Hi MPU community! I was recently issued a new MBP for work, and I’ve started my dongle search. I’m needing to power my USB Superdrive in addition to occasional VGA and Thunderbolt 2.0 with pass-through charging. What are your favorites?
I would suggest you start with only what you absolutely need. I bought 2 of the Apple-branded USB-A, HDMI, USB-C dongles and honestly, I hardly use them. I wouldn’t use them at all except I haven’t bought a USB-C to lightning cable yet, mostly out of laziness.
My point is the “dongle” problem can be overblown by media. Think of the number of devices you must have connected at any given time and get yourself one or two dongles at most to tackle it. You might find you need them less than you thought.
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I definitely agree with @ccoppin. There has been a frenzy regarding dongles that isn’t always necessary.
I keep an Apple USB C Digital Multiport adapter in my bag along with a spare Apple USB C to A dongle. At my desk I keep a Monoprice single with 3 USB A ports and an Ethernet jack since I prefer to be hardlined when I can be.
If you know you need a few adapters, I’d give eBay a look over. I managed to pick up some lightly used lightning adapters for less than half off.
I bought a Satechi USB-C with Ethernet, three USB-A, one USB-C and HDMI for around 135 USD. I have it always connected to my USB-C charger, Ethernet cable, third monitor, two backup drives and one micro-USB to “whatever I need to connect”.
I have one of the Apple branded USB-C to USB-A adapters, a Belkin USB-C to Ethernet adapter, and several generic USB-C to USB-A adapters. The generic adapters were much cheaper than the Apple one and they are compact so easily stow in a bag.
I did pick up the USB-C to Lightning cable for fast iPhone X and iPad Pro charging.
For connecting external drives, rather than using an adapter along with the cable that came with the drive, I am planning to pick up some USB-C to USB 3 micro-B cables. A portable dock/hub might be on the horizon if I find I need more than the occasional connection.
I’d recommend a separate hdmi and usb-c dongle if possible. The combined Apple one seems nice at first but using it I had a usb hd die on me for the first time in many years.
The two star review is about right: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ1K2AM/A/usb-c-digital-av-multiport-adapter
I no longer use the usb but the hdmi seems to be ok.
I’ve got a Anker usb c dongle that has 2 usb a ports, a usb c pass through, and HDMI. I do not recommend it though because the HDMI connection is unreliable and I find myself having to restart my MBP and unplug and replug to get it to work. Also, the usb c passthrough isn’t powerful enough to charge my machine when it’s doing anything slightly strenuous. I’ve found the Apple adapters that I use with my work MBP to be a lot better.
I have a couple of these.
Satechi Slim Aluminum Type-C Multi-Port Adapter with USB-C Charging Port, 4K HDMI, USB (Space Gray) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J4BO0X8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_Yk8tBbPSJNKY2