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Can't find hub/dock that supports power delivery AND data

imrazor

imrazor

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 8, 2010
412
124
Dol Amroth
For a while now I've had a OWC USB-C "Travel Dock" that supports power delivery, but not data. That means that I can't use it with my G-Technology 4TB drive that delivers USB-C power AND data. I recently bought a Belkin "USB-C Multimedia Hub" that supposedly supports up to 60w of power delivery. Except it doesn't. When connected to the G-Tech drive, it will deliver data but NOT power, exactly the opposite problem that the OWC device has.

Why is it so flipping hard to find a device that will pass data and power at the same time?
 
Well, that's nice but I was hoping not to spend $300 on what I'd think would be a basic feature.
 
Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude or unappreciative. I'm just frustrated that having power delivery and data on the same port seems to be a premium feature. Is that to be expected?
 
imrazor said:
For a while now I've had a OWC USB-C "Travel Dock" that supports power delivery, but not data. That means that I can't use it with my G-Technology 4TB drive that delivers USB-C power AND data. I recently bought a Belkin "USB-C Multimedia Hub" that supposedly supports up to 60w of power delivery. Except it doesn't. When connected to the G-Tech drive, it will deliver data but NOT power, exactly the opposite problem that the OWC device has.

Why is it so flipping hard to find a device that will pass data and power at the same time?
Click to expand...

I believe you got this wrong: The USB-C port that support high power delivery (PD) it doesn't support data transfer from the same port. If a USB-C dock/hub has a USB-C port that supports data transfer, it will have restrictions in the power delivery and will not support PD. you cannot have them both from the same port, strictly speaking for USB-C hubs/docks. So, there is nothing wrong with the docks you have, they do work as they suppose to do.

What you're looking for is a Thunderbolt 3 dock/hub. They are more expensive than the USB-C ports, but can deliver both power and data from the same port. Look for OWC, Caldigit, Belkin TB3 hubs/Docks.
 
@coolajami I guess I was confused by my G-Technology drive. It is a USB-C device that provides power and data on the same cable and port, so I *assumed* (yes, I know) that finding a USB-C hub or dock that could handle both at the same time wouldn't be a big deal. It seems I was wrong.
 
imrazor said:
@coolajami I guess I was confused by my G-Technology drive. It is a USB-C device that provides power and data on the same cable and port, so I *assumed* (yes, I know) that finding a USB-C hub or dock that could handle both at the same time wouldn't be a big deal. It seems I was wrong.
Click to expand...

You comparing a direct connection (G-Drive to Macbook) with a branched connection (G-Drive -> Hub -> Macbook). In the first case, you can get power delivery/data at the same time through the USB-C port. In the second case, you have to consider that your laptop's USB-C port has to split its transfer/power capacity between the ports of the hub and that comes with certain limitations.

The best you can get in a simple USB-C hub is a hub that requires you to connect it into 2 USB-C ports in your laptop, like the Anker USB-C Hub. it has a multipurpose USB-C port, that could deliver power/data at the same time, but I'm failing to see the benefit of this, you can always connect your G-Drive to your laptop directly and use the 2nd USB-C port for your hub.

us.anker.com

Anker 547 USB-C Hub (7-in-2, for MacBook)

The Anker Advantage: Join the 50 million+ powered by our leading technology. Massive Expansion: Expand your MacBook’s 2 USB-C ports into 1 Thunderbolt USB-C por
us.anker.com

I believe Satechi makes a similar model.

If you're looking for a solution that utilises a single USB-C port on your laptop, the only way is a TB3 dock.
 
That Anker device would be perfect except that it only supports Intel laptops. Price is right too. I'll have to check out Satechi's offerings and see if they have something comparable that supports M1 devices.

The reason I was interested in keeping a port free is that I had been using a TB to DisplayPort cable to connect an external monitor. Happily the Belkin dock supports HDMI out, so I can use that. Since my monitor only has two inputs (1xHDMI, 1xDP) I'll have to get a DisplayPort cable for my PC. Not the end of the world by any means.
 
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