Chosen Solution
Hi, — NOTE — I tried already PRAM and SMC reset
Because of logistics I need an external high gain wifi adapter, which has been working fine for a long while. Suddenly it just did not lit up and was not recognized. I thought that it had died, and bought another one, with the same problem. Than I borrowed a couple different brands, different models (also the regular small dongles) and none of those are working. System information show them under the usb hub devices, but there is no way i could make them work….. All other usb devices (external drives, iphone, etc) work flawlessly. Any help ??
Most wifi dongles rely on drivers, supplied by dongle manufacturers. Unless you have installed them, your dongles won’t work although the system recognizes something is plugged in. Can’t figure out why your first dongle stopped working, but it might have just gone bad. Hard to think about other issues if your other usb devices work properly.
Your problem is within your system. USB has two parts the signal side and the power side. Here your signal is getting through but the power services are not working! This could be effecting just one side or it could be both as the power is sourced from the same point on the logic board. To prove it you can get a USB power meter like this one USB Mini Voltmeter As to fixing things you’ll need to find someone with the needed skills and access to the parts to diagnose your logic board. Or, you’ll need a new logic board. You may want to check your external devices which have their own power supplies as you likely swapped out the wrong power unit on one which burnt your systems USB port. Also make sure your outlet is properly grounded and you’er using the same surge suppressor and better yet a UPS.
