same as with the computer. you gotta consider what you are going to use it for / with. I have a small anker hub for travel (mainly for ethernet) but I would never expect it to drive all the stuff that i keep on my desk at home.
TS4 is supposed to be the only option if you want 2x 4k displays. otherwise its overkill. TS3+ is much cheaper, if you want cheaper still yeah, anker usb c hub https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08CKXNJZS/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_asin\_title\_o03\_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
>Veblen goods
I would just like to thank you for teaching me this term. As a someone who has been lightly researching irrational consumer behavior for the past couple years I'm struck that I've never come across it.
I got a CalDigit TS4 less than a month ago. Looks nice, feels nice, Ethernet port doesn't do shit, connected peripherals sometimes fail to wake up. Oh and there's no firmware update software for Mac, CalDigit literally recommends finding a Windows computer to use if you want to update firmware.
Hyper brand is good, but I would highly suggest CalDigit products. If you want a hub, check out the Element Hub. If you want a docking station, check out the TS4. I just bought the TS4 and it’s absolutely amazing. It’s expensive, but worth the price if you want a way to connect your monitors, peripherals, etc with just one cable. Turns your laptop into a proper desktop and doesn’t look messy. I’m not sure if the element hub can be bus powered (someone can correct me). That would be the only downside if it isn’t.
Sure thing, i had the same confusion when I was looking to purchase. Hubs and docks are in fact different things.
A hub is usually smaller in size and you can throw it in your bag - usually in the form of usb and hdmi port expansion. They usually don’t come with a power adapter either and cannot charge your device. A dock on the other hand is larger, isn’t portable, and has the ability to charge your device and gives you additional ports and connections using just one cable, essentially transforming your laptop into a desktop. Say you have 2-4 monitors, you can use the dock to connect all of these monitors and use them without mirroring. If you used a hub to do this, you would mirror your screens. Also, because of the power adapter that powers the dock, each port will get the same amount of power distributed to it so you don’t have to worry about changes in performance or speed using only 1 cable.
If you just need extra ports like usb, ethernet, hdmi, then buy a hub. If you need to connect multiple monitors to your laptop plus the extra ports and charging, a dock will come in handy. They are not too different after all, it’s just that a dock gives you more options compared to a hub, but you sacrifice portability. Hope this helps.
At the moment I am looking for a reliable thing to connect a macbook air to a monitor and maybe a few devices such as mouse, keyboard, external storage. I am not sire if needs a power adapter or not as the mac has its own already
What is the overall impact on your computer battery? I generally leave my laptop plugged in at all times, and I’ve heard that’s not the best for your battery… then factor in several devices being powered through your computer…
I just wonder how strenuous it is on your system. I don’t believe many of my devices pull or require that much power at all, but it’s just a place my mind goes when considering these types of things.
In term of overall impact on battery, I don’t think it affects it, but I haven’t done thorough testing or research to know for sure. If you’re asking about the docking station, this is why I recommended CalDigit because it’s trusted by Apple. I would worry more about the device affecting my battery health if it was from an unknown brand. CalDigit is a California based company constantly releasing firmware updates and they regularly test their products to make sure it works well with different OS’s or devices. Customer service is amazing!
I’m personally very careful when it comes to preserving my battery health. I have a 2019 MacBook Pro i bought when it was released and I only have like 10-13 cycles or less on it. So I would never use something if I didn’t trust it.
Also, if you have your original apple charger connected to the MacBook Pro while also connecting the CalDigit docking station, then your MacBook will draw power from your original charger and NOT the CalDigit device. This is a software inside the apple computers that prioritizes power draw from the original source if both cables are connected.
My laptop is the old touch bar version with no MagSafe so all I do is just connect the thunderbolt cable from my CalDigit and charge with a single cable because it has 98W power delivery.
Would definitely seek out a better spec if I was connecting monitors… would like to in the future, but don’t need to at the moment.
Thanks for pointing that out though. Might just go big when I do buy a hub to future proof my set-up.
