Super Sticky Thread for USB-C Docks, Cables and Accessories [MERGED]

[Macalway]

I just came across CalDigit's USB-C mini dock, if the quality is as good as their other docks, and has no issues with powering an external drive without needing external power, it's the perfect solution I've been looking for.

Yeah, I ordered one of these. This sight unseen thing is hit or miss, but they are a good company. Might even accept returns if it's crummy.

Should be fun.

I'm going to have to monitor this thread now. Geesh, it's been about a year. It's always slooooow going with these new standards/ports.

I like the mini thing. The OWC looks like toaster oven.

But the real thing is delivery, as everything else is moot. Caldigit's track record with this isn't stellar (as I recall). Then again, all the players are guilty of this

 

[jfrancis04]

I have a 1TB seagate and can confirm the HooToo does not work for what you're trying to do (use a usb hard drive without power being supplied to the adapter for those who are curious).

I can hear my external kick on like it's being powered and it lights up as well; never shows up on the macbook though. This was with me right around 50% battery life.

No issues, of course, when I have power wired into the HooToo.

Edit: So apparently I can't even get the drive to pull up when the Hub is powered...going to do a few more tests because that seems odd. Guessing it's because the hub prioritizes charging.

Ah, that's a bit disappointing, I liked the look of HooToo the most, even the logo glow, I guess I'll rule that one out, thanks for testing.

Ok so this is weird...the Hoo Too does work with or without power from a wall outlet...but only if I restart the computer with it plugged in.

Explanation if you haven't read the previous posts...

Idarzoid was looking for a hub that would power an external hard drive without needing power from a wall outlet. I tried it with the HooToo and it didn't work, but then I discovered it wouldn't work WITH power from the wall either.

I've since ran a few more tests. When I restart the computer with the external plugged in, it DOES work and shows up on my desktop like normal. Power or no power.

Anyone else experienced this? Is it a flaw with the hub that I'm having to restart every time I need to access the external?

 

[0983275]

Seems like a flaw with the hub, you shouldn't have to restart with it plugged in to be able to access the drive.

 

[gnatmm]

Seems like a flaw with the hub, you shouldn't have to restart with it plugged in to be able to access the drive.

I'll do the same test with the Apple adapter. Half of it is already done, in the sense that if the Mac is already on, the disk does not show up. Which OS release are you on? Maybe the blame is on the Mac side...
So, same here for HooToo. If you fire everything at the same time, no problem. If you connect HooToo and disk whe the mac is already working, nothing happens. I put the blame on El Capitan. Going to test the Apple dongle too.

 

[jfrancis04]

I'll do the same test with the Apple adapter. Half of it is already done, in the sense that if the Mac is already on, the disk does not show up. Which OS release are you on? Maybe the blame is on the Mac side...
So, same here for HooToo. If you fire everything at the same time, no problem. If you connect HooToo and disk whe the mac is already working, nothing happens. I put the blame on El Capitan. Going to test the Apple dongle too.

Hmm. Interesting. So it's not just my HooToo.

Yeah, I'm running El Capitan as well. 10.11.4

 

[gnatmm]

Hmm. Interesting. So it's not just my HooToo.

Yeah, I'm running El Capitan as well. 10.11.4

Same here, latest production release.

 

[boast]

Seems like a flaw with the hub, you shouldn't have to restart with it plugged in to be able to access the drive.

I would have a similar issue with a USB 3.0 hub on my riMac. So when it happened with my rMB I was not surprised. Apple closed my bug report as a duplicate so I am hoping for a fix in the near future.

I've been looking at that hub, seems good, but the problem is that there are barely any reviews outside of Amazon, and on Amazon all the reviews are positive, most of these reviews have similar writing style, which is a red flag, additionally, there are no 4 stars or lower reviews (on Amazon UK), think about that for a moment.

Hmm, I never noticed that! Luckily I have been happy with the hub so far.

 

[0983275]

I would have a similar issue with a USB 3.0 hub on my riMac. So when it happened with my rMB I was not surprised. Apple closed my bug report as a duplicate so I am hoping for a fix in the near future.



Hmm, I never noticed that! Luckily I have been happy with the hub so far.

So the issue isn't exclusive to rMB, but rather any hub connected to USB 3? That seems like the case here, and your blog explains that.

I came across your blog when I was looking for more info on the hub, it's one of the two reviews I could find about it (ones that are detailed anyways)

Right now I'm leaning towards CalDigit's USB-C Mini Dock, CalDigit produced decent docks, so I'm hoping this one is as good but it won't be available for a month or two.

 

[temna]

What about the tiny USB C hub for the Dell XPS 13? Since it's displaylink, it SHOULD work with the MacBook..

http://accessories.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=ca&l=en&s=dhs&cs=cadhs1&sku=470-ABQN

 

[rdcezar]

What do you all think of this? I'm thinking about getting either this or the official Apple one considering the Apple one is at least guaranteed to work.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01B782PN8/

 

[yashz]

I'll do the same test with the Apple adapter. Half of it is already done, in the sense that if the Mac is already on, the disk does not show up. Which OS release are you on? Maybe the blame is on the Mac side...
So, same here for HooToo. If you fire everything at the same time, no problem. If you connect HooToo and disk whe the mac is already working, nothing happens. I put the blame on El Capitan. Going to test the Apple dongle too.

Hmm. In both my 2015 MacBook which I returned and the 2016 one, with the apple USB-C Digital AV Multiport adapter, with Mac already on/logged in, if I plug in a Seagate 2TB external hard drive to the adapter then plug in to the MacBook, it shows up no problem with or without USB-c charge cable; if MacBook is on with adapter plugged in only, then plug in the Seagate drive, with no USB C charge, it still shows up fine. I can read or write to the Seagate drive without powering down. Of course per apple it's going to take power from your MacBook to run the drive so battery might not last as long, but it works fine for me.

 

[0983275]

What about the tiny USB C hub for the Dell XPS 13? Since it's displaylink, it SHOULD work with the MacBook..

http://accessories.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=ca&l=en&s=dhs&cs=cadhs1&sku=470-ABQN

It works with MacBook, no reason why it shouldn't, the rest of Dell's USB-C docks works with it.

Also, looked at that hub, considered it, but the price and the lack of USB-C power delivery turned me away, if it was cheaper, maybe.

I still don't have the rMB yet, so I'm still at a stage where I'm looking at all the options.

 

[deeddawg]

What do you all think of this? I'm thinking about getting either this or the official Apple one considering the Apple one is at least guaranteed to work.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01B782PN8/

The following statement would make me leery about its ability to support external hard drives if that's important to you:

Note: The USB 3.0 ports on the hub can't be used to charge your phones, tablets or other devices even with the charger plugged into the USB-C charging port(Only very small current can be provided to the USB 3.0 ports).

​

 

[gnatmm]

Hmm. In both my 2015 MacBook which I returned and the 2016 one, with the apple USB-C Digital AV Multiport adapter, with Mac already on/logged in, if I plug in a Seagate 2TB external hard drive to the adapter then plug in to the MacBook, it shows up no problem with or without USB-c charge cable; if MacBook is on with adapter plugged in only, then plug in the Seagate drive, with no USB C charge, it still shows up fine. I can read or write to the Seagate drive without powering down. Of course per apple it's going to take power from your MacBook to run the drive so battery might not last as long, but it works fine for me.

I tried with a Transcend 1TB USB 3.0 and it is not going the same way. Fine with the Apple adapter, I was able to restore on the rMB my MBA Time Machine backup, but still some issues with the HooToo, maybe is something power related as the disk sometimes vanishes with no apaprent reason. Looking forward for the Caldigit to ship.

 

[jfrancis04]

Same here, latest production release.

Ok so update here on the HooToo.

The HD I use, I also want to use on my PS4 to backup gameplay videos. At first, the PS4 wouldn't recognize the drive. I discovered that it doesn't play nicely with Mac OS X Journaled format. So I decided to just do a complete reformat of the drive and to also create a 2nd exFat partition that I could use for the PS4.

After all I completed both of these actions, the HooToo reads fine every time on the Macbook...whether I'm plugged into power or not plugged into power.

I don't get it either...but I've tested it multiple times now and it has worked as it normally should every single time.

 

[mac2thefuture]

Hi, i'm interested in getting the 2016 Macbook and would have a need to deliver presentations from it. These would be either via Powerpoint/Keynote/Prezi. My concern is the lack of ports so i wondered if anyone could recommend an adapter that could offer both HDMI and VGA, independently or together on one adapter? Thanks in advance.

 

[c0mm0n]

Got the hdmi aukey works great and cheap

 

[c0mm0n]

i did a quick review of the Aukey here : #5
In a nutshell, everything works, 1600p on 30", all usb ports used at the same time, etc..
Charging is 2,5V from my assumptions, so half the speed you get from a normal charger (it's advertised as non able to charge)

Just received the version with charging port if you have any questions.
[doublepost=1461406649][/doublepost]Anyone going for the caldigit docks ?

 

[deeddawg]

Anyone going for the caldigit docks ?

Their dock looks really nice, but I'm NOT a fan of preordering something I've seen no real world feedback about.

 

[zhenya]

Does anyone have the new Anker one? https://www.anker.com/products/A2053111

I take it you can charge from all those ports at the same time, but does this also double as a hub, i.e. When you have it plugged in to the MacBook, are devices plugged in to the USB-A ports accessible to the MacBook, or is this charging only?

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

The multi adapters are crazy expensive.. I only really need a VGA dongle, but ethernet would also be nice, and you can always use USB-A.. But it *really* adds up when they are combined.. Decisions, decisions.

 

[deeddawg]

I take it you can charge from all those ports at the same time, but does this also double as a hub,

I see nothing on Anker's site that suggests this serves as anything but a charger. I would think Anker would mention that capability if it existed.

 

[zhenya]

I see nothing on Anker's site that suggests this serves as anything but a charger. I would think Anker would mention that capability if it existed.

I agree - but it seems like such a no-brainer to include communication to the host computer. A power brick with some integrated USB ports is what I've been waiting for from day 1.

 

[c0mm0n]

zhenya, I see your point and it would be a great device.

Just got the Anker battery with usb port, looks good.

 

[izzyfanto]

Nonda USB to USBC. It's perfect to just leave snapped onto my thumb drive. Haven't had any issues with it. Highly recommend.