Review: CalDigit's 'TS3 Plus' Dock Gives You 15 Ports, 85W Charging, and an SD Card Reader for $250

[VinOrdinaire]

Caldigit TS3+ and CyberPower sine wave UPS, SD card issues:

Overall I'm really liking the TS3+ with my 2017 iMac 27". So far, it is acting as a hub for an Epson scanner, two portable hard drives, and an HP printer. next up will be an additional monitor. However, I've had two glitches.

1) The Cyberpower sine wave UPS uses a USB signal cable. When plugged into the TS3+, I wasn't seeing the UPS listed in system preferences in the "energy saver" section as a UPS. So I am keeping it plugged into my iMac's USB.

2) SD card. First effort to use an SD card in the SD Card slot didn't work; wouldn't recognize it. Tried two different types of SD cards. Followed the Caldigit advice page to try unplugging the hub and then plugging it back in again, which worked. Then again today it was not recognizing the card on first insertion. Unplugging the hub every time messes with my hard drives and is a kludge, so went to Caldigit site again for suggestions. Tried resetting NVRAM as per Caldigit support page suggestion (option-command-P-R on reboot). Didn't appear to make a difference. Then I went to this page: http://www.caldigit.com/KB/index.asp?KBID=220&viewlocale=1 which shows how the bandwidth is allocated into 3 groups of ports each with its own USB bus controller, along with a PCIe controller for the Gb Ethernet port. I noticed I had plugged both my portable drives into the same USB controller as the SD Card. So I figured it wouldn't hurt to shift the more power-hungry portable drive from Group 2 to Group 3. So far so good. Will see if it stays fixed.

Update: moving portable drives around did not fix problems. SD Card again not recognized. The issue occurs after the iMac wakes from sleep.

 

[VinOrdinaire]

Caldigit TS3+ and CyberPower sine wave UPS, SD card issues:

Update: moving portable drives around did not fix problems. SD Card again not recognized. The issue occurs after the iMac wakes from sleep.

Second update: I think my original post was on the wrong track. It's not an SD card slot issue; it's a sleep issue. My 2017 iMac 27" 4.2 GHz machine works fine with the TS3+ as long as the iMac does not go to sleep. However, sleep mode turns off the power light on the TS3+. Wake from sleep mode brings back the power light but without restoring all device connections. I've now seen it with my printer and the SD card slot. The solution seems to be to change the iMac's energy saver preferences in system settings; tick the check box "prevent the computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off." No more sleep, but no more lost connections.

Third update: Not sure why, but it seems that manually setting sleep mode (from Apple menu), as opposed to enabling automatic sleep settings in system preferences, can keep the Caldigit TS3+ from losing connections when it wakes up. Doesn't make any sense so I'll leave it at that for now and wait for wiser heads to figure it out.

 

[JHankwitz]

Lack of eSATA ports is a deal breaker.

Deal breaker only if you’re one of the few that actually needs eSATA.

 

[PTBKoo]

Does anyone have any issues with static popping noises coming out the the speakers with a USB DAC connected to the Caldigit?

Currently have annoying static sounds coming out of the speakers with any kind of sound playing.

With the DAC connected directly to the Macbook it works fine.

 

[djbuddha]

Does anyone have any issues with static popping noises coming out the the speakers with a USB DAC connected to the Caldigit?

Currently have annoying static sounds coming out of the speakers with any kind of sound playing.

With the DAC connected directly to the Macbook it works fine.

Had this issue with my Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. Reach out to Caldigit. In my case it was the power supply. New one fixed it.

 

[Earl Urley]

Anybody know if the TS3 Plus or previous model will support booting off a USB flash key? I've noticed some of the dumber USB-C hubs won't let me boot from them on 2017 rMBPs/rMBs.

 

[djbuddha]

Anybody know if the TS3 Plus or previous model will support booting off a USB flash key? I've noticed some of the dumber USB-C hubs won't let me boot from them on 2017 rMBPs/rMBs.

It works. I have Sierra on my boot drive, High Sierra on an external SSD. Holding option works and it recognized and boots no problem while plugged into the rear USB-C port.

