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Ratcheter

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 12, 2025
18
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Currently I have a label printer and separate mobile scanner which connect to my Mac Mini each with its own USB-A cable.

I have a new 15” MacBook Air that’s going to be delivered in the next couple days and I need to connect these two items to it. My first thought was that I would need to get a USB hub that will connect to the USB-C on the MacBook Air and allow me to plug in my two USB-B peripherals.

But now I’m wondering if there’s any way to do this wirelessly, if there’s a hub that could connect to my laptop without using a cord in order to connect these legacy peripherals? That would be nice so that I’m not bound to the desk anymore, since this is a laptop after all.

If that doesn’t exist, then is there a hub that will connect those two peripherals but also charge the MacBook Air thru the USB-C connection? It just seems redundant if I have to plug a USB-C cable into the laptop and also a MagSafe power adapter.
 
If that doesn’t exist, then is there a hub that will connect those two peripherals but also charge the MacBook Air thru the USB-C connection? It just seems redundant if I have to plug a USB-C cable into the laptop and also a MagSafe power adapter.
"Wireless" USB... never have seen such a device in the wild. As for USB-C, there are plenty of USB-C hubs/docks with power delivery. Anker and Satechi are two well known brands. If you want to spend more, a Thunderbolt 3/4/5 dock offers the best compatibility and throughput. I have CalDigit TS3 Plus.
 
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Thank you for the reply!

I don’t need thunderbolt, just legacy USB-A.

I found a few USB hubs that have power delivery on the USB-C ports like you said, but it seems like that is for the peripherals that you plug into it. Will it also give power on the main USB-C connection that will connect to my MacBook Air?

I’m sorry, I’m a complete noob to any of this.
 
If you specify the make and model numbers of the label printer, the scanner and your router folks here can ponder the possibilities of a wireless solution.
I have a Brother QL-600 label printer, a Brother DS-640 mobile scanner, and an Apple AirPort Extreme router.

I also have a Brother conventional printer but that has a built-in wireless print server so it’s connected directly to the router. That’s why I got the idea of connecting to the other two items wirelessly. But it seems like that might not be possible or at least easy enough for me to be able to do it.

I would be fine with a basic USB hub that could also charge the MacBook Air.
 
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