Usb Console Cable For Mac

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USB port types and names

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an industry standard for connecting computers and other devices. It's available with many types of ports, and each type has a unique shape. On Mac computers, USB is available with these ports, depending on your Mac model:

USB-A

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Type USB-A ports are commonly called USB, USB 2, or USB 3 ports, depending on the USB specification they support. They aren't reversible, so a USB-A connector plugs into the port only when oriented correctly.

  • You'll need to get a usb-serial adapter and then connect with a console cable. Adapters aren't very expensive. Connecting to the Console Port with Mac OS X To connect a Mac OS X system USB port to the console using the built-in OS X Terminal utility, follow these steps: Step 1 Use the Finder to go to Applications Utilities Terminal.
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USB-C

Type USB-C ports are available as either standard USB-C ports or Thunderbolt 3 ports that also support USB-C connections. They both look the same, and the connector plugs into the port in either orientation.

Learn more about identifying the ports on your Mac, as well as the adapters and cables you can use to connect older devices to type USB-C ports.

USB specifications

USB specifications are important primarily when you want the most speed and power for your USB device, or your device needs more power or is using too much power. Every USB port supports a particular USB specification, which determines the port's maximum>USB specifications on MacData transferPowerUSB 3.1 Gen 2
Also known as USB 3.2 Gen 2
Up to 10 GbpsUp to 15W at 5VUSB 3.1 Gen 1
Also known as USB 3.2 Gen 1 or USB 3
Up to 5 GbpsUp to 900 mA at 5VUSB 2.0
Up to 480 MbpsUp to 500 mA at 5VUSB 1.1
Up to 12 MbpsUp to 500 mA at 5V

To learn which specification is supported by a type USB-A or type USB-C port on your Mac model:

  • Choose Apple menu  > About This Mac, click Support, then click Specifications.
  • Check the System Information app for more details, including about USB devices connected to USB ports on your Mac. Select USB in the sidebar, then select a USB bus on the right.

Get the best performance from your USB devices

USB specifications all work with each other, but speed and power are limited by the cable or device that uses the earliest specification. For example, if you connect a USB 3 device to USB 2 port, your device is limited to USB 2 speeds, and it can't draw more power from the port than can be delivered over USB 2. In other words, to get the best performance, make sure that the USB port on your Mac and the USB cable to your device meet or exceed the USB specification of the device itself.

If your Mac doesn't recognize a USB device after you plug it into your Mac:

  • Check all connections: Unplug the device from your Mac, then plug it back in, and make sure that all cables and adapters are securely connected at both ends. Test with another cable or adapter, if available.
  • Plug the device directly into your Mac instead of a USB hub or other device, and if necessary test with a different USB port on your Mac or device.
  • Some devices need their own software, such as drivers or firmware. Others work without additional software. Check with the maker of your device, and install all available Apple software updates as well.
  • If your device came with an AC power adapter, use it. Some devices can be powered by the USB port on your Mac. Others need more power than your Mac can provide.
  • Restart your Mac.

Learn more

  • USB 3 devices can create wireless interference that affects Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices. Learn how to resolve Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues caused by wireless interference.
  • Mac notebook computers with USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 can charge over that port using a compatible USB-C power adapter and cable.

Important

Netgate is offering COVID-19 aid for pfSense software users, learn more.

There are times when directly accessing the console is required. Perhaps webGUIor SSH access has been locked out, or the password has been lost or forgotten.This guide shows how to regain access directly through the console.

Install the Driver¶

A Silicon Labs CP210xUSB-to-UART Bridge driver is used to provide accessto the console, which is exposed via the USB Mini-b (5-pin) port on the appliance.

If needed, install an appropriate Silicon Labs CP210xUSB to UART Bridge driver onthe workstation used to connect with the system.

There are drivers available for Windows available for download.

Note

The correct driver should install automatically for Windows 7 and above the first time you connect the workstation to the Netgate® appliance. It may take up to 3 minutes for the driver to install.

There are drivers available for Mac OSX available for download.

For Mac, choose the Macintosh OSX download.

There are drivers available for Linux available for download.

Recent versions of many Linux distributions include this driver and will not require manual installation.

Note

If the device does not appear automatically, the driver module may need to be loaded manually, especially if the version of Linux being run is not recent. If the driver was provided with the Linux distribution, run sudo modprobe cp210x. If it had to be built manually, run insmod ./cp210x.ko assuming the module is in the current directory.

Recent versions of FreeBSD include this driver and will not require manual installation.

Connect a USB Cable¶

Next, locate an appropriate USB cable that has a USB Mini-b (5-pin) connector on oneend and a regular USB Type A plug on the other end. These cables arecommonly used with smaller USB peripherals such as GPS units, cameras, and soon.

Gently push the USB Mini-b (5-pin) plug end into the console port on the appliance andconnect the USB Type A plug into an available USB port on the workstation.

