USB Accessory Needs Power (New to Dongletown)

Tech Support
1

I just got a 2020 MacBook Air, which is mostly fine. But I’d like to attach a CD/DVD drive to it. I have an old “Apple USB SuperDrive” that worked nicely with my previous laptop, a 2013 MacBook Pro.

So I bought this Anker USB-C hub and used it to connect the CD/DVD drive to the laptop.

When I connected it, I got an alert that said “USB Accessory Needs Power. Connect Apple USB SuperDrive to a USB port on this Mac.”

How do I get power to the CD/DVD drive? Do I need a different sort of USB-C hub? A newer CD/DVD drive? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

2

Many USB peripherals draw so much power that they need to be connected via a powered hub.

3

Thanks! So this one from VAVA says it has “PD power delivery.” Will that work?

4

I don’t know. I use one of the models recommended by Wirecutter - I actually have two of them. This one is sitting behind my iMac and I connect my 3rd party DVD burner/reader to my Mac via it.

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1 Like
5

You probably want to spend the money for a Thunderbolt 3 dock. The problem with a lot of USB-C dongle-type docks is they draw power from the laptop to power them. The MacBook Air’s power supply can power the MacBook Air and not much else. If you use a 87-watt MacBook Pro power supply with your MacBook Air, it could your existing USB-C hub might be able to power the SuperDrive…