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Reliable Thunderbolt dock?

R

robinp

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 1, 2008
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1,809
Has anyone managed to find a reliable Thunderbolt 3 or 4 dock? I've tried various CalDigit ones and they've all had significant problems. I've now given up on them and would like to try another make.

I have a MacBook Pro 16".

The basics for me:

  • 60W + charging
  • Gigabit ethernet (that actually runs at full speed)
  • A few USB ports
  • 1 display connector (ideally DisplayPort but would be OK with HDMI if reliable)
Nice to haves would include SD card reader, other USBC or thunderbolt ports, especially if they allow for charing of other devices.

Some of the issues I've had:

  • Ethernet conflicts causing other devices to disconnect from network and causing terrible network performance generally
  • Mac freaking out and being limited to 1Ghz CPU (cripplingly slow)
  • Mac not going to sleep
  • Mac not waking from sleep
  • External display going on and off

These problems have occurred on different devices. I've tried the TS3, TS3+, Pro Dock, HDMI Dock. It's not like there is a single consistent fault, it's just there's always something new that's wrong with each subsequent dock I've tried.

I'm currently leaning towards trying one of the Thunderbolt 4 hubs that are coming out soon and then plugging in separate dongles into it for things like ethernet and display port. Maybe that way I can narrow in on a set up that works for me.

Any real world experiences, both positive and negative about other docks would be much appreciated.
 
I have the Caldigit ts3 plus with no problems so far, for several months. It has many connections, 4 HDs, ethernet, USB to a USB 3.1 Hub (which in turn has scanner, DVD, label printer, APC backup power and extra HD), Apple XDR monitor, speakers o analog audio. It is connected to my MBP 16" 2019 - single cable to one of the Thunderbolt ports. I do have a occasional crash when sleeping but this has been attributed to an issue with the MAC that is going for a repair (the crash occurs even if hub is not connected). I would try a later build of the TS3.
 
likegadgets said:
I have the Caldigit ts3 plus with no problems so far, for several months. It has many connections, 4 HDs, ethernet, USB to a USB 3.1 Hub (which in turn has scanner, DVD, label printer, APC backup power and extra HD), Apple XDR monitor, speakers o analog audio. It is connected to my MBP 16" 2019 - single cable to one of the Thunderbolt ports. I do have a occasional crash when sleeping but this has been attributed to an issue with the MAC that is going for a repair (the crash occurs even if hub is not connected). I would try a later build of the TS3.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I had one at the end of last summer and ended up returning it a couple of months ago.

The most reliable of the lot is the original TS3 I have which has the Ethernet problem but otherwise seems to work ok. It was the TS3+ that caused the weird throttling of my Mac.

Pro dock was essentially dead on arrival. HDMI Dock stopped my Mac from sleeping completely. Sometimes weird display flashing off and on issues.

Glad it works for you. But I had the Ethernet issues with both the TS3 and TS3+ so I’m inclined to think it’s an issue with the Ethernet hardware in the TS3 series.
 
I picked up a Kensington SD5600T over the weekend to pair with my M1 Macbook Air. Initially my LG 27UD88 monitor was having trouble staying asleep, but a firmware update on the monitor solved that. Everything else has been stable and responsive.
 
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malsan said:
I picked up a Kensington SD5600T over the weekend to pair with my M1 Macbook Air. Initially my LG 27UD88 monitor was having trouble staying asleep, but a firmware update on the monitor solved that. Everything else has been stable and responsive.
Click to expand...
Thanks. Good to know. Never occurred to me that I might need to update display firmware
 
robinp said:
Great! Would love to hear how you get on with it. What’s your set up?
Click to expand...

My set up is a Mac Mini M1 (16GB/1TB) a 8TB SSD in enclosure (USB-C) - One LG 34WK95U-W (2K5K) via Thunderbolt - A USB-C Memory card reader - Zoom H6 audio recorder
 
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I am currently using the Kensington thunderbolt 4 dock. It's not without some fault either. I have some issue with USB ports sometime randomly stop working properly and I had to reset power and replug the cables. The USB issues seem to happen on windows more often than on macbook.

