MacBook – Spigen USB-C Cable doesn’t fit MacBook Pro (13″, 2019)

Unfortunately, your USB port has died

You've done more than enough tests to diagnose the problem and unfortunately this one is hardware related, not software or firmware. There's no NVRAM setting or SMC control that handles power to the USB (directly).

The "light" that you are seeing on your USB device doesn't mean it's connected and recognized by the computer. It simply means it is receiving power on the +5V pin of the USB port.

Looking at the pinouts of a USB 2.0 Port, we can see that there is a dedicated +5V for power (why your phone charges) and two pins for Data (Data+/- for positive/negative voltage signals) and a ground. Data isn't being transmitted (which is why your iTunes doesn't recognize your phone).

What could the problem be?

• It could be a failed USB controller (SMSC USB25138)
• Broken or corroded solder pads/joints on the USB ports or related components
• Physically broken USB port

Any/all of these would contribute to the weird behavior you are seeing.

From iFixit.com, we can see that the board layout as follows:

The good news is that this can be fixed. It's not a DIY type of repair, but there are shops that specialize in component level repairs. Just do a search for "MacBook Logic board repair" (Rossman in NYC is really good - not affiliated, just a happy happy client)

Since you indicated it was only one USB port, the chances are good it's just a bad connection with the physical port itself. An immediate fix would be to purchase a USB Hub (powered preferably) so you can get your connectivity back.

In my investigations, I have found that for a switch to work successfully, it needs to be connected to a USB hub. Even the Apple USB/HDMI to USB-C adapter will do.

Also, plugging a USB switch after the KVM switch helps to deal with some devices (My USB mic) that seem to cause trouble when directly plugged into the KVM switch.

The two switches I have experimented with are the USB3.0 4 port 2 way KVM from UGreen and a similar one from Belkin. (No HDMI, only USB switching)

It is a little finicky, and I am not sure why. The same switch works flawlessly between by Thinkpad and Desktop (Windows)

Hope this helps.

This is what my ioreg -p IOUSB currently looks like:

+-o Root  <class IORegistryEntry, id 0x100000100, retain 23>
  +-o AppleUSBXHCI Root Hub Simulation@00000000  <class AppleUSBRootHubDevice, id 0x100000405, registered, matched, active, busy 0 (0 ms), retain 13>
  | +-o USB 10/100/1000 LAN@00200000  <class AppleUSBDevice, id 0x100000407, registered, matched, active, busy 0 (0 ms), retain 14>
  | +-o USB3.1 Hub@00100000  <class AppleUSBDevice, id 0x1000019d1, registered, matched, active, busy 0 (0 ms), retain 12>
  +-o AppleUSBXHCI Root Hub Simulation@01000000  <class AppleUSBRootHubDevice, id 0x100000418, registered, matched, active, busy 0 (0 ms), retain 8>
  +-o AppleUSBVHCIBCE Root Hub Simulation@80000000  <class AppleUSBRootHubDevice, id 0x100000433, registered, matched, active, busy 0 (0 ms), retain 15>
  | +-o FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)@80200000  <class AppleUSBDevice, id 0x100000435, registered, matched, active, busy 0 (0 ms), retain 14>
  | +-o Apple T2 Controller@80100000  <class AppleUSBDevice, id 0x100000439, registered, matched, active, busy 0 (0 ms), retain 13>
  | +-o Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad@80500000  <class AppleUSBDevice, id 0x100000440, registered, matched, active, busy 0 (1 ms), retain 20>
  | +-o Headset@80400000  <class AppleUSBDevice, id 0x100000446, registered, matched, active, busy 0 (0 ms), retain 11>
  | +-o Touch Bar Display@80600000  <class AppleUSBDevice, id 0x10000044a, registered, matched, active, busy 0 (0 ms), retain 13>
  | +-o Ambient Light Sensor@80300000  <class AppleUSBDevice, id 0x10000044e, registered, matched, active, busy 0 (0 ms), retain 11>
  | +-o Touch Bar Backlight@80700000  <class AppleUSBDevice, id 0x100000456, registered, matched, active, busy 0 (0 ms), retain 11>
  +-o AppleUSBXHCI Root Hub Simulation@14000000  <class AppleUSBRootHubDevice, id 0x10000046a, registered, matched, active, busy 0 (0 ms), retain 9>
    +-o USB2.0 Hub@14100000  <class AppleUSBDevice, id 0x1000019be, registered, matched, active, busy 0 (0 ms), retain 14>
      +-o USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter@14120000  <class AppleUSBDevice, id 0x1000019e2, registered, matched, active, busy 0 (3 ms), retain 12>
      +-o USB2.0 Hub@14110000  <class AppleUSBDevice, id 0x100002349, registered, matched, active, busy 0 (1 ms), retain 14>
        +-o IOUSBHostDevice@14114000  <class AppleUSBDevice, id 0x100002364, registered, matched, active, busy 0 (1 ms), retain 14>
        | +-o HHKB Professional@14114100  <class AppleUSBDevice, id 0x100002378, registered, matched, active, busy 0 (3 ms), retain 12>
        | +-o USB Receiver@14114300  <class AppleUSBDevice, id 0x10000238b, registered, matched, active, busy 0 (6 ms), retain 16>
        +-o USB2.0 Hub@14111000  <class AppleUSBDevice, id 0x1000023ed, registered, matched, active, busy 0 (1 ms), retain 15>
          +-o Samson GoMic@14111100  <class AppleUSBDevice, id 0x100002405, registered, matched, active, busy 0 (11 ms), retain 18>
          +-o HD Pro Webcam C920@14111200  <class AppleUSBDevice, id 0x100002454, registered, matched, active, busy 0 (13 ms), retain 19>
          +-o Flash Drive@14111300  <class AppleUSBDevice, id 0x100002f5a, registered, matched, active, busy 0 (4 ms), retain 12>

The USB-C Digital AV Multiport (at address 0x1000019e2) was necessary for the switch to function. But it was still being finicky with my USB mic (Samson GoMic@14111100) so I added a USB2.0 Hub@14110000 (this one by Sabernet) in-line and everything is working well.