We've only had any luck with Elgato Thunderbolt (not just USB-C) hubs with Macs. Everything else has had issues.
USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)
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Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)
#12When work from home started, I went down this road of madness, and have a drawer full of docks that didn't work properly for my Macbook (properly is defined as works as a USB hub, connection to wired network, charges my Macbook, and lets me connect an external 4k display @ 60Hz). A Plugable Thunderbolt 3 Dock has carried me for 2 years so far.
Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)
#13> It honestly feels like no matter what you buy, you get more or less the same hardware, and you’re most likely getting a heavily overpriced product just because some company printed their logo on it.
Isn't this like a known thing? Almost all peripherals on Amazon will have dozens of the exact same form-factor with different logos on it. You just buy the one that is the perfect intersection of costs, positive reviews, and shipping time. The assumption is that they all come from the same factory in China anyways.
Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)
#14This may sound a bit pedantic here, but this statement:
" I’m writing this on an Apple MacBook Pro, and all I got was four lousy USB-C ports"
Is wildly inaccurate, as the author demonstrates in his conclusions where he explains that he's settled on a Thunderbolt hub.
Yes, they're more expensive, and yes, they're harder to find, but the fact is, for this type of use USB-C is kinda junky, and Thunderbolt is a much better option.
Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)
#15I have a USB-C hub for my Macbook which isn't any of these (it's a "VMade") but looks exactly the same. It's a heap of crap. (Or, at least, the conjunction of it and Monterey is a heap of crap.) If I leave it plugged in when the Mac goes to sleep, eventually the Mac will kernel panic and force a restart. The ethernet just randomly dies, such that I now run the Mac permanently off wifi even though I have a superb fibr…
You get what you pay for! Look at the HP USB & thunderbolt dock. They are pretty stable.
In my experience (my team has deployed about 50k in 3 years), the thunderbolt ones are more reliable, even if the laptop doesn’t have thunderbolt.
Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)
#16Sad to see Anker on the list. I used to think of them as a pretty reliable electronics manufacturer in a sea of low quality chargers and hubs.
I have their TB4 dock. It works well with a Intel mac. Not so well with a M1 mac.
Might be a issue on the other end of the thunderbolt connector.
Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)
#17How much of the ethernet problems are due to these hubs and how much is due to ethernet autoneg just sucking? On my mac mini with whatever ethernet hardware they use, the link randomly negotiates 10, 100, full duplex, half duplex, flow control on or sometimes off. It's all coin tosses.
Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)
#18The Dell DA310 is the best all in one USB hub that I have ever purchased. Works fantastic on Apple devices. Been using a number of them for a decent amount of time.
Sure, it also uses an RTL8153, and might need the Realtek drivers to work (out of luck if you are on macOS 11+) but it was the first USB hub that I used forever, where everything just worked.
I don't use it for PD, I don't trust that on any hub.
Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)
#19Adding my own to the list -
+ Belkin's thunderbolt dock - Ethernet is a mess and takes down my network switch when my macbook goes to sleep. This seems like a common issue. The fix is to "unplug ethernet when putting laptop to sleep".
+ Anker's bigger usb c dock - actually this one works for me, though I am using it with an XPS 15.
+ The spouse has a CalDigit 3. She says it has no issues.
Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)
#20When work from home started, I went down this road of madness, and have a drawer full of docks that didn't work properly for my Macbook (properly is defined as works as a USB hub, connection to wired network, charges my Macbook, and lets me connect an external 4k display @ 60Hz). A Plugable Thunderbolt 3 Dock has carried me for 2 years so far.
I am assuming you're using Caldigit? I've had good enough luck, I'd consider their TS4 hub.