Acroname USBHub3c Guide

DFU Blaster Pro offers support for the Acroname USBHub3c, a specially designed hub that can pass DFU, Recovery, and Restore commands through to up to 5 target Macs or iOS devices simultaneously to decrease time consumption and increase efficiency. This guide goes in depth about features and functions of the Acroname Hub in DFU Blaster Pro.

Using the Acroname Hub

To use the Acroname Hub with DFU Blaster Pro, the Admin Mac must be connected to Port 0 on the Acroname Hub. Ports 1-5 will be used for erasing and restoring target Macs or iOS devices. When a device is successfully connected, the lights circled in yellow will be lit up. Follow the steps below to erase and restore devices using an Acroname Hub.

Acroname Hub Window

The Acroname Hub window has a variety of features circled in red. “Reboot Hub” and “Toggle Hub LED” are used for troubleshooting. “Refresh” will refresh the list. Each device can be individually selected in the list and put into DFU mode, restarted, or put into recovery mode. The last three buttons are used to send DFU, Restart, and Recovery commands through all ports in the hub.
Each port in the hub will have the same serial and firmware version. The circled column indicates that a device is correctly connected and detected by the hub. This is important to note as the deployment will not work if not detected by the hub.

Look Up DFU Port

Use the Mac Model Number found on the back of the Mac or the Model Identifier in the “Look up DFU Port” window to identify the DFU port on any Apple Silicon Mac or iOS device. In the search, include as much detail as possible to return a more accurate result.

Apple Configurator Pop Ups

When a device in DFU mode is connected to an admin Mac, Apple Configurator will detect it and ask if you would like to restore. Make sure DFU Blaster Pro is pinned in the dock as multiple Mac windows could appear for Apple Configurator once devices are put into DFU mode. Note: devices can be restored through Apple Configurator after being put into DFU mode. In this article, we will be using DFU Blaster to complete the erase and restore process.

Erasing and Restoring Silicon Macs

1. Connect the admin Mac and target devices (using the DFU port) to the Acroname Hub. Generally, Macs use the leftmost USB-C port. M4 and M5 use the rightmost USB-C port.
2. Click on Acroname Hub to open the Acroname Hub window after all devices are connected.

3. The last column in each row of the list will indicate if a device is connected to the Acroname Hub. In this image, only 2 out of 5 ports are being used. Note: using less than all 5 ports does NOT hinder your ability to use the Put All in DFU, Restart All, and Put All in Recovery features.

5. After using Put All in DFU, close the hub window using the red button at the top left.
6. In DFU Blaster Pro, there will be a green checkmark next to all devices under DFU/Recovery Mode.
7. Using the Available Devices list, select Restore All.

8. Once all devices are restored, the Status for each device will appear as Successful and the admin Mac will sound a Success chime. It is safe to disconnect target devices at this time.

9. Repeat for all other target devices.

Erasing and Restoring iOS Devices

1. To use the Acroname Hub for iOS devices, click on the Settings icon in the DFU Blaster Pro window.

2. Make sure that the Device type for DFU mode is selected as iOS and select OK.

2. For Lightning devices, use the DFU Port Lookup for instructions on how to manually put the device into DFU/Recovery mode while keeping it connected to the hub.
3. After all target devices are connected to the hub through their respective DFU ports, click on Acroname Hub to open the Acroname Hub Window.

4. The last column in each row of the list will indicate if a device is connected to the Acroname Hub. In this image, only 2 out of 5 ports are being used. Note: using less than all 5 ports does NOT hinder your ability to use the Put All in DFU, Restart All, and Put All in Recovery features.

5. By selecting Put All in DFU, only USB-C devices will go into DFU mode, at this point, put all lightning devices into DFU Mode manually.
6. Once all devices are put into DFU mode, close the window by clicking the red button at the top left.
7. All devices should have a green checkmark next to them under the Available Devices list.

9. Once all devices are restored, the Status for each device will appear as Successful and the admin Mac will sound a Success chime. It is safe to disconnect target devices at this time.

10. Repeat for all other target devices.

Enable Acroname Hub Power Delivery Mode

When putting devices into DFU mode, the ports on an Acroname hub are put into USB PD (power delivery) mode to send the DFU command and to charge the devices when restoring. If the “Enable Acroname Hub Power Deliver Mode” switch is disabled, the ports connected to the devices being restored will be put into a lower power mode. This settings should rarely be turned off and is for very custom configurations.

Restore Custom IPSW

To install a custom IPSW compatible with your Mac. Add the custom IPSW to Preferences, select the Mac(s) in DFU mode under Available Devices, and then select Restore.

Learn More about DFU Blaster Pro

For any DFU Blaster Pro related issues/questions or to learn more about the software, refer to the DFU Blaster Pro Admin guide.

Troubleshooting

• If the Port 0 yellow light is not on when connected to the admin Mac, try unplugging the cable from the hub and plugging it back in. If it still does not show, power cycle the hub and restart the admin Mac.
• If a connected device is not showing up in the Acroname Hub window, disconnect and reconnect the device. If the issue persists, restart DFU Blaster Pro and the Acroname Hub.
• If iOS devices restart instead of going into DFU Mode via the Acroname, make sure the device type is set to iOS in DFU Blaster Pro settings.
• If iOS devices fail to restore, ensure there is no IPSW set.
• If issues continue to occur, reboot the Acroname Hub.
• For all other issues, reboot the admin Mac and Acroname Hub.

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