Confusion about the ports

[cool11]

I am thinking of a possible purchase of a new mbp 15' (2016) model.
But I want to know all costs, what I will need to buy, etc, giving the fact that all known ports have disappeared.

Till now, in my mbp 15'(late '13) I have 3 cords connected:
- magsafe (for power)
- thunderbolt-to-ethernet adapter (for network)
- usb cable that goes to a usb hub (many usb devices)

Needless to say that I have dozens of usb2/3 devices, and also I prefer ethernet internet instead of wifi for my mac.

So, how I can cover these needs in the new mbp?
I suspect I need adapters, so give me something practical to see/search(ebay/whatever).
I have read about the new possibilities of usb-c, I have seen apple's page for the new mbp, but still wondering if I am understanding well or I am missing things.
So please explain to me, and give me your suggestions too, about having ports/dongles/connectivity.

 

[cerberusss]

The only things you'll need, are:
- replacement for the Ethernet dongle: http://www.apple.com/shop/product/HJKF2ZM/A/belkin-usb-c-to-gigabit-ethernet-adapter
- replacement cable to your USB hub

That last one depends on how the USB connector at the hub end looks like. Go to the Belkin USB-C page to find the correct one.
http://www.belkin.com/usb-c-cable-finder/?country=us#!device/hub

 

[cool11]

The only things you'll need, are:
- replacement for the Ethernet dongle: http://www.apple.com/shop/product/HJKF2ZM/A/belkin-usb-c-to-gigabit-ethernet-adapter
- replacement cable to your USB hub

That last one depends on how the USB connector at the hub end looks like. Go to the Belkin USB-C page to find the correct one.
http://www.belkin.com/usb-c-cable-finder/?country=us#!device/hub

Thank you.
So,
- powered by usb-c, nothing to buy

- ethernet -->> dongle you mentioned

- replacement cable for my usb hub
this is it
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker®-Uspeed-7-Port-Adapter-Chipset/dp/B006TTA75Y
Can you please give me the right link for this?

 

[ixxx69]

Can you please give me the right link for this?

You need a USB-C to USB-B (your hub) cable. There are a bunch if you search Amazon, but this one should work:
https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matter...qid=1478982853&sr=1-2&keywords=usb+c+to+usb+b

 

[DeltaMac]

This looks like the correct cable for your Anker USB hub

 

[cool11]

This looks like the correct cable for your Anker USB hub

Is there any difference with the other cable in amazon?
They look identical, or not?

 

[ixxx69]

Is there any difference with the other cable in amazon?
They look identical, or not?

They do the same thing. Any USB-C to USB-B (USB 3 or 3.1 Gen1) cable from a reputable supplier should work. The only caveat is the length of the cable, but anywhere in the 3' range should be fine (some hubs might not work with a 6' cable for example).

I understand when you don't know a lot about this stuff, and your hearing from the "internet" that the new MBP is a port disaster, it can seem bewildering, but it's really this easy! You should be good to go!

 

[cool11]

So, from the 4 usb-c ports of the new mbp 15',
I will have occupied the 3 of them at once?
- charging
- usb hub
- ethernet adapter

Am I counting right?

 

[teidon]

There are USB-C dongles that have USB-A ports as well as an ethernet port. So you would only need power cable + that one dongle. It's also possible for USB-C devices to give power to your Mac so you could have just one USB-C cable connected to your Mac. The downside to those is that as far as I know they are limited to give 60W while the 15" MBP charger gives 85W. It's better to charge lithium batteries as fast as possible to maximize their lifetime, so you should use the 85W charger. Also if you are doing heavy work with the Mac, 60W would not be enough to charge it and the battery would slowly drain.

 

[Fishrrman]

There's no Magsafe. Won't need that, but you still "use up a port" for charging.

Your current thunderbolt-to-ethernet adapter won't work. I'm sure there are replacements available that will.

You'll need a USB-c to USB-a cable for the hub.
BUT... you -might- want one of the newer USB-c hubs instead.

Or possibly, even one of the new thunderbolt docks. All the connection options in one box, with one connector to the MacBook.

