A lot of docks have connectivity and reliability issues, this was more of a list of what’s out there than what’s the best. It would have really useful to see real world usage and opinion based on that.
The problem is with the cable, not with the dock. Get a good cable (LG TBT monitors' cables are great -- some higher end ones are made by Sumitomo, they are both flexible and hold a very stable connection). Stay away from OWC cables, even those expensive active cables. They lose connection when being wiggled, reliably. If you are okay with Thunderbolt 3 (22Gbps PCIe vs TBT4's 32Gbps) speed, go for Apple's own cable. It is THE most reliable cable I've ever used, and is one of the cheapest (rest of those 30cm rubbish) on the market. BTW, each 4K 60p output consumes some 12Gbps of bandwidth out of the 40Gbps total bandwidth, so regardless you use TBT3 or TBT4, if you hook up 2 external 4K monitors, you will get no more than 16Gbps of data. So don't bother with TBT4 unless you need its compatibility (most TBT4 docks will work on non-TBT type-C ports, you won't get PCIe-based functionalities like 2.5GbE, or dual display, plus you get reduced bandwidth, but most functions will at least work to a certain degree. With TBT3, hooking it to a non-TBT type-C port will do nothing but perhaps popping up an error message). If you have a TBT3 dock, there is little reason to upgrade. If you have none, it is not a bad idea to spend more on a TBT4 dock even just for its broader compatibility.
@@bskull3232 Chief, fully implemented Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 are the same, and Thunderbolt 3 cables from any name brand will be functionally identical to Thunderbolt 4 cables (except for Apple's 3m TB4 cable, as it's longer than active TB3 cables). Reason Thunderbolt exists is because for a few years, quite a few entry and mid tier laptops with Thunderbolt 3 used the minimum spec, which was PCIe x2.
I bought the CalDigit TS4. Every once in a while the ethernet port stopped working after the Mac came out of sleep. After a few weeks, the port stopped working at all. CalDigit support didn't responded to my support request, not even after 2 month.
I couldn’t get the caldigit TS4 usb ports to work with SSL UF8, RME Fireface UFX III, Elektron Overhub or Akai Force. Many other glitches such as hard drives failing to eject. Also isn’t video limited to 30 hertz. Some flickering was obvious like when using apples music app. Someone was saying caldigit chipset isn’t compatible with Apple silicone. Comp is a M2 Max MBP. Just started using the OWC 14 port Thunderbolt 3 hub and it’s better but still glitchy. I had no issues with my old late 2013 MBP and thunderbolt 2 docks like belkin. Nothing but trouble with the newer stuff. Very frustrating. Even with the OWC the Fireface often connects as a USB 2 device limiting the hardware.
@@wdiprod Really appreciate your assessment. I own some similar audio gear like RME UFX+ which is running fine using a Thunderbolt 3 to thunderbolt 2 adapter from my Mac Studio M1. Given what you've reported, I'll look elsewhere for something more reliable.
I have been using the Lenovo Thunderbolt 4 4K dock with a dual monitor (27”) setup with my MacBook Air M1. This however needs the DisplayLink manager driver to be installed in MBA and I am not sure when Apple will go ahead and block external drivers but for now it is working like a charm.
I have the OWC and it has 96W charge through the upstream TB4 port (the label underneath the port says 96W too). I purchased it back in December. I'm wondering if you have an older version that only outputs 90W? I use mine with the Macbook Pro 16" M1 Max, with external monitors, drives, etc etc. It all works fine, other than the headphone socket, for some reason isn't detected as an audio device by the Mac, it's not a big deal as there's a headphone socket on the Macbook itself.