 

[mickaelperrin]

Hi !

Can someone tell me if it succeeds driving 3 monitors on their MBP with two on the dock and another plugged directly on the MBP ?

I own a TS3+ and I am sure it used to work, but I didn't use it for months, and now as soon as I plug more than two monitors with two monitors on the dock, the third is entering in sleep mode. If I unplug one monitor to the dock and plug in directly to the MBP it works.

So far, the caldigit support wasn't able to give me an acceptable answer. I need to wait more than I week for each email I send, and they argue that I reached the system limits of my MBP... while the specs indicate it cad drive 4 external 4K monitors @60hz, and my setup only use 1 4K and 2 FHD...

Edit: my MBP is a 15" MBP 2016 with Radeon Pro 460 4GB

 

[sublunar]

Second update: I think my original post was on the wrong track. It's not an SD card slot issue; it's a sleep issue. My 2017 iMac 27" 4.2 GHz machine works fine with the TS3+ as long as the iMac does not go to sleep. However, sleep mode turns off the power light on the TS3+. Wake from sleep mode brings back the power light but without restoring all device connections. I've now seen it with my printer and the SD card slot. The solution seems to be to change the iMac's energy saver preferences in system settings; tick the check box "prevent the computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off." No more sleep, but no more lost connections.

Third update: Not sure why, but it seems that manually setting sleep mode (from Apple menu), as opposed to enabling automatic sleep settings in system preferences, can keep the Caldigit TS3+ from losing connections when it wakes up. Doesn't make any sense so I'll leave it at that for now and wait for wiser heads to figure it out.

Might be a wild goose chase anyway, I have a TS2 plugged into my 2012 Mac Mini so I use the native SD slot on the Mac itself. If I insert an SD card even shortly after waking the Mini up it's not recognised until after removing and reinserting. It really does seem like Sleeping the Mac is an issue as occasionally i lose connection to the monitor I have connected to the MDP port on the TS2 (because the TS2 itself is connected to the 2012's one and only TB port, the boot drive is connected via eSATA on the TS2 itself). The only thing I can do then is power recycle the Mini. It's also the case if I boot from the internal SSD drive.
[doublepost=1528017791][/doublepost]

Hi !

Can someone tell me if it succeeds driving 3 monitors on their MBP with two on the dock and another plugged directly on the MBP ?

I own a TS3+ and I am sure it used to work, but I didn't use it for months, and now as soon as I plug more than two monitors with two monitors on the dock, the third is entering in sleep mode. If I unplug one monitor to the dock and plug in directly to the MBP it works.

So far, the caldigit support wasn't able to give me an acceptable answer. I need to wait more than I week for each email I send, and they argue that I reached the system limits of my MBP... while the specs indicate it cad drive 4 external 4K monitors @60hz, and my setup only use 1 4K and 2 FHD...

Is your MBP a 13" or 15" ? I assume it's 2016 or 2017. This thread and linked tech note appears to explain a 2 monitor limit on the 13".

Are you directly connecting the 4k to the MacBook Pro and then the 2 1080p screens onto the TS3?

 

[mickaelperrin]

Is your MBP a 13" or 15" ? I assume it's 2016 or 2017. This thread and linked tech note appears to explain a 2 monitor limit on the 13".

Are you directly connecting the 4k to the MacBook Pro and then the 2 1080p screens onto the TS3?

My MBP is a 15" 2016 with Radeon graphic card, so the specifications indicates that the limits are 4 external 4K displays at 60hz.

I connect to the dock 1 4K and 1 FHD. The additional FHD is from time to time used to connect to another computer.

 

[sublunar]

My MBP is a 15" 2016 with Radeon graphic card, so the specifications indicates that the limits are 4 external 4K displays at 60hz.

I connect to the dock 1 4K and 1 FHD. The additional FHD is from time to time used to connect to another computer.

Those limits probably suggest directly connected 4k monitors though. Would the combination work if you connected the 2 FHD screens off the dock and the 4k directly off another TB3 port?

Some KB files off Caldigit hint at limits for 4k.

 

[mickaelperrin]

Thanks thats interesting, I will try this.

