Cannot mount microbit v2 on MacBook Air

micro:bit
1

Hi

I have a new microbit v2, which I can connect to over bluetooth with my iphone.

I would like to connect it to my laptop now, but cannot get it to mount as a USB mass storage device. I have tired USB cables which I know work (data, not only power). It just won’t mount. I’ve checked in the USB Device Tree, and don’t see anything there either.

Any tips?

I’m running MacOS 12.3.1

2

Hi, did you have any joy? I have the same problem with a new MacBook Air with an M2 chip. The Microbit mounts fine on my old Intel based Mac mini. Same cables etc. Same issue, it doesn’t show up in Disk Utility or on the USB device chain.

3

Just to confirm that it’s not something about the USB port(s):

  • Does the power light on the micro:bit come on when the USB is plugged in to the Apple silicon Mac? (In the same way it does on the older computer?)
  • Do other devices work ok on that USB port on the Mac?
  • Have you tried to power down/up/reboot the Mac? (I recently experienced a printer USB printer that wasn’t recognized until after a reboot on an M1 iMac).

Since you’ve tried to connect multiple times, this probably isn’t the cause…but it’s worth checking if you don’t find another cause:

By default, newer Macs with Apple silicon will ask for permission to allow USB accessories to connect. I’ve sometimes not noticed the request (popup was obscured or on another monitor) or accidentally declined it. You may want to see if that’s the cause. The popup window can be seen here as well as instructions to “allow by default” again: https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/allow-accessories-to-connect-mchlf779ae93/mac .

There are two reasons I doubt that’s the cause though:

  1. The micro:bit does show up in the USB Devices tree when it is plugged in if the pop-up is active or even if “Don’t Allow” is selected (I.e., I plugged it in and then, after refreshing the USB tree, it appeared)
  2. A “Don’t Allow” doesn’t appear to be retained (for me), so the pop-up would occur every time you tried to plug in the micro:bit.

Bill

4

Hi,

I think the port authorisation is the issue. I bought a usb-c to micro-usb cable and when I plug the microbit into the Air it asks for authorisation straight away and mounts. When I use a usb-c to usb-a adaptor then a usb-a to micro-usb cable for the microbit via the adaptor it just never sees it. It looks a little like the Mac sees the adaptor but then doesn’t see things being plugged into it or isn’t creating the authorisation. I don’t know if this is tied to the particular adaptor, it may be.

At the minute the dedicated cable is fine for my use. If anyone else has the same issue, I suggest debugging with a usb-c to micro-usb cable.

Thanks.

1 Like
5

I do want to reiterate for others that find this thread that cable choice does make a difference. Spent an hour troubleshooting only to realize that I had mistakenly picked up an identical (looking) USB cable. Once I noticed the cable that came with the microbit still sitting on my desk and used that one, I was able to connect right away.