The OWC TB4 Dock DOES do 96W. I'm not sure why or how you got a 90W version (unless it was just incorrectly labeled …?).. I got this dock, as it was "only" $279. It did, however, give me all the ports that were "missing" on the MacBook Pro (and I've always had good results from OWC, who is also Mac and Thunderbolt-oriented). They do have a "Pro" model dock (with a 10G Ethernet port), but at $399, it was "over-kill" for my situation. I've been using it for several weeks now, and it's handled EVERYTHING I've plugged into it. I've added and used (a somewhat older) flat-bed scanner, that can do color negatives at very high resolution, all the way down to simple B&W PDF documents. I connected it to one of the 10G USB-A ports on the back (and actually tried several of them), and all were fine. So, I'm not sure what people are talking about, as far as the USB ports. I've also connected a "bus-powered" NVMe to Thunderbolt-4 external disk, at first directly to a TB-4 computer port, and now to one of the dock's TB-4 ports. As I got a 1-terabyte internal disk, I got the same sized external NVMe-to-TB-4 disk (for use with the CCC backup tool). When I connected it for the first time, it BLEW ME AWAY, by only taking about two minutes to backup my ENTIRE internal disk! Incremental backups, since then, have been almost instantaneous! I also appreciate the fact that, instead of having all three TB-4 computer ports "daisy-chained" internally to only ONE IO port, ALL THREE TB-4 ports have their own SEPARATE internal connection, directly to the CPU IO system (however that works). I can therefore dedicate one of the ports to this dock, and still have two other INDEPENDENTLY CONNECTED TB-4 ports available for other uses (with BOTH working at FULL TB-4 speeds)! I FULLY REALIZE all this may SOUND like a "commercial", but when you look OBJECTIVELY at all the possible combinations of having multiple TB-4 (or direct connections to the CPU (at the INTENDED FULL SPEED), you get an idea of how a direct connection into the IO (or PCI-e system), combined with the added benefit this allows (making virtually ANY kind of port that can be created by a PCI-e board, like this dock), you get the idea of all the advantages. This is especially true, if implemented by a company that understands Macs and Thunderbolt, like OWC. Very sorry for this commercial-sounding comment, although this is WHY I got this particular dock.
@@ilikemyrealname it works perfectly. I forgot I even had it and I use it everyday with two monitors using USB-C, usb for Apple Watch charger, usb for Logitech cam, usbc for mouse charger, Ethernet for gigabit connection. Everything works flawlessly you’ll love it
I have nothing but trouble with the caldigit on an M2 Max MBP in a studio. USB ports don’t connect as USB 3 ports but as USB 2. Much expensive equipment wouldn’t work.
I have the TS4 and the OWC... both are cool. The OWC is hooked up to a PC and provides 3 additional TB4 ports and it has been a champion. Its the PC has its own power supply, 90W vs 96W doesn't matter to me. The TS4 is hooked up to a M1 Max. It looks excellent, but was causing kernel crashes during resume from sleep in 12.3 beta, but as of the 12.3 release, it's been fine. Also, drives haven't disconnected when resuming from sleep. The TS4 is running a newer version of the Goshen Ridge NVM firmware than the other TB4 docks, so I wonder if that firmware version has some incompatibilities with the M1 Max? I did run in to one weird issue with the TS4 where it wasn't being recognized by any upstream devices. It was in zombie mode...the only thing it would do was charge (pass thru USB-PD) the device but none of the attached downstream devices were recognized by the host and the white indicator light on the dock remained off. I've never seen a dock do that. EVER. I was about to get rid of the TS4, but I cut power 5 min and that seemed to have reset it, and it's been fine since, especially with 12.3.
Hey, what do you mean specifically with "zombie mode"? What exactly happened? Sounds to me no input like keyboard or mouse was working. If so, I experienced the same BUT with a Dell WD19TB. So I can't tell, but this sounds like a bug in macOS to me.. pretty annoying, only disconnecting the Thunderbolt cable from the MacBook (M1 Pro) and reconnecting it solves the problem. Since I experience this behavior with the Dell dock, I am looking for an alternative..
