Which USB 3.0 Hub? [MERGED]

[dizmonk]

Does anyone have this? And if so, what do you think? Thanks.

SABRENT USB 3.0 4 Bay 2.5” Hard Drive/SSD Docking Station with Fan (DS-4SSD)

The Sabrent Sata Hard Drive Docking Station Enables You To Access Ssds And 2.5"" Hard Drives, Without The Frustration Of Assembling Hard Drive Enclosures. By Inserting A 2.5"" Sata Hard Drive Directly Into This Docking Station, You Can Quickly Access Drive Contents And Transfer Files. Transfer Da...

www.amazon.com

 

[danqi]

I need a hub with 5 USB-A ports and am having a lot of trouble finding one. Most seem to max out a 4 ports. The few that have more are usually huge and ugly, which distracting LEDs. Many also have reviews talking about interference issues.

Can anyone recommend a hub that provides 5 USB-A ports and connects either through USB-A or USB-C? If no suitable hubs exist I'll make 4 ports work. Which one is recommended here (I've been scared off by all the reviews mentioning all kinds of issues...)?

 

[joevt]

I need a hub with 5 USB-A ports and am having a lot of trouble finding one. Most seem to max out a 4 ports. The few that have more are usually huge and ugly, which distracting LEDs. Many also have reviews talking about interference issues.

Can anyone recommend a hub that provides 5 USB-A ports and connects either through USB-A or USB-C? If no suitable hubs exist I'll make 4 ports work. Which one is recommended here (I've been scared off by all the reviews mentioning all kinds of issues...)?

There's many 7 port USB type A hubs.
https://www.amazon.ca/Anker-Charging-Adapter-Included-VL812-B2/dp/B014ZQ07NE

 

[Kenjutsuz]

Thank you for sharing this. I bookmarked the links and bought an adapter to prepare.

Just ordered myself a Mac Studio Display -- not expected until late June, so I have some time.

My worst alternative is to buy a Mac Studio, but I don't know if I really want to do that as I just bought my Mac Mini last year.

Same...boat here...Hope Studio Display meets your needs...

 

[MinimeJer05]

Same...boat here...Hope Studio Display meets your needs...

It did! I actually ended up getting 2 (and having to upgrade to a Mac Studio) and I absolutely love them!

 

[Muttznuttz]

There's many 7 port USB type A hubs.
https://www.amazon.ca/Anker-Charging-Adapter-Included-VL812-B2/dp/B014ZQ07NE

Can confirm. I have been using this model for a couple of years and now use it with my M1 mini. Never had a disconnect or any other problem.The power adapter is pretty big, but in that, it carries more than enough power to supply all 7 USB3 ports and the the 3 charging only ports.

 

[toke lahti]

Both of mine have aux power and I've only used external disks that also have own power source (3.5").

5 years of fluent work:
Anker AK-68ANHUB-S7EA

Anker® Bus-Powered USB 3.0 7 Port USB 3.0 Hub Portable Aluminum Hub with 1 m Cable (Apple Style) (Silver)

Anker® Bus-Powered USB 3.0 7 Port USB 3.0 Hub Portable Aluminum Hub with 1 m Cable (Apple Style) (Silver)

www.amazon.de

Problems from the start:
Icy Box IB-Hub1701-U3

ICY BOX IB-Hub1701-U3 7-fach USB 3.0 Hub und Ladegerät, An-/Ausschalter für jeden Port, Netzteil (12V/4A), Aluminium, Ladestandard BC 1.2, grau

The USB extension IB-Hub1701-U3 is connected via USB cable (approx. 75 cm length) connected to a computer, notebook or Mac device. It has seven USB 3.0 ports that can achieve a maximum transfer rate of up to 5 Gbps. Since the USB hub has seven on/off switches, each USB port can be switched indivi...

www.amazon.de

I think this Icy Box IB-Hub1701-U3 has costed me enough headaches now.

I have had my TM disk connected to it all the time.
Last month I noticed that my Photos library was corrupted.
Then I found out that most of my TM backups did not have a backup of it.
Then I contacted Apple about it and they couldn't do anything or explain the missing files.

This month I noticed that thos missing backups have appeared.
I guess they were in the disk all the time, but the usb hub was in conflict mini2018, so data speeds got so low that the indexing of the disk didn't work.

So, if anyone have any good experience with Mac Mini (2018) AND GenesysLogic "0x0612", I'd appreciate your experience!

Is this problem systematic of is just my piece a lemon?

 

[joevt]

Is this problem systematic of is just my piece a lemon?