 

[cerberusss]

So, from the 4 usb-c ports of the new mbp 15',
I will have occupied the 3 of them at once?

Correct.

Alternative: buy a new USB-C hub with PD (Power Delivery) because then you can just hook up the power and ethernet to the hub. And only use one port, namely to connect the hub to the MBP.

 

[cool11]

There are USB-C dongles that have USB-A ports as well as an ethernet port. So you would only need power cable + that one dongle. It's also possible for USB-C devices to give power to your Mac so you could have just one USB-C cable connected to your Mac. The downside to those is that as far as I know they are limited to give 60W while the 15" MBP charger gives 85W. It's better to charge lithium batteries as fast as possible to maximize their lifetime, so you should use the 85W charger. Also if you are doing heavy work with the Mac, 60W would not be enough to charge it and the battery would slowly drain.

Correct.

Alternative: buy a new USB-C hub with PD (Power Delivery) because then you can just hook up the power and ethernet to the hub. And only use one port, namely to connect the hub to the MBP.

Nice to see that there is alternative option.
Possibly the same cost like buying the cable for my existing usb hub, and also a usb-c-to ethernet adapter!!!

After your suggestion for Usb-C with PD, I can see some options in ebay, but because we talk about the powering of our mac, I would like to know about really good and safe options.
So, if I would go with this alternative, what you would suggest? (product/link)

In any case, if there is a possibility of 'bad' or limited work from usb hub for charging mbp, I will not go with this option, as I do not want to make mbp batteries run in unstable/slow/faulty/limited charging....

 

[ixxx69]

In any case, if there is a possibility of 'bad' or limited work from usb hub for charging mbp, I will not go with this option, as I do not want to make mbp batteries run in unstable/slow/faulty/limited charging....

Yes, there are some cheap knockoff products out there - do your research, read reviews on Amazon, etc. However, just one last comment for you - MacRumors is a public forum where as long as you don't run afoul of the forum rules, anyone can say pretty much whatever they want, no matter how wrong, false, misinformed or just plain nonsense. Just understand that you'll often get conflicting information here, and someone who sounds like they're a tech expert to you may be rather misinformed. Best of luck!

 

[jermwhl]

Nice to see that there is alternative option.
Possibly the same cost like buying the cable for my existing usb hub, and also a usb-c-to ethernet adapter!!!

After your suggestion for Usb-C with PD, I can see some options in ebay, but because we talk about the powering of our mac, I would like to know about really good and safe options.
So, if I would go with this alternative, what you would suggest? (product/link)

In any case, if there is a possibility of 'bad' or limited work from usb hub for charging mbp, I will not go with this option, as I do not want to make mbp batteries run in unstable/slow/faulty/limited charging....

Dell has a thunderbolt 3 hub, which has tons of ports, but these are pretty pricey and more aligned to be a dock for a desktop replacement: http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/4/SLN301105
OWC is also coming out with one (current available for pre-order):
https://www.owcdigital.com/products/thunderbolt/thunderbolt-3-dock-overview

Not sure if there are other docks available. But there are tons of other hubs available too. It's really just up to what you need and finding the best option(s) that meet your needs. For me, I just needed an SD card reader for the occasional SD card that I may need to read. So I went with this little guy:
https://smile.amazon.com/Satechi-Ty...UTF8&qid=1479063297&sr=1-3&keywords=usb+c+hub

But, as you can see in the link below, there are TONS of other options:

https://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_s...field-keywords=usb+c+hub&rh=i:aps,k:usb+c+hub

 

[cerberusss]

So, if I would go with this alternative, what you would suggest? (product/link)

In any case, if there is a possibility of 'bad' or limited work from usb hub for charging mbp, I will not go with this option, as I do not want to make mbp batteries run in unstable/slow/faulty/limited charging....

That is very wise.

I'm looking into this stuff, but it's really quite hard. The USB-C standard is haphazardly followed. Both chargers and cables need to be fully compliant, and this is especially important because we're talking about an expensive device that draws much more power than any other USB-C device on the market.

