On a Macbook Pro (15 inch 2018) running MacOS 10.15.7 and Siliconlabs CP210x driver 5.3.5 the CP2102 entry is not removed from the USB list in MacOS System Report after the device is unplugged. The driver shows as loaded in the System Report but no device is physically connected. The first time the CP2102 is connected via USB to the computer communication is possible. After re-plugging it, no communication is possible anymore with any device that uses the driver. The only way to resolve this is by rebooting the computer.
The System Report shows the following:
Composite Device:
Product ID: 0xea60
Vendor ID: 0x10c4
Version: 1.00
Speed: Up to 12 Mb/s
Manufacturer: Silicon Labs
Location ID: 0x14300000 / 5
Current Available (mA): 500
Current Required (mA): 100
Extra Operating Current (mA): 0
We also connected the device to another Macbook Pro (15 inch mid-2012) also running MacOS 10.15.7 and CP210x driver v5.3.5, and the issue doesn’t occur then. This MacBook Pro has USB 3.0 whereas the MacBook Pro from 2018 has USB 3.1.
Is there a way to manually release the driver ? Is there a solution to this problem ?
See also WIFI KIT 32 no connection trough USB and https://www.silabs.com/community/interface/forum.topic.html/cp2102_usb_bridgecontrollerdrivernotreleasing-hJBW