macOS "USB Accessories Disabled" pop-up

I'm getting the following pop-up on my 2019 MacBook Pro 13".

USB Accessories Disabled

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

I have tried unplugging all USB and any HDMI for good measure but nothing seems to work.

Am I damaging my laptop by using it while I have this problem? Any advice how I can fix this?

Solution 1:

You get this error message because whatever device you have plugged in wants more power than the USB bus on Mac can deliver - this is about 500mA or half an Ampre.

Can you damage your Mac? No.

You can't damage it because macOS is letting you know it disabled the port. This is the safety feature built into the system to prevent you from damaging your Mac.

To solve this, you want to get a powered USB hub.

Would a powered USB hub solve the problem of two external disks randomly losing connection or being slow?.

In that and your scenario, the issue can be solved by supplementing the limited power from the USB port with a hub that has an external power supply.