Wall Mountable USB Hub

[haravikk]

Okay, so I know you can get big "industrial" USB hubs that are wall mountable with 10+ ports, but I'm wondering if there are any hubs that are more consumer oriented that have any kind of fitting suitable for wall-mounting them?

I don't need many ports, three or four would do (plus the host port for connecting to the computer), preferably bus powered, and at least USB2.

I mean, I know there are various tricks to make your own wall mount for things, including nasty adhesive pads, but while I could probably engineer something to hold a hub, I'd really like to see if there are any pre-made first. I mean it doesn't seem like it should be hard for a manufacturer to just plan for a couple of wall-mount keyholes on the back, but none do, and I'd have to disassemble any normal hub to see if I can figure out if there's space for my to make holes of my own.

Basically I just want to have sockets in a handier position for things like USB dongles for a wireless mouse/keyboard, for plugging in my phone's data cable (not charging) etc.

 

[Wankershim]

Is there a reason something like this wouldn't work?

I've been looking for something similar to mount under the front edge of my desk, to make it easier to plug in thumbdrives and other infrequently used USB devices.

 

[RMo]

I have the AmazonBasics 4-port USB hub mounted to my wall with 3M Command picture hanging strips. I know you don't seem to like adhesives, but that is my suggestion (with any reasonbly-sized USB hub) if you can't find anything else. You can probably use their poster hanging strips, too, but l like the picture hanging ones because they have a Velcro-like material that allows you to take it down without needing a new strip. (I'm actually kind of addicted to them. I use them for a lot of things. I don't think they look ugly, and they remove cleanly if you follow the instructions, unlike the more less permanent adhesive pads you may be talking about. Plus, they allow you some flexibility in that you can mount anything, even if the manufacturer didn't plan for it with holes.)

 

[thedeske]

Is there a reason something like this wouldn't work?

Those are great hubs. Installed 2 on a desk not long ago. 1 under the desktop and 1 on a sliding shelf for 3 drives. The uplink cable they send along with the unit is decent quality. USB3.com has pictures of the inside.

 

[Wankershim]

Those are great hubs. Installed 2 on a desk not long ago. 1 under the desktop and 1 on a sliding shelf for 3 drives. The uplink cable they send along with the unit is decent quality. USB3.com has pictures of the inside.

Nice! Glad to get some confirmation on the chipset. Have you had any sleep/wake issues with these hubs? I've been reading about people having trouble with earlier USB 3 implementations.

 

[thedeske]

Nice! Glad to get some confirmation on the chipset. Have you had any sleep/wake issues with these hubs? I've been reading about people having trouble with earlier USB 3 implementations.

No issues. The connected drives are Caldigit AV Pro (3) and in the second hub are a pair of Thermaltake single dive enclosures with 2TB WD drives & 1 or 2 WD passports. The 2nd hub is not used constantly, but always plugged.

Could be a lucky combo. Sleep issues are impossible to define for one device.

 

[haravikk]

Sorry to bump this, but I'm revisiting the subject now that I'm actually nearly ready to go ahead with it.

Is there a reason something like this wouldn't work?

Well those hubs would work, but I was really hoping for something neater and more affordable. I just found it surprising that no consumer hubs are designed with this in mind, as all it would take is a couple of holes in a case to allow you to screw them to a wall, or under a desk or whatever.

I've decided I'm going to just use a unit that isn't designed specifically for wall-mounting, but just use screws with rubberised washers to grip the unit. Now I do already have a hub but I'm not sure I want to use it as it's been a bit unreliable lately, and it has a really annoying LED light (I hate that so many hubs have these).

Anyway, with this in mind I'm interested in any recommendations for a USB hub that might meet the following criteria:

• Compact, and with flat surfaces (suitable for an overlapping screw with washer to grip) so relatively boxy. Probably no more than four ports, and actually as little as two would be fine.
• Bus powered. I don't have anything that needs tons of power (well, my phone can use it but I won't be charging it through this hub, just connecting it in USB storage mode). So anything that can pass on the 500mA (shared) should do. Of course the option of an adapter is fine, just so long as it isn't required.
• Not sure if there any hubs like this, but I'd really like a hub that doesn't actually need a cable. I've already been looking for a while, but haven't found any hubs that just plug straight into a USB port, do any exist? I already have a USB extension cable so I'd rather have a hub I can just plug straight in, rather than having to add another cable onto the end. I suppose I could just get a different cable though, so something standardised would be fine (so I can just buy say a 3m micro USB cable).
• No LED lights! It always annoys me when devices that don't need a light have one. I have seen some units that have ports with switches which use lights to indicate an active port, and that'd probably be fine, but LEDs that can't be turned off really get on my nerves, so I avoid them at all costs

Like I say I've already been looking for a while and with the number of hubs on the market it's slow going. If anyone knows of a hub that seems to fit some or all of these criteria then I'd appreciate the suggestion.

I'm not fussy about a hub being USB3; it'd be nice of course, but nothing I'll be connecting really needs the speed in practice.