I own a Caldigit TS4 dockstation after trying Razer Mercury, OWC and Satechi TB4 docks... The Caldigit is the best of all them. It is realiable, very well built, it works perfectly and can work with lots of devices at the same time. Additionally the support team that are behind the device are best in class. I contacted them to ask about my exernal monitor max resolution and refresh rate compatibilitty and they helped me to make it work perfectly (4K and 144hz with my M1 Pro). For me it is so important not also the quality of the product but also the real support that underpins it, and Caldigit is the best in both aspects. No doubts for me after my experiences with other TB4 docks. Thanks for the video!
I’ve bought so many sub $100 hubs and over time they get glitchy even to the point of freezing my MBP. I’m so frugal that it hurts thinking of buying a $300+ dock but I think it’s vital. Never thought of the difference between a dock vs hub as well.
try once but be aware, the experience won't be that different, I have tried the Lenovo Thinkpad Docking station it works great with Mac at the beginning but the thunderbolt cable is too short, so you are very limited physically in the type of setup options, the cable is like 30cm or 1 ft.
On the Belkin Thunderbolt 4 Pro Dock do the 2x USB 3 ports share an internal 5Gbps hub? That's how the ports are on the Belkin Thunderbolt 3 Pro Dock; giving you a max speed of 5Gbps USB 3 total, instead of 5Gbps + 5Gbps = 10Gbps; which is important for high-bandwidth USB 3 devices. This is the kind of info we need; each device needed to be inspected with UsbTreeView or System Information (on Mac).
None, I chose the Dell TB4 which has the best selection of display ports. Each of these lack at least one method. Yes it has less commodity ports (USB, etc.) but what we mostly pay in these docks are the display capacities. It works like a charm for every PC, Mac or Windows. Never had issues in 2 years
The cheaper the dock, the crappy it’s going to work if you have a lot of data moving through. Just buy one of the caldigit ones and forget about it. It will never screw up or break.
I have the OWC dock. 1) the network connection sometimes drops inexplicably. 2) they raised the price $20 just ahead of holidays. Both extremely annoying
Do any of these have 5k passthrough / daisy chaining? I.e. one I can plug my laptop into, have a dock with ethernet, ports, etc... which then powers a 5k 60 monitor as well?
As far as docks go, Thunderbolt 3 vs 4 doesn't matter. 4 only exists to eliminate confusion that was caused by PC companies like Dell and HP, who put out machines with the cut back version of Thunderbolt 3 on lower end computers.
Can you explain what this means? I am trying to decide what to buy for my Macbook Air M1; I have devices like a printer and a G-Drive that I need to connect via USB-A ports, but I also have the first-gen Apple Wireless Keyboard and mouse.
I use the dell wd22tb4 and the good thing about that is that it works on a 3 monitor setup with my mac m1 pro while delivering 180w power. So when you think of it it blows that caldigit out of the water..
@Sathish Akasapu I am connecting 1 monitor directly with the thunderbolt port of the dock while the pther rwo are connected by an HDMI and DisplayPort respectively.
@@SayanBhattacharjee90 Yes, I have tried the same. The one with thunderbolt works and the other 2 displays with HDMI & Displayport are getting mirrored. I hope you mean connecting all cables to the dock.
What do you think of the new Plugable 16-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Dock with 100W Charging? I'm trying to make a decision to use with my 16" MacBook Pro M1 Max.
the biggest complain I would formulate is that for someone travelling, none of those companies provides a lightweigth solution, nor a compact one (the external power brick is mostly massive). and for international flights, the limitation in air travel (space and weight) forces us to reduce everything to the bear minimum. Hopefully they'll soon find a way... or do you know one?
Hey Wayan! I don't think you'll see any Thunderbolt versions. If you want something portable, you'll need to look for a USB-C hub instead. USB ones are often bus-powered meaning you won't need an external power supply to make it work but Thunderbolt hubs require additional power and they are usually trying to supply up to 100W of power which means the included power supplies won't be small.
