Thunderbolt dock search fatigue!

TLDR; dang, there’s a lot of hubs and docks out there.

First world problems. Got it. Now that that’s out of the way…

I am having a heck of a time finding the right way to consolidate my peripheral needs. Of course, everyone’s needs can be slightly different and of course it’s not realistic to assume there is one that fits everyone perfectly. Is there a better way than going through every option on Amazon and checking if the ports match what I need? I’m shooting for a “one cable to connect them all” scenario. I wish I could find a dock/hub configurator that points you to the options that fit your needs. I refrain from listing my particular requirements here, as I don’t want someone else to do the searching for me.

I’m actually having better luck finding “laptop hubs” that fit, but they all have a stubby cable, and according to Larry at OWC sales, attaching an extension to that cable so I can hide the hub is no bueno.

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How long of an extension do you need? I am having a hard time figuring out why a 2 to 3 foot extension would not be perfectly workable with a USB hub.

Maybe the answer is to not hide the hub? You really should state your setup. There are plenty of people here that have already suffered and would be happy to share their solutions!

I’ve got a 27" iMac, an Intel-CPU MacBookPro, an M1 Mac mini as a server – all three need and have hubs and all three have different hubs because of different needs. All are connected with short cables. They are more reliable electronically when short.

I gave up searching a few weeks back and just ordered a Caldigit TS3+. At least now when things don’t work I feel like it’s probably the peripherals themselves

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But are they that much more reliable when you’re only talking about a couple of feet, to the point where you should never use an extension? I just find it hard to believe that a 3’ Thunderbolt cable is fine, whereas a 3’ USB extension on a 6" hub built-in cable wouldn’t be.

Caldigit’s TB4 is the best.
Dell WD22TB4 is 2nd best.

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I have an OWC Thunderbolt 3, and most of the time I’m happy with it.

When you are not happy with it, what is the reason?

Sometimes it needs to be rebooted and it often takes a week to figure out it’s the problem.

Actually it’s more like 6" is fine but 3’6" is 7 times as long and might not be. Now it probably will be OK, but OWC isn’t going to guarantee it.

Don’t Active T3/T4 cables promise miracles if you pay stupid sums of money?

Ok, you asked for it!

My current setup includes 8 USBA, 2 USBC, ethernet, and HDMI devices. All the USBA and ethernet (via dongle) are plugged into 2 daisy chained and independently powered Anker hubs and connected via a USBA to USBC cable (MBP port 1), the USBCs are attached to the MBP directly (port 2 and 3) and the HDMI is attached directly. This leaves no USBC ports for future changes or iphone/ipad. Also, let’s assume for the moment that all of these devices are required as is, so $olutions like “consolidate your storage into a Thunderbay” or “replace your peripherals with Bluetooth” are off the table for now.

It is rare - if at all - that there are datastream-heavy activities running concurrently and competing for bandwidth enough to cause obvious performance issues, even with this Frankenhub. The infrequent times I need to read from an SD card are handled by the card slot on the MBP.

For a few valid reasons, I don’t want dongles / cables / docks on the desk surface. Hidden hub is a requirement.

A three foot extension would be plenty. But from Larry at OWC:

"As a general note - there is not a single USB-C extension cable in the world that is approved/certified for use. Thunderbolt cables are designed with precision for the different lengths they come in. Aspects for power and signal timing part of the engineering that insures consistent, reliable, error free operation.

I’d strongly advise against USB-C to USB-C extension cables in general vs. using a cable of the desired length suitable for the device/interface. While less of an issue for USB 5Gb/s or 10Gb/s, any extension can impact signal integrity + sap some power off the line as well."

Of course, that’s not to say that an extension absolutely won’t work, it’s just apparently not advised.

Maybe this will help:

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Yes, as long as the hub doesn’t have a 6" captive upstream cable, which the laptop hubs all have to keep them compact. The OP could use an active cable to a thunderbolt hub more intended for desktop use (no captive cable and not self-powered) and plug everything into that.

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Yes, and @WayneG article explains in more detail what is going on.

Surprised to hear this. I’ve had my OWC TB3 for 4 years now and have never once even unplugged it during that time.

I might have a lemon. In the past few weeks:

  • It wouldn’t interface with one the Thunderbolt ports my Mac - reboot fixed
  • it wouldn’t recognize my USB-C Rode-X