Caldigit TS4 Dock

[Berries-A-Million]

Just a quick heads-up to anyone having ethernet problems. I had no connectivity – my router was assigning me an IP address, but I couldn't go to any websites nor see any local network devices. Tried removing and re-adding the network interface, restarting my router and switch, rebooting computer, power-cycling TS4, etc.

Eventually tracked it down to a default setting of "full-duplex, energy-efficient-ethernet". Switching to manual, and changing this setting to just regular "full duplex" solved it.

(edit: also changed to jumbo frames after making these screen shots )

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View attachment 1957674

Thank you. This fixed it for now. I had to get it to reconnect for it to allow me to set it to full. I am surprised they do not have any software/drivers to download for this dock too.

 

[likegadgets]

It has arrived. In meetings and todos all day so no time to try it out yet. Gotta keep the TS3+ running all day.

First thing of note that I was not expecting - the TS4 volume/footprint is quite a bit larger than TS3+. Will need to reorg slightly on the desktop I think...

Regardless, looks nice!

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Who did you order from? I have an Amazon order but the delivery date that is showing now is on 2/28. Hopefully the several trouble reports does not delay the deliveries.

 

[joevt]

Thanks! It's not surprising to see a big drop in write speed when using an external monitor, but I see that you also saw a bit of a drop even with no monitor (a little less of a drop than what I'm seeing, but at least in the same ballpark). I wonder why that is? Is it reserving some bandwidth "just in case" it's needed for something, and if so, why just upstream and not downstream?

edit: I may be getting my upstream vs. downstream terminology mixed up... data sent from the computer to the dock would be downstream I suppose.

I updated the post I linked with a test that replaces the Thunderbolt 4 device with a Thunderbolt 3 device. That test has a similar drop in write speed but it's not as bad.

 

[Berries-A-Million]

Seems the full duplex fix did nothing for mine. Mine is still crashing since I installed it this morning. That is twice today and the NIC disappearing. Requiring a reboot again. I've emailed Caldigit and haven't gotten a response yet.

 

[yuser]

Seems the full duplex fix did nothing for mine

It did not fix any of the crashes for me but performance was as it should be after the change. NIC also disappeared randomly and required a reboot to bring it back to a working state.

As I said, very disappointing and frustrating. I do not have time for try & error games for a dock that was supposed to just do what it is supposed to do.
Therefore back to TS3+ for now.
I don’t know if it is related to firmware issues of TS4 or OS X issues or a combination of both.

Can you share the reply of CalDigit when they get back to you?

 

[Berries-A-Million]

It did not fix any of the crashes for me but performance was as it should be after the change. NIC also disappeared randomly and required a reboot to bring it back to a working state.

As I said, very disappointing and frustrating. I do not have time for try & error games for a dock that was supposed to just do what it is supposed to do.
Therefore back to TS3+ for now.
I don’t know if it is related to firmware issues of TS4 or OS X issues or a combination of both.

Can you share the reply of CalDigit when they get back to you?

They wanted me to try some stuff basically unplug everything from the dock and see if it still does it. They are aware of this topic now. I came home and found it crashed again. I now unplugged it all except monitor, ethernet and power.

 

[macphoto861]

They wanted me to try some stuff basically unplug everything from the dock and see if it still does it. They are aware of this topic now. I came home and found it crashed again. I now unplugged it all except monitor, ethernet and power.

Is it crashing in the middle of usage, or is it crashing during sleep/wake (which seems to be more common)?

 

[stevevan]

I wanted to get something like the Caldigit TS4 (expecting that the TS3+ would be updated eventually), but I couldn't wait and pulled the trigger on the OWC TB4 dock. It works flawlessly with my M1 Pro MBP and two external monitors, one 2K and one 4K (Dell U2721DE and U3223QE). No crashes, no glitches, I have 0 problems with it. I just wish it had some USB-C ports on the front and the computer connection port was on the back. As far as ports go, the TS4 easily beats the OWC, but the OWC is at least rock solid (at least for me, so far).

 

[likegadgets]

Looks to me that we have a very small sample of units delivered and reported in this thread as of now. Worrisome is that the same problem is reported even with the small sample. I have one TS4 on order to replace a perfectly functioning TS3+. Main goal is to go to a 1 cable solution with two 6K monitors. Needless to say, if the unit is buggy upon arrival replicating the issues that have been reported, or if it fails to drive both monitors as expected (I contacted support and was informed specs should drive both monitors), I will return it and may repurchase once they fix the issues. I have been very happy with the TS3+

 

[rickeames]

Just to update here: I am able to confirm that the TS4 can handle one cable to my M1 Max and drive an XDR *and* the UltraFine 4K from the same box. I did not think that was possible, and yet here we are.

 

[likegadgets]

Just to update here: I am able to confirm that the TS4 can handle one cable to my M1 Max and drive an XDR *and* the UltraFine 4K from the same box. I did not think that was possible, and yet here we are.

The only difference in monitors in my case is that I have an XDR and a 5K ultra fine. According to some messages I have read the 5K is unique in that it needs two display ports for each half of the screen. I asked CalDigit support and they believe that it will work ok with one cable. I shall know once the TS4 arrives around 3/1.

 

[joevt]

The only difference in monitors in my case is that I have an XDR and a 5K ultra fine. According to some messages I have read the 5K is unique in that it needs two display ports for each half of the screen. I asked CalDigit support and they believe that it will work ok with one cable. I shall know once the TS4 arrives around 3/1.