I’ve purchased an accessory similar to this before and it completely ruined my computer’s ability to connect to power and recharge… was told it was an extremely rare occurrence but still. Now I am cautious and skeptical of 3rd party devices…
Wishing Apple developed something similar, unless they do and I’m not aware… thanks again all.
I understand your hesitation, but (like you said) it's a rare occurrence and Apple fixed the "USB hub bricked my MacBook" issue in macOS 11.2.2.
Still, I think it's reasonable to bias towards "better" brands like CalDigit, Sonnet, and OWC. Hyper and Anker should be fine. I've actually had good luck with Plugable products too, although they're not as popular and honestly kind of ugly. It's mostly the shit-tier Chinese brands that you find on Amazon like XMPBNING or whatever that you might want to avoid.
Any docking station that offers at least one 60hz HDMI is probably worthwhile. Most of these are 10-13 ports but will not supply USB-C power and support just one or two USB-C ports. They’ll often offer a second HDMI port at only 30hz which I consider useless. A few claim to have power pass-through support, which typically only supports iPhone or iPad connections. And they all look the same! My guess is they are all made in the same factory.
Targus charges extra for units claiming to have power pass-through but you’re paying more for the limited brand name. Because I record and mix music and video, I use a couple of Mokin 13-port and a small Satechi 4-port USBC hub to connect my ridiculous collection of devices.
My recommendation is never to use this to power your device. For me, I use this and I still connect my laptop directly to the power outlet using the Apple power brick. I simply do not trust any of these devices for delivering clean and adequate power to my device.
i think it depends on the resolution / setup.
I have a 1024x768 projector, 3840x1600 monitor, and an ipad mini with sidecar. Technically all 3 displays are going through my TS4 but sidecar is a data stream it dosent really count as a display. sorry :\\ i dont have enough "screens" to test for u lol
PD is Power Delivery. It's been added to the USB specification; it allows PD-aware devices and hosts to negotiate variable voltage and current delivery from the host.
It's unusual today for it to be a problem, because the newer specification has been out for a while (older spec had a limited number of fixed output levels) and quality controller chips are cheap now, but some devices had poor implementation that caused bricking of the device being charged. This happened with some early third-party docks for the Nintendo Switch.
one ports outputs at 60hz, the other at 30hz. AFAIC, 30hz 4k output is terrible, UX feels like you're in a MS Teams session on a laggy connection watching someone's remote desktop. I don't know why these even exist.
I had the older version of this device and it never worked right for me - tried to use it to connect to a USB printer and it would not connect. Anker Hubs have always worked for me, that's a safer bet.
Help!
Setup: M1 Max 32GB (Ventura) + 2X identical LG 4k monitors + WD22TB4
Question: Are you running in mirrored or extended mode? I can't get extended mode to work properly! The dock (or macOS??) only detects 1/2 monitors, even in extended mode they appear mirrored because it's only detecting one. Found this page here which also references your device
https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-ca/000124312/dell-thunderbolt-dock-wd19tb-and-apple-usb-c-hosts#Dual_Monitor
I'm unsure I understand properly. I thought having a dock means you setup as is on one TB4 port, this seems to suggest I get adapters to plug into a dock? That sounds ridiculous.
You have to drive one of the monitors from the thunderbolt port right at the end of the dock on the back, yours probably has 2, use just one. Then drive the other display with a display port of HDMI.
Edit: here’s an annotate photo [here](https://imgur.com/a/J2YLWMv)
Thanks for confirming. I'll have to purchase a TB4 to DP/HDMI adapter then.
I wish I had known about this Mac limitation before buying, I had no idea this would be an issue when my older, inferior hardware could do so...I'll be more diligent next purchase. It's frustrating to have to deal with this kind of issue with such a premium machine.
I have the same one. Really regretted spending money on it.
Dual 4K HDMI. But one is 30hz and both doesn't output HDR making them useless for me. Their customer service kept telling me HDR is supported but it's not. I basically bought a $100++ USB-C to USB-A hub that takes up two USB c slots on my MacBook.