I use a Glyph Thunderbolt 3 dock and I don’t think I’ve ever had an issue with it. It used the full 40Gbps bandwidth and had an m.2 ssd slot built in which is neat. It’s also got good build quality and 87W PD. Can recommend. Only downsides are the mic and headphone jacks (and DACs) on the front which are full of digital noise
It is surprising how poor the selection of Thunderbolt 4 docks is. Everyone is crying out for a Calidigit T4 with 10GB Ethernet and an HDMI. That is what people want. It is odd that the 10GB Ethernet is so hard to find; and quite why Caldigit didn’t include an HDMI or 10GB on the new one is beyond me? It only has a single Displayport out of those 18 ports. So not at all multi-monitor friendly as a hub. If I get one (which is impossible as oil right now, as they have sold out until May apparently) I’ll end up having to use the HDMI on the MacBook Pro directly. Is there much disadvantage in going for a Thunderbolt 3 dock? There seems to be more choice.
i just had to return the OWC one mentioned. video seemed fine but audio did not work consistently. music would play, but system sounds only randomly sometimes. tek support said i needed to download/install their "Dock Ejector" app, that it has needed drivers for this dock. but that made no difference. i was thinking about trying the Satech one but now i'm not so sure, since it's essentially the same thing as the OWC one. 😞
I purchased a TS3 Plus last year from the Apple Store, It quit working already after seeing very limited use. I went to their site, download firmware, drivers, etc, etc, nothing worked. I tried to call, but using the COVID excuse they no longer answer phones. Left a massage, they never returned my call. I sent an e-mail, no response. I called again, no answer, tried to use the chat option and there is no-one there to chat either. It powers off and on, disconnecting and reconnecting my drives. This of course is damaging. I have other equipment dating back almost 10 years that is still working fine, outdated of course but still works. I also have a OWC Thunderbolt 4 dock that I purchased at the same time, that still functions flawlessly. I will never buy CalDigit Again. $300.0 to $400.00 a year is more than I am willing to spend for a dock. I will continue to buy OWC though, still working good and great customer service.
I tried a number of Thunderbolt 4 docks including Caldigit, Sonnet, belkin, etc, the only one that worked flawlessly was the Satechi Thunderbolt 4 dock. Unfortunately it’s sold out everywhere now. Fortunately I found one a couple of months ago.
@@rauland Unfortunately no. The Satechi thunderbolt 4 worked flawlessly after trying the others, so I didn’t need to try anymore. The satechi thunderbolt 4 dock is now connected to my 2021 MacBook Pro Max, running 2 4K monitors and 2 external ssds and 1 external 4K blu-Ray writer. Everything works perfectly without any disconnections. This is something I had not experienced with Caldigit or Sonnet. I am interested in feedback on OWC thunderbolt 4 dock. But as far as I am concerned, I found the thunderbolt 4 dock that works flawlessly - Satechi thunderbolt 4 dock
@@RM-hy4so if it works for you, great. But if you can’t get one how’s that useful? I have the OWC TB4 dock… I have 4hdd’s in a 2 separate raid configurations within a 4bay enclosure connected by USB3.1, OWC’s Mini Stack STX (with an 8tb hdd and a 1tb nvme installed), 1 2Tb HDD partitioned into 2x 1tb sections that my wife accesses from her MacBook wirelessly, another 2Tb hdd used for digital storage, an LG UHD read/write/player from OWC. My keyboard is wired directly to my M1 Mini. Monitor is connected via hdmi to the mini. And have had 0 issues with drive connectivity in the last year (Mini Stack STX was just added a month ago…those drives were previously connected via there own enclosures) that I’ve owned the TB4 dock. The dock claims to support up to 2x 4k monitors, but I personally have not tried that. Haven’t heard anywhere that it doesn’t either.
@@rauland thanks, good to know. I actually got $50 off my Satechi for the new year sale at Best Buy, that’s why I purchased it over the OWC. Glad the OWC thunderbolt 4 dock works well too. Being available freely is a big plus too.
