Problem with Anker Prime TB5 Docking Station (14-1)

[Hitch08]

I need some help/thoughts with the Amazon Prime TB5 Docking Station - specifically with regards to the networking connection/function not working.

Prior to purchasing the Anker TB5, I was using an Anker 565 USB-C hub. It only has two USB-C ports so I decided to purchase the Anker TB5. The reason is that I needed more USB-C/TB ports. The Anker 565 does have a slot for a networking cable. It worked fine.

Yesterday, I connected the Anker TB5. Everything worked except the networking connection. I could not use it. The MBP would either end up with a very strange IP address or it would indicate that the IP address was self-assigned. Either way, I could not use the internet unless I used WiFi - there was no connection via the ethernet connection. Both lights on either side of the ethernet connection will light up and stay lit (no flashing).

I tried to troubleshoot. I restarted by MBP several times. I restarted the AP that I connect to several times. I found a suggestion on Anker's website that I turn everything off for 5 minutes and then restart/reconnect. No luck. I swapped out the Anker TB5 and went back to the Anker 565. It worked just fine. I tried to find a solution via various searches. No luck.

I did find this Reddit page. It's pretty old, but I decided to try an extra dongle for the networking connection.

https://www.reddit.com/r/anker/comments/n0r3cj/alert_anker_powerexpand_elite_13in1_dock_and

I used an Anker Ethernet to USBC dongle. It's a "Powerexpand" USB-C to 2.5Gbps ethernet adapter. I plugged the same network cable into that dongle and connected the USB-C end to the Anker Prime TB5. It worked fine - normal IP address assigned with a great connection.

I am using a November 2023 MBP M3. It is fully updated to Sequoia 15.5.

Is this likely a problem with the driver? More importantly, any ideas/suggestions for fixing it other than using up a USB-C slot? Damn thing was $400 which is a lot for it to not work properly.

Any advice/thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Honza1]

Two options come to mind. Either the Docking station is bad, in which case replace it. But, option 2 is that it needs to have manually added service to the networking. In System settings in Networking, you can add service (in the three dots button bottom right). I would expect that to be added automatically and also automatically configured, but who knows? May be the proper support is not in the system yet? Did you check the instructions/manual for the dock? I would expect this to be addressed there.

 

[Hitch08]

Thanks for the post. Much appreciated.

I tried to add service but that didn't work. I largely backed my way into it as I (and I don't remember the exact phrase) basically told the MBP to permanently forget the connection. I think I hit "delete service" and then a window popped up where it essentially asked if it was permanent and I said yes. I then went back and manually added the service.

I did check the instructions/manual. There isn't much. There were some instructions for updating the driver if you are using a Windows machine. For MacOS, it just said to make sure you are updated. I also surfed their Troubleshooting but no help there either.

Thanks again.

Edit to add: I tried their online chat. At first, it said I was number 5 on the list. Then, after a while went by, the following message was posted:

Sorry to say the agent is not online now. Human-agent service time is Mon-Fri 7 AM-4 PM (PST).

It is also recommended to get some product information from our support center first: https://support.anker.com/s/

If you still have any questions or need further assistance, please don't hesitate to submit a request at: https://support.anker.com/s/emailcontactus

After we receive your request, our customer service representative will respond via email within 24 hours, excluding holidays.

Not great. I'm trying to reach support via phone now.

 

[Hitch08]

Figured I would update this thread with some additional information.

Spoke with Anker support. Advised them of the process that I followed and how I can connect to the internet with their dongle via USBC but not when using the ethernet port on the Anker Prime TB5 - basically the stuff that I posted above. The conversation thereafter was pretty short. The only troubleshooting suggestion was that I should try another MBP. The fellow advised that this is a known issue with the M1, M2, & M3's (I think he said M4 as well). He said that if the Anker Prime TB5 does not work with the other MBP then I should exchange it for a replacement. If the Anker Prime TB5 does work on the other MBP, then I should just return it. I don't remember his exact words but there is no known resolution/fix.

 

[Bigwaff]

With Anker TB5 dock attached, does it’s Ethernet device show up in System Information app?

 

[Hitch08]

Yes.

 

[hovscorpion12]

I just got mine. I am using a standard Ethernet cable from Amazon. So far so good. I did not have to do any changes to my Mac Settings. [tested on both M4 Pro MBP 14 and M3 Max MBP 16]

Did you end up getting yours replaced or used new cable?

 

[Hitch08]

I just returned it. As stated above, the rep at Anker made it clear that it would not work with my computer. One way or the other, I needed to return it. I decided to go with another brand.

 

[mfram]

I have an older TB3 dock that had a 1gig ethernet port in it. I could never get it to work reliably. Eventually, it would drop out when waking up the machine. That 1G ethernet chipset with the Mac driver is just not reliable. You're much better off with a 2.5G ethernet adapter. The chipset and driver are much more reliable in my experience. From now on I will only buy TB docks that have a 2.5G ethernet port. If you only have the 1G port, get an external USB 2.5G adapter and use that one instead.

 

[CWasko]

Hello! Yea, I just bought this as well. Replacement for a Sonnettech Echo 20 TB4. That thing would reset all the time. I bought two, as well - one for work and home. Any how... Back to the Anker. The issue w/ the Ethernet is the MAC address is 00:00:00:00:00:00 and that just isn't going to work. I did some digging - https://www.guru99.com/mac-address-find-change.html and basically did that. Here is the summary:

# Use this command to find the "USB 10/100/1G/2.5G LAN"; mine was en13
networksetup -listallhardwareports

# Use this command to set a temp MAC address using whatever you find for the 'enXX':
sudo ifconfig en13 ether 00:1a:2b:3c:4d:5e

# Verify it 'stuck' with this command, looking for en13 (or whatever yours is):
ifconfig

# Here was my final result:
en13: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
    options=404<VLAN_MTU,CHANNEL_IO>
    ether 00:1a:2b:3c:4d:5e
    inet6 fe80::c4:90e9:624f:1bbb%en13 prefixlen 64 secured scopeid 0x16
    inet6 fd33:dd18:9c80:7b12:18e2:9db0:cac5:566c prefixlen 64 autoconf secured
    inet 10.0.0.87 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 10.0.0.255
    nd6 options=201<PERFORMNUD,DAD>
    media: autoselect (1000baseT <full-duplex>)
    status: active

This will not stick after reboot. But, this is the issue. Not sure how Anker can fix it or if they can. I don't care much about having an ethernet connection, at home. So I probably won't send it back. Just frustrated in general that all these docks suck.

 

[CWasko]

So, just poking back in on this. I did reach out to Anker and they sent me a driver update package that allowed me to set the MAC access on the Dock. Only problem is, it required a Windows computer. I leveraged Parallels and shared the Anker Dock and Ethernet to the VM and was able to run the utility. Reboot the Mac and power cycled the Dock and the settings stuck.

 

[Hitch08]

That's a fair amount of work to get the darn thing working. It's good that you know how to do that and already had Parallels.

 

[CWasko]

Ha, yea, I guess? I work in IT, so some of this is pretty "normal" for me. Ultimate point is - the dock has a known issue, the fix requires a Windows computer. Buyer beware. Outside of this issue though, it works great I appreciate the footprint and that the power supply is built in.

 

[Hitch08]

lol. Very fair point. I'm considered IT within the family. I can count the number of times I've run Apple terminal commands on one hand.