I'm following Nathan K. and Benson Leung on Google Plus. Both are Google engineers who love to test this stuf, and they regularly call out manufacturers of non-compliant stuff. This even includes Apple themselves, who apparently replaced their USB-C charge cable with a different one -- but didn't change the model number!
https://plus.google.com/102612254593917101378/posts/dcLuKzGeeuH?sfc=true

At this moment, I'm sticking to three separate cables until I learn more. I'm actually setting up a website with USB-C stuff that is tested as correct.
[doublepost=1479065839][/doublepost]

Yes, there are some cheap knockoff products out there - do your research, read reviews on Amazon

The reviews on Amazon are not good enough, in my opinion. I'd hesitate to call them worthless. But the thing is, people might write a good review and still not know what they're talking about. Or it might work in their case, but on the recent MacBook Pro models, it may trigger some bug in a cable or a charger.

I'm sticking to Apple stuff right now. They don't carry an USB-C hub at the moment, which is saying something IMHO. Edit: well maybe it's saying they'd rather you buy the $$$ Thunderbolt docks.

 

[cool11]

Dear fellows, very helpful conversation here.

After all these thoughts, I am thinking not proceeding to depend on something else for powering mbp, than the official power supply from apple. I think this is the most wise choice for now...and future proof, avoid risking any damage to mbp or batteries.
2 ports occupied this way, for 'safety first'.

Questions

1. I can safely combine 'two in one', a new usb-c that includes ethernet port too. Good suggestions please?

2. If I keep my existing anker usb hub(just buying the additional usb-c cable), am I missing speed comparing to a new usb-c hub?

3. Silly question, but when we talk about usb-c hubs, the usb-c is only on the end of the cable that connects to mbp and also classic ports disappear on the new hubs, or it is the classic hubs with the classic sized usb ports on the hub and it is all about the cable connection with usb-c size/standard? I see/guess the first one, but I am wondering about it...

4. Will our usb flash disks going to change anytime soon, to something like usb-c plug?

5. For my needs on the move, I will need a small cable/adapter of usb-c to usb-a female adapter.(just to mention it) For example
http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-C-Male-...hash=item3606e67bdc:m:msAN93aA5RJJlphGG5feBPw
or
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Type-C-USB-...hash=item3ac2755dd5:m:m7MYXVr1B79ANwRLcfpaf1w
Any suggestions?

 

[Garage Battle]

ONCE the aftermarket solutions mature, yes, you will have a 1 cable solution with a MBP TB3 compatible hub - once it becomes available. Are there solutions you can get right now that will accomplish this - yes - BUT since very few vendors had access to the MBP w/TB3 their products may not be fully compatible. This may take some time.

Be patient.

 

[cerberusss]

1. I can safely combine 'two in one', a new usb-c that includes ethernet port too

I don't have suggestions yet (looking into this) but a note of warning; this is not simply a dongle. It's really a hub with a built-in network card. Thus either macOS needs to support it with its builtin drivers, or it needs to come with a third-party macOS driver (which sucks because you have no idea about the quality).

2. If I keep my existing anker usb hub(just buying the additional usb-c cable), am I missing speed comparing to a new usb-c hub?

This depends... when we say USB-C, what is actually meant, is the shape of the connector (i.e. small, reversible connector). The hub and its cable can be USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1, which can handle up to 5 Gb/s, or USB 3.1 Gen 2 which does 10 Gb/s.

Assuming you don't connect very expensive storage devices to your hub, then you won't notice speed differences.

3. Silly question, but when we talk about usb-c hubs

From what I've seen, an "USB-C hub" probably means that it's USB-C on the computer end, and on the hub end it can't be disconnected (i.e. hub and cable are one piece).

4. Will our usb flash disks going to change anytime soon, to something like usb-c plug?

Yup, there are already thumbdrives with both an USB-C plug and a standard USB 3.0 plug (i.e. USB-A).

5. For my needs on the move, I will need a small cable/adapter of usb-c to usb-a female adapter.(just to mention it) For example (...)

Personally, I'm staying away from these. It's entirely possible to create weird contraptions with such an adapter that can damage devices, from what I've understood. Apple has that same adapter and offers a big discount until the end of this year:
http://www.apple.com/shop/mac/mac-accessories/power-cables