Off Topic Question cuz you're a Nice Guy. 🙏🏼 My iPhone 8, my M1Air and my M1 2021 Purple iMac aren't synching. Any thoughts on what would cause that? I use several Hyper-Drive Hubs btw......which I like very much. Thanks.
a HUB is generally smaller and more portable, for example giving presentations, while using adapter for HDMI. dock is generally larger and more powerful, for you to set up on your desk for routine work
I just ordered a Macbook Pro 14" with all other bells/whistles. But I have clients conference rooms with HDMI, USB-C and VGA plugs that I need to be able to use to display my presentations (some video, but definitely powerpoints). I also need to have two USB ports for a corded mouse (at times) and USB for client flash drives. What should I get? I really just need adaptors not a full-on docking station.
I wonder if any support the various video capture dongles. I have the OWC dock and Blackmagic Ultra Studio Recorder 3G does not work and all of my HDMI to USB3/USBC dongles only use reduced frame sizes. Have you tested any video capture at least 1080p30 or UHDp30?
Why do so many docks feature DisplayLink that doesn't play well with many Macs and monitors? I've even had guys at Apple tell me that DisplayPort isn't fully supported. I have had nothing but problems with sleep/wake when using DisplayPort with various docks and my LG 4K displays. I'm just about to buy a 16" MBP M2 Max and want a TB4 dock with dual HDMI that supports 4K. Any recommendations? I was going to go for the CalDigit but the previous one I bought went straight back as the screens either stayed black, or only one worked or it flickered on and off at random.
Help!!! Can you recommend a hub or solution that has a Thunderbolt 2 input /output (used with my 2013 G Technology 4TB external drive) and SD card input.that works with high speed SD cards..(my 2013 iMac has built in ports for these connectors and now I am looking at buying a M3 iMac.
Hi Buddy, I have a question which i hope you can help me with. I recently bought a Samsung Odyssey G9 Neo Ultrawide monitor. I'm not a gamer, just like the idea of one big screen instead of two 27" ones. I have it connected to my MacBook Pro M1 13" through the CalDigit TS4. What I didn't know at the time, is my MacBook won't run two screens. I have the Samsung connected to the CalD with an expensive display-port cable. My problem: I work from home and all my seminars are done on MS Teams. My plan was to split my Neo into two 27" screens, one side showing my participants and the other my virtual white-board. I cannot share my "white-board" with my students without losing them from the screen. As the CalD only has one display port, do you think buying a second Dock with HDMI to run a second cable to my Neo would allow me to share that second screen whilst continuing to see my students on the other screen? The Neo has one display-port and two HDMI inputs. I hope you understand my problem and I would greatly appreciate you helping🙏
Did you ever test being able to use the DP port on the back, connected to a monitor at 4K@60Hz and still retain Apple's Retina Scaling Thumbnail features for scaling resolution in the display properties? I was not able to use the DP connection for the purposes of a 4K display, and therefore renders the hub useless, since I need 2xTB4 connections (one for a high speed external drive and one for a 4K@60Hz monitor). That leaves only the DP for the second monitor, which doesn't seem to work properly. CalDigit support doesn't answer the phone and they have not returned my email messages either.
I'm looking for a doc or hub to add functions to a new iMac. I want to attach an internet cable as well as have some additional USB ports and an SD card slot. Any suggestions?
