my iPhone) into separate power supplies, verified that they are using the same Wi-Fi, and are sitting next to my iMac. But Finder sees my iPhone but not my iPad.

How do I get my M1 iMac's finder to see my iPad? I often drag books to e-readers on my iPhone and iPad.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hi,

Did you first connect the iPad with a cable and enable Wi-Fi syncing?

Turn on Wi-Fi syncing

C

 

[Howard Brazee]

That was my problem. I never looked for that setting on my finder settings when I decided to use it wi-fi.

Now the wi-fi connection works (not very reliably). I wish my M1 iMac had more power in its ports. I expect I will need to replace my USB bus with a powered bus.

 

[Cory Cooper]

OK, glad that seems to have helped.

The M1 mini has enough power when connecting devices directly to the USB ports, as is dictated by USB power standards. The issue is the current draw when using a non-powered hub and connecting too many devices that draw more than the single USB port it is connected to can supply.

C

 

[Howard Brazee]

When the hub is not plugged in, but my SSD, powered Time Machine drive, iPad, & iPhone are plugged in, I often get these errors.


Disk Not Ejected Properly Eject “Seagate Backup Plus Drive” before disconnecting or turning it off.—Finder shows it connected.

or USB Accessories Disabled. Unplug the accessory using too much power to re-enable USB devices.

Maybe the standards aren't high enough for iPads and iPhones.

Then sometimes I can see the devices, but copying files to them fails.

And irritatingly, sometimes they get stuck synchronizing and I can't shut down my iMac.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hi,

I wonder if there may be one device that is causing the USB bus to overload - possibly the Seagate drive?

All of Apple's devices all meet the USB standards, and iOS devices require less current than an external drive. Macs can easily supply the proper amount of current within those standards.

There isn't an SMC chip in the M1 Macs, so the equivalent SMC Reset is as follows: shut down your M1 Mac and power on it after 30 seconds. That should "reset" the USB bus.

You could try that and only connect devices directly to see if that prevents the error. Keep the Seagate for last. Testing devices in that way will determine which device may be causing the issue and/or if there may be an issue with the M1 ports.

I haven't ever had that error on any of my Macs, and only once on an iPhone that had a bad cable.

C

 

[Howard Brazee]

I'll try that. It's a lot cheaper than buying a powered hub.

 

[Howard Brazee]

I have switched cables and I do shut down my iMac often at night. I have also taken my iMac downstairs for karaoke night. A trouble with that testing is that many days I don't get those errors. Occasionally, I will get 6 identical errors. Well, with my iPad and iPhone mostly using wi-fi (unless my file copying gets stuck), this should be a smaller problem.