But, the TS3+ is given to handle 1 5K monitor or 2 4K monitor both @60hz. That's why I even didn't think about using the FHD monitors only on the dock. I also plan to replace some FHD by other 4K.

BTW, your link to Caldigit KB i s related to TS3 and TS3 lite, not TS3+.

 

[mickaelperrin]

So I did what you proposed, I plugged on the TS3+ only the FHD displays and the 4K directly on the MBP.

Guess what, it works.

So, it looks like TS3+ has serious issues managing what they argue in their marketing documents dual 4K@60hz...

Maybe my dock is broken, but Caldigit support gave me no news since 2 weeks, so I think they just won't answer anymore my requests anymore... really poor support.

 

[djbuddha]

So I did what you proposed, I plugged on the TS3+ only the FHD displays and the 4K directly on the MBP.

Guess what, it works.

So, it looks like TS3+ has serious issues managing what they argue in their marketing documents dual 4K@60hz...

Maybe my dock is broken, but Caldigit support gave me no news since 2 weeks, so I think they just won't answer anymore my requests anymore... really poor support.

I have dual 4k@60hz from my TS3 Plus (one using the Thunderbolt 3 out to a USB-C monitor and the other using DisplayPort)

 

[PTBKoo]

Had this issue with my Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. Reach out to Caldigit. In my case it was the power supply. New one fixed it.

They sent me a new power supply and now everything works great.

 

[Yourt]

Just bought a TS3 Plus from someone that had trouble getting it working on HP Zbook. my luck: I saw W10 installation tips like 'wait 20 secs' next 'wait 2 minutes for drivers' and a lot of 'message xxx might appear' and 'settings might be needed to be changed in account/administrator/BIOS:...".
I think he was a bit overwhelmed when he saw me hook it up: "you 'll probably have to give it some time, he said". My reply: I already installed the Utility in one click and while saying that I hooked up and opened a map on SSD disk, grabbed a CF card reader with CF card in and attached it and pushed a 32GB SD card in the onboard reader. All in like 5 seconds. Wooow!
Just one point I don't agree on: UASP speed over 5Gb connections is called 'normal' at 300 and something MB/s. NO, IT IS NOT! I get 380/420 like with my Samsung T1 attached directly to my Macbook Pro, and attached to a SeagatPlusHub I get like 380/420 or maybe 375/415, but no less. Any 5Gb/s port I tried on the TS3 Plus gave me no more than 325/345. A Samsung T5 over USB-C 10Gb/s will hit way higher speeds probably, and some decent TB-storage even more. But that's not my point: how come Seagate's external disk and hub manages topspeeds over UASP and Caldigit can't get it done after receiving data over TB3? If there is a fix for that: 100% ok.

 

[jimthing]

Just bought a TS3 Plus from someone that had trouble getting it working on HP Zbook. my luck: I saw W10 installation tips like 'wait 20 secs' next 'wait 2 minutes for drivers' and a lot of 'message xxx might appear' and 'settings might be needed to be changed in account/administrator/BIOS:...".
I think he was a bit overwhelmed when he saw me hook it up: "you 'll probably have to give it some time, he said". My reply: I already installed the Utility in one click and while saying that I hooked up and opened a map on SSD disk, grabbed a CF card reader with CF card in and attached it and pushed a 32GB SD card in the onboard reader. All in like 5 seconds. Wooow!
Just one point I don't agree on: UASP speed over 5Gb connections is called 'normal' at 300 and something MB/s. NO, IT IS NOT! I get 380/420 like with my Samsung T1 attached directly to my Macbook Pro, and attached to a SeagatPlusHub I get like 380/420 or maybe 375/415, but no less. Any 5Gb/s port I tried on the TS3 Plus gave me no more than 325/345. A Samsung T5 over USB-C 10Gb/s will hit way higher speeds probably, and some decent TB-storage even more. But that's not my point: how come Seagate's external disk and hub manages topspeeds over UASP and Caldigit can't get it done after receiving data over TB3? If there is a fix for that: 100% ok.

As a guess, it may be because the CalDigit dock has many more ports, so they slightly limit the throughout per port.