Tip

Be certain to gently push in the USB Mini-b (5-pin) connector on the systemside completely. With most cables there will be a tangible “click”,“snap”, or similar indication when the cable is fully engaged.

Locate the Console Port Device¶

The appropriate console port device that the workstation assigned as theserial port must be located before attempting to connect to the console.

Note

Even if the serial port was assigned in the BIOS, the workstation’s OSmay remap it to a different COM Port.

To locate the device name on Windows, open Device Manager and expandthe section for Ports (COM & LPT). Look for an entry with a title suchas Silicon Labs CP210x USB to UART Bridge. If there is a label in the name that contains “COMX”where X is a decimal digit (e.g. COM3), that value is what would be usedas the port in the terminal program.

The device associated with the system console is likely to show up as/dev/cu.SLAB_USBtoUART.

The device associated with the system console is likely to show up as/dev/ttyUSB0. Look for messages about the device attaching inthe system log files or by running dmesg.

Note

If the device does not appear in /dev/, see the note abovein the driver section about manually loading the Linux driver and thentry again.

The device associated with the system console is likely to show up as/dev/cuaU0. Look for messages about the device attaching inthe system log files or by running dmesg.

Launch a Terminal Program¶

Use a terminal program to connect to the system console port. Some choices ofterminal programs:

For Windows it is recommended to run PuTTY in Windows or SecureCRT. An exampleof how to configure Putty is below.

For Mac OSX it is recommended to run screen, or cu. An example ofhow to configure screen is below.

For Linux it is recommended to run screen, PuTTY in Linux, minicom, ordterm. An example of how to configure Putty and screen is below.

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For FreeBSD it is recommended to run screen or cu. An example ofhow to configure screen is below.

Client-Specific Examples¶

PuTTY in Windows¶

Open PuTTY and select Session under Category on the left hand side.Next, set the Connection type to Serial. Then, set Serial lineto the console port that was located above, in Locate the Console Port Device, and the Speed to 115200 bits persecond.

Click the Open button and the console screen will be displayed.

PuTTY in Linux¶

Open PuTTY from a terminal by typing sudo putty.Next, set the Connection type to Serial. Then, set Serial lineto /dev/ttyUSB0 and the Speed to 115200 bits per second.

Click the Open button and the console screen will be displayed.

GNU screen¶

In many cases screen may be invoked simply by using the proper command line,where <console-port> is the console port that was located above.

If portions of the text are unreadable but appear to be properly formatted, themost likely culprit is a character encoding mismatch in the terminal. Adding the-U parameter to the screen command line arguments forces it to use UTF-8for character encoding:

Terminal Settings¶

The settings to use within the terminal program are:

Speed

115200 baud, the speed of the BIOS

Data bits

8

Parity

none

Stop bits
For

1

Flow Control

Off or XON/OFF. Hardware flow control (RTS/CTS) must bedisabled.

Troubleshooting¶

No Serial Output¶

If there is no output at all, check the following items:

  • Ensure the cable is correctly attached and fully inserted

  • Ensure the terminal program is using the correct port

  • Ensure the terminal program is configured for the correct speed. The defaultBIOS speed is 115200, and many other modern operatingsystems use that speed as well. Some older operating systems or customconfigurations may use slower speeds such as 9600 or 38400.

  • Ensure the operating system is configured for the proper console (e.g.ttyS1 in Linux). Consult the various operating install guides on this sitefor further information.

PuTTY has issues with line drawing¶

PuTTY generally handles most cases OK but can have issues with line drawingcharacters on certain platforms.

These settings seem to work best (tested on Windows):

Window

Columns x Rows = 80x24

Window > Appearance

Font = Courier New 10pt or Consolas 10pt

Window > Translation

Remote Character Set = Use font encoding or UTF-8

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Window > Translation

Handling of line drawing characters = Use font inboth ANSI and OEM modes or Use Unicode line drawing code points

Window > Colours

Indicate bolded text by changing = The colour

Garbled Serial Output¶

If the serial output appears to be garbled, binary, or random characters checkthe following items:

  • Ensure the terminal program is configured for the correct speed. (See NoSerial Output)

  • Ensure the terminal program is configured for the proper character encoding,such as UTF-8 or Latin-1, depending on the operating system. (See GNUScreen)

Serial Output Stops After the BIOS¶

If serial output is shown for the BIOS but stops afterward, check the followingitems:

  • Ensure the terminal program is configured for the correct speed for theinstalled operating system. (See No Serial Output)

  • Ensure the installed operating system is configured to activate the serialconsole.

  • Ensure the installed operating system is configured for the proper console(e.g. ttyS1 in Linux). Consult the various operating install guides onthis site for further information.

  • If booting from a USB flash drive, ensure that the drive was written correctlyand contains a bootable operating system image.