Anybody know if you can disable the charging functionality on the main thunderbolt 4 connection port? I bought the Satechi, just concerned about my macbook's battery health :/
Help! Lots of options and I don't know which way to go. Today I have an 18 in 1 from Cabletime that does not support my peripherals and does not charge my notebook, It's "devourings" its battery. I have a MacBook Pro M1 Max 64gb of ram and 1TB of SSD (soon I will need more space in HD and SSD). In it, I need to consnect 1 n 5K@120Hz, 1 pen display 22" FullHD@60Hz (which I use as a monitor when I'm not using), 1 pen display 15.6" (which I always use) also FullHD@60, a mouse (with 3antena usb 2), 3d mouse (usb 2), a Sandisk Extreme SSD Eventually I have to charge my keyboard and iPhone. So, thinking about what I need today, but without forgetting to think about the future, what is the best way forward? Do I buy a TB3 or TB4 dock? Do I buy a TB4 dock with multiple ports (hdmi, display ports, usb 2, usb 3.1 etc.) in addition to 3 or 4 TB4 ports? Do I buy a TB3 dock that supports everything I reported having in this comment? Do I reuse my TB3 and connect it to one of the TB4 ports of a TB4 dock (daisy-chain) and buy a model with few ports?
Can I run two LG 5K through Caldigit Element Hub? I have a MBP M1 Pro I have it connected now and read some reviews saying it’s possible but nothing comes up when connected. Trying to do the one cable solution…
what did we learn today? yes macs with M chips suck. im selling my air m2 and switch back to windows simply because there are no limitations on display usage.
Hi everyone - does anyone have a recommendaion on a docking station for macbook pro for work purposes? I have a 49in samsung monitor, and im in the market for a docking station that can support displaying to monitor on top of having usb dongles connected to it for headset/camera/mouse. Been using 4URPC dock, and it works great for a few months then I start to run into connectivity issues within a few months. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
@@codytanksley6673 The M2 chip finally allows max of 3. Just got a couple for Execs at my job, but I had to do extensive research to find docking stations. It’s ridiculous!
Almost ALL Thunderbolt 4 docks have 3 or more. Definitely not "more than any other period." The Belkin one is fine, but designed primarily for Windows office users, not Mac users or creatives.
You recommend one docking station with a single video input. And another one where both inputs can't be used at the same time. Either this video is a joke or the best TB docking stations for macs are a joke. Which is it?
Mostly useless review. These are all built by RealTek and use the very problematic RT8513 chipsets that will cause very well known network crashes or unstable USB port drops. There isn’t a firmware fix for the problem because it’s a chip design flaw. Best you can hope for is that they release an updated version that uses a better Intel or Qualcomm chipset.
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Pick up the Thunderbolt 4 Docks in this video 👇
Belkin Pro Thunderbolt 4 Dock: belkin.evyy.net/P0nNMM
CalDigit TS4 Hub: bhpho.to/3wgaLVS
Alogic Thunderbolt 4 Blaze Hub: amzn.to/3ib3PB4
OWC Thunderbolt Dock: bit.ly/3wbdyzu
CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Element Hub: amzn.to/3MYez3S
Alogic Thunderbolt 4 Blaze Docking Station:
Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Dock: Out of stock
A lot of docks have connectivity and reliability issues, this was more of a list of what’s out there than what’s the best. It would have really useful to see real world usage and opinion based on that.
The problem is with the cable, not with the dock. Get a good cable (LG TBT monitors' cables are great -- some higher end ones are made by Sumitomo, they are both flexible and hold a very stable connection). Stay away from OWC cables, even those expensive active cables. They lose connection when being wiggled, reliably.
If you are okay with Thunderbolt 3 (22Gbps PCIe vs TBT4's 32Gbps) speed, go for Apple's own cable. It is THE most reliable cable I've ever used, and is one of the cheapest (rest of those 30cm rubbish) on the market. BTW, each 4K 60p output consumes some 12Gbps of bandwidth out of the 40Gbps total bandwidth, so regardless you use TBT3 or TBT4, if you hook up 2 external 4K monitors, you will get no more than 16Gbps of data.
So don't bother with TBT4 unless you need its compatibility (most TBT4 docks will work on non-TBT type-C ports, you won't get PCIe-based functionalities like 2.5GbE, or dual display, plus you get reduced bandwidth, but most functions will at least work to a certain degree. With TBT3, hooking it to a non-TBT type-C port will do nothing but perhaps popping up an error message). If you have a TBT3 dock, there is little reason to upgrade. If you have none, it is not a bad idea to spend more on a TBT4 dock even just for its broader compatibility.