I wouldn't depend on Spotlight indexing.

 

[toke lahti]

I wouldn't depend on Spotlight indexing.

TM = time machine
You don’t use it?

 

[joevt]

TM = time machine
You don’t use it?

I don't use TM.
I think I got confused about what kind of indexing you are referring to. Is time machine indexing different than Spotlight indexing?

 

[toke lahti]

I don't use TM.
I think I got confused about what kind of indexing you are referring to. Is time machine indexing different than Spotlight indexing?

If I use Finder to browse TM-disk's content, I believe indexing might be the same.

This might also be the nature of backup's incremental structure, which may take a long time to construct the file back together and with "flaky" usb-hub, the file might not get constructed at all. When Finder might not show the whole file at all.

 

[toke lahti]

I need a hub with 5 USB-A ports and am having a lot of trouble finding one. Most seem to max out a 4 ports. The few that have more are usually huge and ugly, which distracting LEDs. Many also have reviews talking about interference issues.

Can anyone recommend a hub that provides 5 USB-A ports and connects either through USB-A or USB-C? If no suitable hubs exist I'll make 4 ports work. Which one is recommended here (I've been scared off by all the reviews mentioning all kinds of issues...)?

Usually usb-hub controllers (chips inside a hub) have 1 port upstream (to host) and 4 downstream.
This is why we have 4 & 7 port hubs; 7 port has 2 controllers, where one port from the first is used to connect the second.
IIRC, usb3-specs say that host has to give 900mA and hubs ports 100mA, if there's 7 ports, then controllers has to use less than 100mA by themselves in any time, otherwise the hub does not get usb certification.

Anyway, if you wish to connect two or more storage devices to the hub at any time, you should give a hub some aux power.

In usb2 era some "mobile" hdd's (=2.5") had usb cable that could take power from another usb port, since the drive couldn't spin up with just one port's energy. Actually I have a bd-burner that also has two cables. And this is why you can't use the Superdrive with many non-macs.

 

[rcappo]

What would prevent my basic wired two button mouse not work when plugged into one of these hubs, or even a small usb-A to usb-c adapter?

USB C Hub Adapter for MacBook Pro/Air M1 M2 M3 2023 2022 2021 13" 15" 16", 7-in-2 Multiport HDMI MacBook Accessories Dongle with Thunderbolt 3, 4K HDMI, USB C 3.0, 2 USB 3.0, SD & microSD Card Reader

USB C Adapter for Macbook Pro Air 2020 2019 2018 with hdmi and usb LIONWEI aluminum alloy 7-in-2 macbook pro air adapter multiport dock expand your MacBook Pro Air ports into 2 USB3.0 + Thunderbolt 3 + 4K HDMI+ USB C Data Transfer Port and SD/TF card reader. A best accessory for MacBook Pro and M...

smile.amazon.com

My memory card reader also didn't work... But they do work on other computers.

The USB-A Apple Superdrive did work with the adapter when plugged right into the MacBook, but doesn't get the power through the hub for some reason. If anyone knows of one that works with the Superdrive, I would like to know.

But even using some old USB-A 3.0 hubs with the small adapter to USB-C isn't working for some reason with other basic devices. My mouse lights up, but doesn't work still.

 

[rcappo]

So with the new OS 13, there is a setting that messed me up. I changed to always and now my devices connect and work.

There was a dialog box that popped up, but went away that asked if you wanted to allow the device access. Changing the setting removed that from blocking the items from working.

The Apple Superdrive still needs the USB-A to USB-C adapter to work and get plugged right into the MacBook without the hub. Even if I plug it into the USB-C port that is in the hub it doesn't work.

 

[hyperreal]

My dad is getting an M1 iMac (gigabit ethernet model) to replace his 2013 27" but most of his peripherals are USB-A. These include a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface, an external drive for Time Machine backups and a MIDI keyboard. There's not a ton of power or bandwidth required right now but especially since the external drive will be connected to the hub, the hub should have external power. I'd also like for it to be somewhat futureproof.

So I'm looking for something with

• External power
• USB 3.1 gen 2 connection to the iMac
• At least three USB-A ports
• Maybe one or two USB-C ports for future devices
• Available in Finland or the EU

I use a Macally Trihub 9 with my Windows PC and it's a wonderful all-in-one USB solution. It has all kinds of ports and the power supply has a detachable standard wall cord so you have flexibility in positioning it. But it's only USB 3.0 so that would be less bandwidth.

 

[satcomer]

I would get a Firewire 3-4 Hub that display hub specs in it!