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Anyone holding out for a better dongle?

Eggtastic

Eggtastic

macrumors 65816
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Jun 9, 2009
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So I just picked up a 2016 m5 MacBook. I love this thing. Right now I have it sitting side by side to my 2011 11" MBA and its neat to compare both.

I now took to amazon to see what my options were for a dongle. I notice there really isn't anything that gets great reviews, and it appears apples is the way to go. However I rather buy a non-apple one where I get more for my money (more ports).

I noticed that there really isn't anything that wows anyone. There is always some sort of compromise. My uses right are minimal (No external screen, maybe use 1 USB). However in the future I may go with a dock set up where i have an external screen and what not. This is what is preventing me from buying a hub now, when better and more refined ones will be coming out in the near future.

I went with: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015Z7XE0A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 . I needed something quick because I need to do migration from my air so I can sell it soon (hoping the holidays bring some extra attention to CL and Letgo).

Yes, I have been on the sticky for the usb-c threat and right now I may hold off. Anyone else in the same boat and does anyone know of any coming out soon?

Thanks,
Eggs
 
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I did look into hootoo. I just feel the prices are insane and hope that something better, more solid is developed and that the price will come down.
 
Eggtastic said:
I did look into hootoo. I just feel the prices are insane and hope that something better, more solid is developed and that the price will come down.
Click to expand...
I'm sure prices will continue to come down as more devices move to USB C. It's already becoming a common feature in PC laptops as well. At work we bought 3 of the hootoo adapters to go with the new Dell XPS 13 laptops we purchased for secretaries so they could have a docking station.
 
I use Apple's official type-c adapter with HDMI, works a lot better than the cheap one that I bought for $16 CAD. The previous type-c adapter uses VGA to connect to my monitor... Which it did but after a few minutes, the resolution kept changing down to like 1024x768 with black bars on the side or something similar on my 1080p monitor.

I took advantage of the "sale" from Apple and went ahead and purchased their adapter, works well for the most part, able to keep my 1080p resolution but there is flickering (about 2 seconds long) from when the computer wakes up, it does this a few times then goes away until the next wake-from-sleep. Doesn't bother me as much since it does go away after 2-3 times, it shouldn't have this issue from the first place.
 
I have this one I bought during their Kickstarter campaign.

http://thegadgetflow.com/portfolio/kadi-creative/

The-KADi-Port-Adapter-For-Macbook-12-01.jpeg
 
Note that the Apple adaptor has a two star review average on Apple's website, and hundreds of complaints about it. That's because it's terrible - it has significant issues with HDMI in particular.
 
The Phazer said:
Note that the Apple adaptor has a two star review average on Apple's website, and hundreds of complaints about it. That's because it's terrible - it has significant issues with HDMI in particular.
Click to expand...

Perhaps some kickstarter types are writing negative reviews, you know, because it's what they need to do.

What I can tell you from 18 months of personal experience is that my RMB via dozens of different HDMI cables connected to dozens of different HDTV's for dozens of executive presentations in boardrooms and dozens of Netflix sessions in hotel rooms in North America, Europe, Asia, and South America have worked flawlessly, every time.

BJ
 
Thanks for all the replies. Eventually I may just go with the tried and true apple dongle, but for now I have no need. I was just curious as what to go with when that time comes.
 
I use the Apple HDMI / USB with power passthrough, seems to work well, note, because it has logic board on it, there is a warning about power drain while connected to battery.
 
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boltjames said:
Perhaps some kickstarter types are writing negative reviews, you know, because it's what they need to do.

What I can tell you from 18 months of personal experience is that my RMB via dozens of different HDMI cables connected to dozens of different HDTV's for dozens of executive presentations in boardrooms and dozens of Netflix sessions in hotel rooms in North America, Europe, Asia, and South America have worked flawlessly, every time.

BJ
Click to expand...

Lol. Sometimes you're like a parody. I've been through four. I've had upper tiers of Apple support tell me that the product is not considered usable at the moment. And all you've got is a tin foil hat conspiracy about negative reviews instead of the much more likely scenario that it just only works intermittently and that product hasn't hit you.
 
Reject all FUD! USB-C is a standard
boltjames said:
Perhaps some kickstarter types are writing negative reviews, you know, because it's what they need to do.

What I can tell you from 18 months of personal experience is that my RMB via dozens of different HDMI cables connected to dozens of different HDTV's for dozens of executive presentations in boardrooms and dozens of Netflix sessions in hotel rooms in North America, Europe, Asia, and South America have worked flawlessly, every time.

BJ
Click to expand...
But this was not everyone's experience. They even had to push out a firmware update to solve a ton of compatibility issues last spring. The apple dongle is more expensive and lacks many of the features present in the 3rd party alternatives. Not every USB-C adapter is a Kickstarter project either. USB-C is a standard that other manufacturers are adopting. No one's begging for an Apple brand thumb drive or HDMI cable so why should we only limit ourselves to Apple branded adapters for a non-proprietary standard?
 
I have to admit I've hardly used the Minix one I picked up, but when it's been needed it's worked flawlessly. I like the fact I just need that one for HDMI, USB-A and Ethernet, which covers everything for me. That said, the world is becoming more wireless :D
 
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Can I get the apple one and then plug a USB A hub into the USB port? I need more than one USB port.
 
I have an OWC dock at home when I want to use Ethernet and external monitor. I used the Apple USB-C multi port adapter, and USB-Ethernet adapter for a while also when I traveled - never failed me or had any problems. I started using a HooToo Shuttle a few weeks back since it has additional USB ports, and its been flawless as well.

We purchased a couple rMB's for some exec's at my job, and the only time that the Apple adapters failed is when I tried to netboot to push our corporate image to the machines. It just wouldnt work. On a whim, I brought in my Hootoo Shuttle, and it netbooted with no problem and I was able to push our image.
 
Get Apple Official HDMI Multipart adaptor or/and USB-C to USB-A, don't waste any money on 3rd party.
Even, now you can use the adaptor, it may stop working when you upgrade the OS to latest version.

Yes, USB-C is a open standard, but many adaptors in the market don't fully meet the standard because technical (is actually designed by china small company)/ marketing (get out of spec function)/ economic (keep it cheap).
 
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evec said:
Get Apple Official HDMI Multipart adaptor or/and USB-C to USB-A, don't waste any money on 3rd party.
Even, now you can use the adaptor, it may stop working when you upgrade the OS to latest version.

Yes, USB-C is a open standard, but many adaptors in the market don't fully meet the standard because technical (is actually designed by china small company)/ marketing (get out of spec function)/ economic (keep it cheap).
Click to expand...

what's your point, really? some of us are using 3rd-party adapters without issue; check amazon, there are some with 4, or 4 1/2 star reviews; we're not the only ones using these. i have a hub that: powers my macbook, and gives me 3 usb3 ports. and it works, it's small, mobile... even has a cool blue light. what more could one ask for?
 
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crewkid89 said:
But this was not everyone's experience. They even had to push out a firmware update to solve a ton of compatibility issues last spring. ?
Click to expand...

Well, considering I am running Windows 10 via Boot Camp exclusively and have nothing to do with OSX, perhaps that's why I'm having a strong USB-C adapter experience. Perhaps the problem is with Apple's OS working poorly with Apple's adapter.

BJ
 
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