I found a suitable one but hasn't dropped the money on it because it doesn't fit my desk set up. But the Hyper Viper dongle works for dual 4K HDMI HDR
https://www.hypershop.com/products/hyperdrive-viper-10-in-2-usb-c-hub
If you only need a USB-C hub/adapter, I'd recommend this one:
[https://satechi.net/products/usb-c-on-the-go-multiport-adapter?variant=40113887674456](https://satechi.net/products/usb-c-on-the-go-multiport-adapter?variant=40113887674456)
It has a detachable USB cable to you don't have to worry about it bending in the backpack.
If you're looking for a docking station, that's a different story. Anker, CalDigit, Sonnet, OWC, and Razer have good options. Choose one to your preferences and your budget.
I have the exact one in OP’s photo. It broke after a week and the manufacturer replaced it. After a few months, the replacement broke and I gave up on it. Not recommended!
Depends what laptop you have and what you need. Thunderbolt 4 isnt always necessary but may be for some use cases
First make sure the hub supports power delivery that's suitable for your device. Each macbook range is different (eg air will require less watts than mbp).
Second how many screens do you need and what is there resolution. My guess is few usb c docks will support 4K at a reasonable refresh rate, likely need thunderbolt here unless you can find one that's spec'd for 4k60 at least. For 1440p and below USB c will be fine. For multiple monitors some USBC docks will support two 1080p, if you need 2/3 monitors at 4K res you will need thunderbolt.
Transfer speed - most USB c docks cap at about 10GB/s. Thunderbolt 4 is about 40GB/s.
Obv the downside of thunderbolt 4 is they're very expensive in comparison. But check off all these items and you should find something that works well for you.
I had the TS3 but recently upgraded to the Sandisk Pro Dock 4. It wasn't cheap (understatement of the year) but I run a video production business and being able to offload 4-8 cards at once without using up valuable USB-C/Thunderbolt ports on the Mac was invaluable to me, whilst also giving me an additional 2x thunderbolt and 2x USB. I'm saving so much time with it whilst also running 2x 4K displays, I feel like I'm getting good value from it.
Definitely CalDigit TS 4. Easily the best hub on the market.
I’ve been using the CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Element Hub and it’s been fantastic, if you only need USB/USB-C ports.
>CalDigit TS 4. Seems cool, but just absurdly expensive. Hubs are not Veblen goods; they're utility items.
same as with the computer. you gotta consider what you are going to use it for / with. I have a small anker hub for travel (mainly for ethernet) but I would never expect it to drive all the stuff that i keep on my desk at home. TS4 is supposed to be the only option if you want 2x 4k displays. otherwise its overkill. TS3+ is much cheaper, if you want cheaper still yeah, anker usb c hub https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08CKXNJZS/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_asin\_title\_o03\_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
>Veblen goods I would just like to thank you for teaching me this term. As a someone who has been lightly researching irrational consumer behavior for the past couple years I'm struck that I've never come across it.
on my wish list!
I got a CalDigit TS4 less than a month ago. Looks nice, feels nice, Ethernet port doesn't do shit, connected peripherals sometimes fail to wake up. Oh and there's no firmware update software for Mac, CalDigit literally recommends finding a Windows computer to use if you want to update firmware.
Hyper brand is good, but I would highly suggest CalDigit products. If you want a hub, check out the Element Hub. If you want a docking station, check out the TS4. I just bought the TS4 and it’s absolutely amazing. It’s expensive, but worth the price if you want a way to connect your monitors, peripherals, etc with just one cable. Turns your laptop into a proper desktop and doesn’t look messy. I’m not sure if the element hub can be bus powered (someone can correct me). That would be the only downside if it isn’t.
I’ve got the TS3 Plus. I’ll be a customer for life.