When it's working, its great though. Just really hate the random USB connection issues. It seems like the unit is identical to OWC..... just the frame looks different....
 
It's curious how, as a category of products, USB and Thunderbolt docks seem to be stricken with so many problems. Makes me wonder if at least some of the problems are with macOS.
 
Ok, I got an OWC Thunderbolt 4 Dock.

The first day it seemed to be stopping my MBP 16 from sleeping. I had a feeling that might have been to do with how I had to connect my monitor because I didn’t have a USBC-DisplayPort cable to hand I had to jury rig something together using another much less capable USBC dock.

Since I got the right cable, it seems to have been working very well indeed. Early days, but I’ve not had any of the problems I had with the various CalDigit products.
 
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I just received this OWC Thunderbolt 4 dock: https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/owc-thunderbolt-dock
I had preordered it last month and it arrived a couple days ago. Finished setting it up today with my M1 MacBook Air. So far I'm very happy.

It provides 90W of power and connects the following to my MBA with a single cable:
- 34" 3440 x 1440 Asus display @ 100Hz via USB-C to DisplayPort adapter plugged in to one of the dock's three outgoing TB ports
- Gigabit ethernet
- Logitech Brio 4K webcam
- Logitech mouse RF dongle
- WD 1TB 2.5" HDD (USB-C bus powered)

It's only really been a couple hours so far, but it's working great and I'm pretty happy to be able to have a one-cable solution again.
 
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xraydoc said:
I just received this OWC Thunderbolt 4 dock: https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/owc-thunderbolt-dock
I had preordered it last month and it arrived a couple days ago. Finished setting it up today with my M1 MacBook Air. So far I'm very happy.

It provides 90W of power and connects the following to my MBA with a single cable:
- 34" 3440 x 1440 Asus display @ 100Hz via USB-C to DisplayPort adapter plugged in to one of the dock's three outgoing TB ports
- Gigabit ethernet
- Logitech Brio 4K webcam
- Logitech mouse RF dongle
- WD 1TB 2.5" HDD (USB-C bus powered)

It's only really been a couple hours so far, but it's working great and I'm pretty happy to be able to have a one-cable solution again.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the feedback. I have been considering the same dock for my m1.

Edited to add: Just made the purchase.
 
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ElCidRo said:
How were you able to order it? I've had a preorder for close to 4 months now (24th of December 2020)... and I'm still waiting for it
Click to expand...
I'd check with them. I ordered one a month ago and I received it last week. So far pretty happy with it. Did have an issue where plugging anything in to the hub (USB, TB or even audio) would put the laptop to sleep, requiring a key press to wake up, but seems to be better after unplugging the dock and reseating all the cables. Will update if it crops up again.
 
I did check with them but it was not very helpful: "Typically we take in and process orders in the order they come. I currently found that we have another shipment coming towards the end of this month."

I don't understand how they had stock in stores before filling their preorders from last year...

I'm going to move out of my current apartment in about a month - if they don't ship it by then I'm screwed.
Is there any store which still has it in stock? Maybe I could order from there instead?
 
ElCidRo said:
I did check with them but it was not very helpful: "Typically we take in and process orders in the order they come. I currently found that we have another shipment coming towards the end of this month."

I don't understand how they had stock in stores before filling their preorders from last year...

I'm going to move out of my current apartment in about a month - if they don't ship it by then I'm screwed.
Is there any store which still has it in stock? Maybe I could order from there instead?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure why you're still waiting for yours though. I ordered long after you and it was shipped to me just a couple weeks ago.
 
They checked again and said this is being shipped from their Belgian warehouse. Maybe they haven't received stock in Europe yet. I suppose you are based in the US right?
 
ElCidRo said:
They checked again and said this is being shipped from their Belgian warehouse. Maybe they haven't received stock in Europe yet. I suppose you are based in the US right?
Click to expand...
I got mine from Megamac in the Uk about 2 weeks ago.
 
I was charged for them - so that must mean they are on their way now. Fingers crossed. Maybe support did something behind the scenes.
 
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