I have this hub Anker USB C Hub, PowerExpand+ 7-in-1 USB C Hub Adapter, with 4K HDMI, 100W Power Delivery, USB-C and 2 USB-A 5Gbps Data Ports, microSD and SD Card Reader, for MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, XPS, and More : Amazon.com.au: Computers which is great.
I’m looking for a variation of this hub which would have
4 x USB-A
1 x PD
1 x USB-C to connect to iPad.
Or
3 x USB-A
1 x USB-C
1 x PD
1 xUSB-C to connect to iPad
The Anker is fantastic but for my next project I need to connect 4 USB devices (3 x MIDI keyboards plus 1 x audio interface) to my iPad and provide power to the iPad while everything is connected and running.
No suggestions? That was the conclusion I had come to.
I hadn’t seen this the other day, but seeing it now, I would suggest that hub manufacturers tend to take the view that if you’re using a USB-C PD device you clearly are at least a bit modern. That doesn’t tend to go hand in hand with having a bunch of USB-A ports because they assume you don’t want lots of USB 2.0, and the bandwidth isn’t there to run a pile of USB 3.0 (or 3.2 gen 2, ugh! I’m just gonna call it USB 3.0 cause we all know what I mean…). Thunderbolt docks like the CalDigit TS3+ could work if your iPad is a recent Pro model with Thunderbolt (because it has heaps of extra USB-A ports enabled by the higher 40 Gbps available bandwidth).
Otherwise I’d vote for daisy chaining a simple USB-A 3 port hub off the end of your existing hub to get more ports.
Extra thought - is now the time to splash out on a nice external monitor that also has a built in USB hub? They’re marginally more likely to be equipped with a greater number of USB 2.0 ports.
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Ok that’s what I have and when I plug my iPad Air 5th Gen in, my MacBook Pro throws up the alert it won’t charge it. (Not at my desk, I can get a screenshot later). So got now I’m just using the cable that came with the iPad to plug it directly into my MacBook Pro. So much for that one cable life…
I have this dock and I’ve been using it with the one cable life for quite a while. Maybe check the Thunderbolt cable you’re using?
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Good to know it’s working for you, so it is possible!
Yes, I’m using the TB3 cable that came with the hub to connect to my macbook pro, and the usbc-usbc cable that came with my ipad to connect to the hub and/or computer.
I’m plugging it into the front usbc port, does that make a difference?
Here’s the error message I get when I plug in my ipad to the hub:
Sorry to hijack this thread, feel free to remove and we can troubleshoot elsewhere.
When you say you’re using the front port - is that for the iPad or the MacBook Pro? The MacBook Pro to dock has to go in a specific port in the back.
Yes I have the MacBook in the “PD” port. After your last comment I did try putting the iPad USBc in one of the thunderbolt ports, which I could have sworn I tried already, but that seems to do the trick now. I’m holding my breath to see if it keeps working in the coming weeks and indefinitely, but so far so good! Thanks!
So to answer the original question; the caldigit ts 3 is great!
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Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll try daisy chaining the hubs. My application is running my children’s church organ from my iPad. All are USB-A. I realise mine is an edge case but we are MPU. If anyone would have known it would have been this forum.
