Support
The fastest way to get a problem looked at is to open an issue. It is public, so other people with the same question can find the answer.
Open an issue on GitHub — no account needed to read, a free account to post.
Or email toppixiestore@gmail.com.
It helps to include your Mac model, your macOS version, what you plugged in, and what CableScope said about it.
| macOS | 14 (Sonoma) or later |
|---|---|
| Mac | Apple silicon. CableScope reads port-controller hardware that does not exist on Intel Macs, and will tell you so rather than show an empty window. |
Because macOS does not report the negotiated speed of a Thunderbolt or USB4 link, and CableScope will not invent one. It shows “Thunderbolt”, says the exact speed is not reported, and shows what each end of the connection is capable of instead. A figure there would be a guess dressed up as a measurement.
It is the cable's own statement about itself. Cables with an identification chip declare what they can carry, and CableScope compares that against what your device declares and what the link actually settled on. A cable can in principle misreport itself — which is exactly why the app labels these as claims rather than as measurements.
A cable with nothing on the other end does not wake a USB-C port. If a device is attached and the port still reads as empty, try the cable in another port: a cable that only carries power looks identical from the outside to one that carries data.
Honestly: because it cannot yet, on most setups. A Mac charging through a Thunderbolt dock or a USB-C monitor does not publish a negotiated power contract that CableScope can read, so rather than guess at a wattage the app stays quiet. This is a known gap, not a fault with your hardware.
It means CableScope cannot see a sensor, not that your port is dry. No Mac examined so far publishes a liquid sensor the app can read without private system access that the App Store does not permit. Telling you a port is dry when the truth is that we cannot see would be the worse answer.
Check System Settings → Notifications → CableScope and make sure “Allow notifications” is on. CableScope only notifies you when the app is not on screen, only when a port's verdict actually changes, and never in the first seconds after you plug something in — while it is still working out what is attached.
It reads state the system has already computed and never opens a connection to any driver or device. If you have hardware that reacts badly to being enumerated — some KVM switches and docks do — you can turn off “Walk the full USB device tree” in Settings.
These are gaps we know about rather than bugs to report: