Joining this thread late, anyone try the OWC USB-C dock? Looking to pick one of those up as the cheap adapter I got off Amazon causes a kernel panic when running a bus powered USB-A drive for an extended amount of time.
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Super Sticky Thread for USB-C Docks, Cables and Accessories [MERGED]
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Yes I am aware, but under the currently available implementations, it is a limit of HDMI. If you want 4k/60hz out of a MacBook (Pro) you need to use DisplayPort either through an adapter or via a usb-c monitor.
Thanks folks! You're a helpful bunch, appreciate it 
After doing some research, I predict USB-C is going to create a lot of problems for the average consumer due to the crazy amount of varieties/variables. I still like the "one port to rule them all" concept though. You really have to be into concepts to be an early adopter
After doing some research, I predict USB-C is going to create a lot of problems for the average consumer due to the crazy amount of varieties/variables. I still like the "one port to rule them all" concept though. You really have to be into concepts to be an early adopter
Thanks folks! You're a helpful bunch, appreciate it
After doing some research, I predict USB-C is going to create a lot of problems for the average consumer due to the crazy amount of varieties/variables. I still like the "one port to rule them all" concept though. You really have to be into concepts to be an early adopter
No doubt about it, the latest MBPs are for early adopters. Anyone complaining should just stick with the last model, though those should have dropped price wise.
Sorry to be lazy and not read this whole thread. Is there any USB-C adapter that gives 2 HDMI outputs? All I need is power in and two HDMI ports for my desk and cannot find anything besides buying two HDMI adapters.....
I haven't tried it...... In matter of fact I won't have my new 15" MacBook Pro w/ Retina/Touchbar until mid December.
All of the following will, of course, depend on what you're using;
This particular dock only offers 30Hz instead of 60Hz. For those wanting the best for 4K, you'll want 60Hz. The following is a Video & Read review of one similar without the SD card reader.
https://9to5mac.com/2016/11/09/satechi-type-c-multiport-adapter-review-macbook-pro/
I also came across a couple great articles which "really" enlightened me as well;
The following is an excerpt from the link below;
It doesn’t matter which of the USB-C ports you use for power. Pick whichever one is convenient. But many third-party USB-C power adapters and docking stations won’t be compatible with your Mac. This is especially true if you bought the 15″ MacBook Pro, which requires 87 Watts and a cable rated for that much, which is more than typical for USB-C cables.
http://blog.fosketts.net/2016/10/30/2016-macbook-pro-usb-cthunderbolt-survival-guide/
The following is an excerpt from the link below;
Not all USB-C device ports have the same capability – Many are data-only, some can do data and video, and a few can do data, video, and Thunderbolt 3!
Thunderbolt 3 requires a special cable – Although it looks exactly the same as a regular USB-C cable, you need a special Thunderbolt 3 cable to use Thunderbolt 3 devices!
Thunderbolt 3 devices look just like regular USB-C devices – Most ordinary devices with a USB-C cable are limited to 5 Gbps (or even less) of USB data but Thunderbolt 3 devices pass PCI Express data and boast 40 Gbps of throughput!
So owners of Thunderbolt 3-capable machines like the new late-2016 MacBook Pro must be very careful when buying devices and cables to make sure they get the performance they expect. Most of Apple’s current USB-C accessories and cables will work with the new MacBook Pro (it’s backward-compatible) but might not deliver the full Thunderbolt 3 experience. And owners of the older 12″ Retina MacBook are even more at risk, since, although Thunderbolt 3 devices will plug right in, they will not function at all!7
http://blog.fosketts.net/2016/10/29/total-nightmare-usb-c-thunderbolt-3/
Here's my 2 cents;
Like most of you here, I've been searching and searching for docks & cables. My conclusion is to grab some USB-C cables to whatever I'm currently using in the USB 3.0 world for my external HD's, SD card readers, cameras, etc.. I haven't found a dock "yet" that has everything I would want. For those that come close, they seem to lack a good pass through for charging, SD card slots, Hz and/or proper wattage. One thing for sure, there will be much better offerings coming in the near future. Like many of you, I want a good, clean setup that won't hiccup and/or be a P.I.A. to use. I've been waiting for this new MacBook Pro to come out for 2 years......... I certainly can wait a little longer for a great upcoming dock.
I'd like to add, this forum is the best informative forum I belong to. Keep posting & keep searching, we'll find what's just right for all of us "sooner or later". Thanks and have a great upcoming Thanksgiving. Ray
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I've been using Transcend SD card readers for years with great success, I'm about to purchase the following one and for $15.00, you can't go wrong. (See links below Pic.)Anyone knows a good USB-c SD Card reader ?
Preferably cheap
$15.00!!
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1276973-REG/transcend_ts_rdc8k_type_c_usb_port.html
More info from site;
https://www.transcend-info.com/Products/No-736
The one below looks to be Apple specific from SanDisk. $29.00
http://www.apple.com/shop/product/HKR62ZM/A/sandisk-extreme-pro-sd-uhs-ii-card-usb-c-reader
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Thanks for the answer, but I need a USB-C to USB-C.
Got any suggestions of that?
Get any of the top rated cables from this list:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vnpEXfo2HCGADdd9G2x9dMDWqENiY2kgBJUu29f_TX8/pubhtml#
These are tested by Google engineers. And with testing, I mean they break out the oscilloscope, the volt meters and the USB-C specs.
I used to live in Japan, too. I bought one USB-C HDMI Hub on Amazon Japan before. You can check the link: http://www.amazon.co.jp/YOOBAO-PD（P.../B01M65J1IF/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&keywords=USB-C
Yep. have a look at this:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ports-check-for-faults.2015245/#post-23946965
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Unfortunately, my experience has been all that positive.
Does anyone have any experience with iKits USB-C products?
I've been using the 60W Anker PowerPort 5+ (below) for the last year but am getting a MacBook Pro shortly so need a charger with more juice:
This one seems to meet the criteria perfectly. Does anyone have any experience with iKits? The lack of reviews is concerning (though the US site has a few good reviews) and I'd rather not fry a brand new Mac...
I've been using the 60W Anker PowerPort 5+ (below) for the last year but am getting a MacBook Pro shortly so need a charger with more juice:
This one seems to meet the criteria perfectly. Does anyone have any experience with iKits? The lack of reviews is concerning (though the US site has a few good reviews) and I'd rather not fry a brand new Mac...
Actually that Anker PowerPort is rated quite well. It delivers 45W through the USB-C connector which will charge the MacBook albeit slowly. It'll probably keep the battery full while using it, though.
As for that iKits charger, it's 60W for the USB-C connector (the 72W is the total across all ports). You probably knew this, but I'm mentioning it for completeness sake.
No reviews, plus I don't see it mentioned on the spreadsheet with the chargers that have been tested by Google engineers:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vnpEXfo2HCGADdd9G2x9dMDWqENiY2kgBJUu29f_TX8/pubhtml#
I wouldn't connect it to my MacBook; there are plenty of other chargers that have been tested correctly. Why take the risk?
Here's a charger that's 60W and has been very well tested:
https://www.amazon.com/iVoler-Charger-Delivery-Macbook-Chromebook/dp/B01ET762XS
Thanks for the advice. The charger you linked doesn't seem to be available in the UK however it appears the iKits one is just a repackaged version of it.
I was considering keeping the Anker but I can't find any solid information as to the priority of the ports - ideally I would like USB-C to take precedence, i.e. 45W over USB-C and 15W shared over the four USB-A. If it does this then I will keep using it.
I have the HooToo with pass through power and 3 USB 3.0+HDMI. Got it for my 12" MBr. It works great. Just tried it on the new 15". I had 3 USB 3.0 drives plugged in. 2 had their own power and 1 was bus powered. All 3 were fine. I didn't use passthrough on it either.
Interesting. Sounds like we have the same Hootoo, but my experience with using two USB-A drives connected at the same time has not been good as I have reported earlier. However there are two, possibly three key differences:
1. I am using a 2016 MacBook, not MacBook Pro. My port is USB-C, not USB-C/TB3, but since the Hootoo is a USB-C device this may not be important. I wasn't sure from your post what you have tried on your rMb.
2. I only have bus powered portable externals. I was using these with the Hootoo using passthrough wall power so in theory there should be plenty of power to drive the externals, but not as direct as using drives with their own power supply as you were doing for two of your three.
3. When I tried transferring data between two spinning HDs connected to the Hootoo, it did pretty well....one pause but it did the job. However I mainly use Samsung T1 and T3 solid state devices and I can't transfer data between these at all. I saw a comment that the T1 and T3 use more current, which is a bit surprising but then they are trying to achieve a much higher transfer rate than the spinners. (I know...if I needed to do such things I shouldn't have got a one port MacBook...the answer is that I don't need to, I just like testing, experimenting, finding limits
)BTW my Hootoo works fine with only one self-powered external. It also works fine if I plug an old fashioned powered USB3 hub into one of the Hootoo USB-A ports, but in this case the drives are receiving their own dedicated wall power from the hub, not via the Hootoo. I think it is all about how much power reaches the drives.
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It could very well be but the problem is that you have no way of knowing whether the maker decided to save a few bucks by dropping some components that provide safeguards.
Everything about it could be premium, like packaging, reviews etc. However, the Macbook is unique in that it tries to negotiate and use the highest voltage from these chargers. So you could have a couple of five star reviews by people using tablets or chromebooks. Charger works fine. Then Macbook comes in and turns out there is a bug with the Power Delivery implementation and it tells the macbook it can deliver more than the actual circuit is able to provide. Remember, these chargers were not tested with the current macbooks by the manufacturer.
Sending back a CalDigit dock - Displayport wasn't working with a 13" '16 Pro. CalDigit now has a response to a review on Amazon that says it's a known issue with OSX 10.12 and the .2 beta fixes the issue, but I'm on the beta and still had the issue.
all I ask in a dock is the following and I haven't seen it yet...including Belkin, CalDigita and OWC:
- USB-C x 3 (TB3), why 3? 1 to connect for power/data to host, 2 for other items (ex. SSD drive, etc)
- Power delivery for 15" MBP
- USB 3 ports x 4 (back side)
- USB 3 port on the front for device connection/charging (iPhone) and/or quick thumb drive access
- SD card reader on the front
- 4k @ 60Hz support via HDMI or mini display port
Sorry to here about you trouble........ These companies need to give "Full Spec's" along with quickly responding to their problems. The word Beta has always steered me away. Shame on CalDigit......
x2....... Like I stated in my post #660 "Here's my 2 cents" I.M.O. nothing is out there right now.
More and more of us are finding out that too many docks, hubs and/or cables out there don't meet the criteria that's needed for the new MacBooks & MacBook Pro's especially for the 15".
I.M.O. after spending more than a week looking at reviews, products, various docks, hubs and cables I came to the following conclusion;
I'm waiting for the all these companies to get their S*** together with these docks & hubs. For now, I'm going to pickup some "good" USB-C cables for my USB 3.0 hardware, keeping it to a minimum. The cables won't be a waste of money simply due to being able to use them with better upcoming docks. I'd also like to add...... Keep in mind, even though they look identicle, a USB-C cable "is different" than a Thunderbolt 2 or 3 USB-C cable.
All of the above is only my opinion for the new 2016 15" MacBook Pro. OWC seems to have the closest dock available, but states under "Compatibility" for the "2016 12" MacBook and the 13" MacBook Pro's"
https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TCDOCK11PSG/
There is one coming that looks more promising, but remains to lack what some of us are looking/hoping for......
https://eshop.macsales.com/preorder...DI8bt9FzW2U3M-vx-oWnuUpD6g89JxJcBBBoCZrTw_wcB
What I don't see;
1) Lacks USB 3.1 Gen2 which is found on your newer devices. For those that may not know the difference between 3.0, 3.1 Gen1 or 3.1 Gen2, check out the following article;
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/usb-31-usb-type-c-refresher,29933.html
2) Lack of power pass through for charging your MacBook/Pro (I don't see it).
3) Lacks video output's: Displayport, HDMI, DVI, VGA ports.
I.M.O. a direct USB-C to Displayport cable (if your external monitor supports it) would be the best, especially 4K monitors. If no Displayport, I would, of course go with HDMI 2.
4) Lack of a micro SD card slot.
I'm not knocking OWC...... I think that they are one of the best companies out there and their products are awesome! I just want a little more in a docking station at a price point of $279.00.
For now, I'm going to wait and keep doing my homework. Thanks goes out to all of you contributing to this topic. Happy Thanksgiving!! Ray
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Sorry to here about you trouble........ These companies need to give "Full Spec's" along with quickly responding to their problems. The word Beta has always steered me away. Shame on CalDigit......
x2....... Like I stated in my post #660 "Here's my 2 cents" I.M.O. nothing is out there right now.
More and more of us are finding out that too many docks, hubs and/or cables out there don't meet the criteria that's needed for the new MacBooks & MacBook Pro's especially for the 15".
I.M.O. after spending more than a week looking at reviews, products, various docks, hubs and cables I came to the following conclusion;
I'm waiting for the all these companies to get their S*** together with these docks & hubs. For now, I'm going to pickup some "good" USB-C cables for my USB 3.0 hardware, keeping it to a minimum. The cables won't be a waste of money simply due to being able to use them with better upcoming docks. I'd also like to add...... Keep in mind, even though they look identicle, a USB-C cable "is different" than a Thunderbolt 2 or 3 USB-C cable.
All of the above is only my opinion for the new 2016 15" MacBook Pro. OWC seems to have the closest dock available, but states under "Compatibility" for the "2016 12" MacBook and the 13" MacBook Pro's"
https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TCDOCK11PSG/
There is one coming that looks more promising, but remains to lack what some of us are looking/hoping for......
https://eshop.macsales.com/preorder...DI8bt9FzW2U3M-vx-oWnuUpD6g89JxJcBBBoCZrTw_wcB
What I don't see;
1) Lacks USB 3.1 Gen2 which is found on your newer devices. For those that may not know the difference between 3.0, 3.1 Gen1 or 3.1 Gen2, check out the following article;
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/usb-31-usb-type-c-refresher,29933.html
2) Lack of power pass through for charging your MacBook/Pro (I don't see it).
3) Lacks video output's: Displayport, HDMI, DVI, VGA ports.
I.M.O. a direct USB-C to Displayport cable (if your external monitor supports it) would be the best, especially 4K monitors. If no Displayport, I would, of course go with HDMI 2.
4) Lack of a micro SD card slot.
I'm not knocking OWC...... I think that they are one of the best companies out there and their products are awesome! I just want a little more in a docking station at a price point of $279.00.
For now, I'm going to wait and keep doing my homework. Thanks goes out to all of you contributing to this topic. Happy Thanksgiving!! Ray
Agree with the above - this is a mess right now. I have read all of these threads and there just isn't a great solution right now. I think I will just buy some Apple cables and their HDMI adapter and live with a mess on my desk until something that actually works properly with a 15" MBP comes out.
Wise decision....... I'm just going to keep in mind what cables I would use with a dock, then apply them to a great one down the road. Thanks for the input. Ray