I’ve just entered USB C hell with the arrival of a MBP. I ordered a couple of USB-C to USB 3.0 Micro-B Cable thinking it might be possible to still use some of my old hard drives just by switching the cables.
If I plug the drives in I get power to the drives but they won’t mount. I’ve also tested with the drive with a USB 3.0 A to C adapter and the drives will mount ok. Could it be faulty cables or am I naive to think I could just switch out the cables on the drives?
Thanks
I was able to switch out the cables on some of mine but some of them have required additional power. I’m wondering if the adapters don’t pass power in the same way a single cable does? Anyway, I have a powered hub in my monitor that I’m now using to pass through and all seems to be well with a few USB-C to USB-A adapters.
The adapters work great with the original cables, but the new stand alone cables will power but they won’t mount, half expected it to be the other way around. Think I’ll just return the cables and stick to adapters until I get a hub.
Oh wow. Yea that is interesting. It might just be a bad batch of cables then. 
Sorry for misreading your original post.
I use a hub as well. I have Apple’s USB-C multimedia adapter (male USB-C to 1 each: USB-A, HDMI, pass through USB-C) which I plug into my MacBook Pro. The USB-A goes to my hub that drives 2 external drives, 2 scanners, a lighting cable, and a Apple Watch charger. Works great and I only have one plug to worry about.
I was just about to post asking for recommendations for this exact type of cable. I read a bunch of reviews on Amazon and B&H and I always read the 4 or 5% 1 star reviews and then get put off never mind how many 5 star reviews there are.
The issue seems to be that depending on the brand, the USB-C end may be loose with various harmful effects - won’t mount disk at all, will mount it but show no files on it, will mount but then disconnect prompting Mac to chastise you for pulling the disk without ejecting it, and may lead to data loss during file transfer.
I was going to ask if anyone had one that actually works reliably.
I would try different cables. My USB-C to micro-USB cables that I purchased for my Western Digital Passport drives work perfectly.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UUBQ710/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Ok. Only 5% 1 star reviews, some of which said they went bad after a few months and some said they bought the wrong cable (why blame the cable in that case?). How long have you had these?