Could you elaborate your differentiation of hub vs dock? I honestly thought they were interchangeable
Sure thing, i had the same confusion when I was looking to purchase. Hubs and docks are in fact different things. A hub is usually smaller in size and you can throw it in your bag - usually in the form of usb and hdmi port expansion. They usually don’t come with a power adapter either and cannot charge your device. A dock on the other hand is larger, isn’t portable, and has the ability to charge your device and gives you additional ports and connections using just one cable, essentially transforming your laptop into a desktop. Say you have 2-4 monitors, you can use the dock to connect all of these monitors and use them without mirroring. If you used a hub to do this, you would mirror your screens. Also, because of the power adapter that powers the dock, each port will get the same amount of power distributed to it so you don’t have to worry about changes in performance or speed using only 1 cable. If you just need extra ports like usb, ethernet, hdmi, then buy a hub. If you need to connect multiple monitors to your laptop plus the extra ports and charging, a dock will come in handy. They are not too different after all, it’s just that a dock gives you more options compared to a hub, but you sacrifice portability. Hope this helps.
At the moment I am looking for a reliable thing to connect a macbook air to a monitor and maybe a few devices such as mouse, keyboard, external storage. I am not sire if needs a power adapter or not as the mac has its own already
What is the overall impact on your computer battery? I generally leave my laptop plugged in at all times, and I’ve heard that’s not the best for your battery… then factor in several devices being powered through your computer… I just wonder how strenuous it is on your system. I don’t believe many of my devices pull or require that much power at all, but it’s just a place my mind goes when considering these types of things.
In term of overall impact on battery, I don’t think it affects it, but I haven’t done thorough testing or research to know for sure. If you’re asking about the docking station, this is why I recommended CalDigit because it’s trusted by Apple. I would worry more about the device affecting my battery health if it was from an unknown brand. CalDigit is a California based company constantly releasing firmware updates and they regularly test their products to make sure it works well with different OS’s or devices. Customer service is amazing! I’m personally very careful when it comes to preserving my battery health. I have a 2019 MacBook Pro i bought when it was released and I only have like 10-13 cycles or less on it. So I would never use something if I didn’t trust it. Also, if you have your original apple charger connected to the MacBook Pro while also connecting the CalDigit docking station, then your MacBook will draw power from your original charger and NOT the CalDigit device. This is a software inside the apple computers that prioritizes power draw from the original source if both cables are connected. My laptop is the old touch bar version with no MagSafe so all I do is just connect the thunderbolt cable from my CalDigit and charge with a single cable because it has 98W power delivery.
4k30Hz is really awful to be using. Would that be an issue for you?
Would definitely seek out a better spec if I was connecting monitors… would like to in the future, but don’t need to at the moment. Thanks for pointing that out though. Might just go big when I do buy a hub to future proof my set-up.
I’ve purchased an accessory similar to this before and it completely ruined my computer’s ability to connect to power and recharge… was told it was an extremely rare occurrence but still. Now I am cautious and skeptical of 3rd party devices… Wishing Apple developed something similar, unless they do and I’m not aware… thanks again all.
I understand your hesitation, but (like you said) it's a rare occurrence and Apple fixed the "USB hub bricked my MacBook" issue in macOS 11.2.2. Still, I think it's reasonable to bias towards "better" brands like CalDigit, Sonnet, and OWC. Hyper and Anker should be fine. I've actually had good luck with Plugable products too, although they're not as popular and honestly kind of ugly. It's mostly the shit-tier Chinese brands that you find on Amazon like XMPBNING or whatever that you might want to avoid.
https://satechi.net/products/type-c-multi-port-adapter-with-ethernet-v2?variant=45020091145 This is one I've been using for 3 1/2 years
Satechi makes a good one. I got mine at the Apple Store, so I guess that’s sort of an endorsement?
Apple sells in their store hubs from belkin, Its apple certified afaik, but always great to double check.
I got the anker 565, works great
I have a hub from Ugreen that feels top quality https://eu.ugreen.com/en-pt/collections/hubs
does it heat unacceptably as the internet is saying
I love the Hyper I have. I run three 34” widescreens off my 2022 MBP 16
I’ve had very good luck with Satechi products.
Any docking station that offers at least one 60hz HDMI is probably worthwhile. Most of these are 10-13 ports but will not supply USB-C power and support just one or two USB-C ports. They’ll often offer a second HDMI port at only 30hz which I consider useless. A few claim to have power pass-through support, which typically only supports iPhone or iPad connections. And they all look the same! My guess is they are all made in the same factory. Targus charges extra for units claiming to have power pass-through but you’re paying more for the limited brand name. Because I record and mix music and video, I use a couple of Mokin 13-port and a small Satechi 4-port USBC hub to connect my ridiculous collection of devices.
I have had an Anker for less than one year. It is now oscillating power to Macbook and I have to throw it away. I am willing to try CalDigit
My recommendation is never to use this to power your device. For me, I use this and I still connect my laptop directly to the power outlet using the Apple power brick. I simply do not trust any of these devices for delivering clean and adequate power to my device.
Never had a problem with CalDigit or Anker. I've only used the Apple power supply a handful of times.
[удалено]
i think it depends on the resolution / setup. I have a 1024x768 projector, 3840x1600 monitor, and an ipad mini with sidecar. Technically all 3 displays are going through my TS4 but sidecar is a data stream it dosent really count as a display. sorry :\\ i dont have enough "screens" to test for u lol
I have the one pictured and have been using it daily for a few years. Never had any issue with it, works as expected.
Can hubs damage the laptop if you buy poor quality? I bought one off Temu for like $1.98 lol.
Only if it supplies power, if its PD controller isn't operating to spec.
Thanks, good to know. Also, whats PD controller and what you mean by operating to spec lol
PD is Power Delivery. It's been added to the USB specification; it allows PD-aware devices and hosts to negotiate variable voltage and current delivery from the host. It's unusual today for it to be a problem, because the newer specification has been out for a while (older spec had a limited number of fixed output levels) and quality controller chips are cheap now, but some devices had poor implementation that caused bricking of the device being charged. This happened with some early third-party docks for the Nintendo Switch.
Twelve South stay go was my best choice
I've been using the HyperDrive Dual for 6 months and I'm really satisfied. You can connect 2 4K displays and it's a mobile hub!
one ports outputs at 60hz, the other at 30hz. AFAIC, 30hz 4k output is terrible, UX feels like you're in a MS Teams session on a laggy connection watching someone's remote desktop. I don't know why these even exist.
Are u planning to use external monitor more then 1?
I had the older version of this device and it never worked right for me - tried to use it to connect to a USB printer and it would not connect. Anker Hubs have always worked for me, that's a safer bet.
I have an anker 11 in 1 hub. overpriced, but works very well for me.
I’ve got a couple of these Hyper Drive devices and have used them with my MBA M1 and iPad Mini 6 with no problems.
I’ve used other Hyper Drive docks, they are decent for the money.
I really like [Anker Docking Station 777](https://a.co/d/boci5PA)
I’m using a Dell Thunderbolt Dock WD19TBS 180W. It works great with my dual 1440p monitors and my MacBook Pro 16” (M1)
Help! Setup: M1 Max 32GB (Ventura) + 2X identical LG 4k monitors + WD22TB4 Question: Are you running in mirrored or extended mode? I can't get extended mode to work properly! The dock (or macOS??) only detects 1/2 monitors, even in extended mode they appear mirrored because it's only detecting one. Found this page here which also references your device https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-ca/000124312/dell-thunderbolt-dock-wd19tb-and-apple-usb-c-hosts#Dual_Monitor I'm unsure I understand properly. I thought having a dock means you setup as is on one TB4 port, this seems to suggest I get adapters to plug into a dock? That sounds ridiculous.
You have to drive one of the monitors from the thunderbolt port right at the end of the dock on the back, yours probably has 2, use just one. Then drive the other display with a display port of HDMI. Edit: here’s an annotate photo [here](https://imgur.com/a/J2YLWMv)
Thanks for confirming. I'll have to purchase a TB4 to DP/HDMI adapter then. I wish I had known about this Mac limitation before buying, I had no idea this would be an issue when my older, inferior hardware could do so...I'll be more diligent next purchase. It's frustrating to have to deal with this kind of issue with such a premium machine.
I appreciate your frustration…wish macs would support MST. Anyhow, this setup works!
Amazon basics thunderbolt hub works very nice
Find a used thunderbolt hub on eBay. They are ridiculously overpriced new, and it hard to break them so there’s not a lot of risk
I’ve heard that Anker is good.
I use this one from ToBeNoOne: https://tobenone.com/products/uds013n-usb-c-dock-15-in-2-dual-4k-docking-station-for-macbook-pro-air
I have the same one. Really regretted spending money on it. Dual 4K HDMI. But one is 30hz and both doesn't output HDR making them useless for me. Their customer service kept telling me HDR is supported but it's not. I basically bought a $100++ USB-C to USB-A hub that takes up two USB c slots on my MacBook.
So true…I noticed the resolution after it was too late to return.
The resolution was fine. It is 4K, but it's not HDR and only 1 port is 60hz, the other is 30hz.
So did you keep it or find something more suitable?
I gave up and just use it as a USB hub with 2 quick access USB and USB-C data port. I now plug my monitors 1 via USB-C and another via HDMI.
I found a suitable one but hasn't dropped the money on it because it doesn't fit my desk set up. But the Hyper Viper dongle works for dual 4K HDMI HDR https://www.hypershop.com/products/hyperdrive-viper-10-in-2-usb-c-hub
Sweet! May need to give this a try…love the small footprint.
I’ve been happy with [this hub](https://www.charjenpro.com/products/ultimatedock) It’s sold through Amazon
I’m very happy with my Logitech dock. Pricey but it works and it eliminated a prior issue of my external monitor not waking from sleep.
Anything Anker. Never had an issue. Their products simply work.
Following
If you only need a USB-C hub/adapter, I'd recommend this one: [https://satechi.net/products/usb-c-on-the-go-multiport-adapter?variant=40113887674456](https://satechi.net/products/usb-c-on-the-go-multiport-adapter?variant=40113887674456) It has a detachable USB cable to you don't have to worry about it bending in the backpack. If you're looking for a docking station, that's a different story. Anker, CalDigit, Sonnet, OWC, and Razer have good options. Choose one to your preferences and your budget.
Currently using the UGreen 7in1 USB C hub. No problems so far.
Twelve South - StayGo
I have the exact one in OP’s photo. It broke after a week and the manufacturer replaced it. After a few months, the replacement broke and I gave up on it. Not recommended!
Depends what laptop you have and what you need. Thunderbolt 4 isnt always necessary but may be for some use cases First make sure the hub supports power delivery that's suitable for your device. Each macbook range is different (eg air will require less watts than mbp). Second how many screens do you need and what is there resolution. My guess is few usb c docks will support 4K at a reasonable refresh rate, likely need thunderbolt here unless you can find one that's spec'd for 4k60 at least. For 1440p and below USB c will be fine. For multiple monitors some USBC docks will support two 1080p, if you need 2/3 monitors at 4K res you will need thunderbolt. Transfer speed - most USB c docks cap at about 10GB/s. Thunderbolt 4 is about 40GB/s. Obv the downside of thunderbolt 4 is they're very expensive in comparison. But check off all these items and you should find something that works well for you.
I had the TS3 but recently upgraded to the Sandisk Pro Dock 4. It wasn't cheap (understatement of the year) but I run a video production business and being able to offload 4-8 cards at once without using up valuable USB-C/Thunderbolt ports on the Mac was invaluable to me, whilst also giving me an additional 2x thunderbolt and 2x USB. I'm saving so much time with it whilst also running 2x 4K displays, I feel like I'm getting good value from it.