The 5K cannot work at 5K60 when another display is connected to the same Thunderbolt port. If it works, it will only be running at 4K60. The 5K needs two DisplayPort connections, one for each half of the display in order to achieve 5K60. Thunderbolt only carries two DisplayPort connections max. If a display is using one DisplayPort connection, then the 5K can only get the remaining DisplayPort connection so it will only be able to do 4K60 (or maybe 5K39 with a custom timing).

 

[MrGunnyPT]

Just to update here: I am able to confirm that the TS4 can handle one cable to my M1 Max and drive an XDR *and* the UltraFine 4K from the same box. I did not think that was possible, and yet here we are.

Whowho! That's excellent news as soon as I get stock here in Amazon.es I'm going to order one!

 

[Clonetrooper]

So if all I want if a few more USB C and A ports to combat the paltry two of each on the M1 mini would I be better off just to get the Caldigit T4 elements hub for £200 or this model?

 

[James vong Bomd]

Any experiences here with macOS 12.3 beta?

On 12.2 I see often this error after a wake from sleep :
Sleep transition timed out after 35 seconds while calling power state change callbacks.
Suspected bundle: com.apple.driver.AppleTypeCPhy.

 

[MRxROBOT]

So if all I want if a few more USB C and A ports to combat the paltry two of each on the M1 mini would I be better off just to get the Caldigit T4 elements hub for £200 or this model?

If all you want is more USB C and A ports then yes the Element would suffice. Be aware though, that like all other Thunderbolt 4 Hubs, your devices on said hub will be sharing one USB 10Gbps upstream port.

 

[joevt]

your devices on said hub will be sharing one USB 10Gbps upstream port

unless your device is a Thunderbolt 3 device (in that case PCIe and DisplayPort limits apply instead of the USB limit)

 

[MRxROBOT]

unless your device is a Thunderbolt 3 device (in that case PCIe and DisplayPort limits apply instead of the USB limit)

Yes, that’s why I specifically stated Thunderbolt 4.

 

[joevt]

Yes, that’s why I specifically stated Thunderbolt 4.

I was also talking about Thunderbolt 4. The Thunderbolt 3 devices I mentioned are connected to a Thunderbolt 4 hub/dock like the USB devices you mentioned.

The upstream from Thunderbolt 4 hub/dock is 10 Gbps max if you are only connecting USB devices to the Thunderbolt 4 hub/dock.
If you are connecting PCIe devices (from downstream Thunderbolt devices) to a Thunderbolt 4 hub/dock then the upstream from the Thunderbolt 4 dock can be greater than 10 Gbps (up to at least 22 Gbps - I'm not sure how much tunnelled USB and PCIe add together).

 

[dstyp]

Who did you order from? I have an Amazon order but the delivery date that is showing now is on 2/28. Hopefully the several trouble reports does not delay the deliveries.

Order from Caldigit's site. Will be available in March again they say so your Amazon order should be quicker 👍

Caldigit support told me they're working on investigating the error reports it so a bit of patience for now 😬

 

[Clonetrooper]

If all you want is more USB C and A ports then yes the Element would suffice. Be aware though, that like all other Thunderbolt 4 Hubs, your devices on said hub will be sharing one USB 10Gbps upstream port.

Thanks, I can't see me having an issue with that transfer speed split over an SSD of two. I will order an elements

 

[N9JIG]

I ordered my TS4 direct from Caldigit the day they were introduced and it arrived a couple days ago. My new MBP I bought it for doesn't arrive for another month but in the meantime I am using it on my 2018 Mini. So far it seems to work just fine but I am not using it for Ethernet as I use the Mac's on-board port.

One thing I noticed so far is that with Parallels one needs to use the "Safely Eject" protocol before removing SD cards from either the Mini or full size ports. If you do not then the TS4 disconnects from Windows and needs to be reconnected. Not a big deal but I did not have to worry about this in the past.

 

[Berries-A-Million]

Is it crashing in the middle of usage, or is it crashing during sleep/wake (which seems to be more common)?

It seems to crash during sleep. I've not had it crash while using it. I am doing troubleshooting steps with them so far. Only thing hooked into the dock is my displayport to my monitor, and ethernet. So far it has stopped and not done it. I will then start the next step and plug in the AV Pro next, but waiting another day or so before that. It was doing it every day. I stopped the sale of my TS3 in case I needed to go back to it.

 

[rickeames]

100% on the crash during sleep -- I have had to, twice ,now, detach the computer from the TS4 and reboot it because the screen won't come on. This needs to get fixed as that takes away the whole purpose of a dock.

 

[MRxROBOT]

I was also talking about Thunderbolt 4. The Thunderbolt 3 devices I mentioned are connected to a Thunderbolt 4 hub/dock like the USB devices you mentioned.

The upstream from Thunderbolt 4 hub/dock is 10 Gbps max if you are only connecting USB devices to the Thunderbolt 4 hub/dock.
If you are connecting PCIe devices (from downstream Thunderbolt devices) to a Thunderbolt 4 hub/dock then the upstream from the Thunderbolt 4 dock can be greater than 10 Gbps (up to at least 22 Gbps - I'm not sure how much tunnelled USB and PCIe add together).

Reading back on it now, I don't know what I thought you said when you replied. Anyways, I have not checked total data throughput between 10Gb USB saturation and PCIe (Thunderbolt) data saturation. When my NVME enclosures show up, I'll see what I can manage to get total.