The ~300MB/s is quoted as being typically "normal" for basic flash drive sticks (at least those that are rated for that speed, as opposed to most that are only ~150), rather than for more sophisticated SSD storage device media like the Samsung T1/T5's which will typically achieve ~500 or so.

 

[Yourt]

As a guess, it may be because the CalDigit dock has many more ports, so they slightly limit the throughout per port.

The ~300MB/s is quoted as being typically "normal" for basic flash drive sticks (at least those that are rated for that speed, as opposed to most that are only ~150), rather than for more sophisticated SSD storage device media like the Samsung T1/T5's which will typically achieve ~500 or so.

Ok... it's all about the "more sophisticated" because that's why people like myself buy this highly praised little box. I admit, others have more limitations (overall speed drops as soon as a USb stick is inserted, slower transfer speeds all the time,...). But it's because of its sophisticated status that I was a bit confused/disappointed when not maintaining transfer speeds like the USB 3.0 Seagate hub did.

 

[popcorn-in-sac]

Ok... it's all about the "more sophisticated" because that's why people like myself buy this highly praised little box. I admit, others have more limitations (overall speed drops as soon as a USb stick is inserted, slower transfer speeds all the time,...). But it's because of its sophisticated status that I was a bit confused/disappointed when not maintaining transfer speeds like the USB 3.0 Seagate hub did.

I had a similar experience with the TS3 Plus. I reached out to CalDigit support about this.

I found through testing all the ports, that only two ports on the back of the dock supported full-speed USB -- the Type C 3.1 Gen 2 port (of course), but also the Type A 3.1 Gen 1 port next to it.

This diagram shows those two ports in the same resource group, sharing the same bus controller. To me, this explained why those two ports specifically could achieve their full speed potential, as they used (and shared) a higher speed bus controller.

CalDigit support said that by design, only the Type C Gen 2 port on the back was supposed to have full speed, the others would not. They went as far as saying the fact that I got full speed out of the Type A Gen 1 port on the back (adjacent to the Gen 2 port) was a surprise to them, and not expected.

I was using a Samsung T3 for my testing, and expected to see 400MB+ for reads at least, but didn't -- except on the two ports mentioned above. This is a Gen 1 device, so I didn't test for anything beyond trying to achieve 400MB+ on the device.

 

[Yourt]

Absolutely right. Funny though. But hey... if we know about it... just don't plug a keyboard into that port.
Thx for feedback.
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Absolutely right. Funny though. But hey... if we know about it... just don't plug a keyboard into that port.
Thx for feedback.

OK, so Macbook pro => Caldigit => Seagate hub => Samsung T1 gives better results... using the USb port next to the USB c 3.1 port.

 

[MareLuce]

I wish they located their big logo on the back instead of the front. The front should just be a clean design.

 

[CreeptoLoser]

It’s a mess. The dock and the power brick in one box would have been space saving.

 

[djbuddha]

It’s a mess. The dock and the power brick in one box would have been space saving.

While I agree, the issue with this is the amount of heat this would produce.

Sometimes when I'm running my 2x 4k monitors, I'm guessing it overheats because the screens start flickering with snow like crazy until I either disconnect one, or cool down the unit somehow. Adding the power transformer to the inside would make this a much more common occurrence unfortunately.

 

[CreeptoLoser]

While I agree, the issue with this is the amount of heat this would produce.

Sometimes when I'm running my 2x 4k monitors, I'm guessing it overheats because the screens start flickering with snow like crazy until I either disconnect one, or cool down the unit somehow. Adding the power transformer to the inside would make this a much more common occurrence unfortunately.

Possibly, but surely a hub doesn't need such a massive power brick. Or are the images deceiving me?

 

[Yourt]

Possibly, but surely a hub doesn't need such a massive power brick. Or are the images deceiving me?

Nope, Power brick is about the same size, a bit thinner. 153 X 75 X 30 (in mm)for the brick versus ... 130 X 100 X 40 (in mm) or something like that for the hub. But it does indeed get hot sometimes. Especially now we have a heatwave here in Europe.