@@bskull3232 Chief, fully implemented Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 are the same, and Thunderbolt 3 cables from any name brand will be functionally identical to Thunderbolt 4 cables (except for Apple's 3m TB4 cable, as it's longer than active TB3 cables).
Reason Thunderbolt exists is because for a few years, quite a few entry and mid tier laptops with Thunderbolt 3 used the minimum spec, which was PCIe x2.
I bought the CalDigit TS4. Every once in a while the ethernet port stopped working after the Mac came out of sleep. After a few weeks, the port stopped working at all. CalDigit support didn't responded to my support request, not even after 2 month.
I couldn’t get the caldigit TS4 usb ports to work with SSL UF8, RME Fireface UFX III, Elektron Overhub or Akai Force. Many other glitches such as hard drives failing to eject. Also isn’t video limited to 30 hertz. Some flickering was obvious like when using apples music app. Someone was saying caldigit chipset isn’t compatible with Apple silicone. Comp is a M2 Max MBP. Just started using the OWC 14 port Thunderbolt 3 hub and it’s better but still glitchy. I had no issues with my old late 2013 MBP and thunderbolt 2 docks like belkin. Nothing but trouble with the newer stuff. Very frustrating. Even with the OWC the Fireface often connects as a USB 2 device limiting the hardware.
@@wdiprod Really appreciate your assessment. I own some similar audio gear like RME UFX+ which is running fine using a Thunderbolt 3 to thunderbolt 2 adapter from my Mac Studio M1. Given what you've reported, I'll look elsewhere for something more reliable.
The prices for what they deliver are insane
I have been using the Lenovo Thunderbolt 4 4K dock with a dual monitor (27”) setup with my MacBook Air M1. This however needs the DisplayLink manager driver to be installed in MBA and I am not sure when Apple will go ahead and block external drivers but for now it is working like a charm.
Thunderbolt 4 doesnt have displaylink?
I have the OWC and it has 96W charge through the upstream TB4 port (the label underneath the port says 96W too). I purchased it back in December. I'm wondering if you have an older version that only outputs 90W? I use mine with the Macbook Pro 16" M1 Max, with external monitors, drives, etc etc. It all works fine, other than the headphone socket, for some reason isn't detected as an audio device by the Mac, it's not a big deal as there's a headphone socket on the Macbook itself.
I use caldigit, its expensive but it works very well.
The OWC TB4 Dock DOES do 96W. I'm not sure why or how you got a 90W version (unless it was just incorrectly labeled …?).. I got this dock, as it was "only" $279. It did, however, give me all the ports that were "missing" on the MacBook Pro (and I've always had good results from OWC, who is also Mac and Thunderbolt-oriented). They do have a "Pro" model dock (with a 10G Ethernet port), but at $399, it was "over-kill" for my situation.
I've been using it for several weeks now, and it's handled EVERYTHING I've plugged into it. I've added and used (a somewhat older) flat-bed scanner, that can do color negatives at very high resolution, all the way down to simple B&W PDF documents. I connected it to one of the 10G USB-A ports on the back (and actually tried several of them), and all were fine. So, I'm not sure what people are talking about, as far as the USB ports.
I've also connected a "bus-powered" NVMe to Thunderbolt-4 external disk, at first directly to a TB-4 computer port, and now to one of the dock's TB-4 ports. As I got a 1-terabyte internal disk, I got the same sized external NVMe-to-TB-4 disk (for use with the CCC backup tool). When I connected it for the first time, it BLEW ME AWAY, by only taking about two minutes to backup my ENTIRE internal disk! Incremental backups, since then, have been almost instantaneous!
I also appreciate the fact that, instead of having all three TB-4 computer ports "daisy-chained" internally to only ONE IO port, ALL THREE TB-4 ports have their own SEPARATE internal connection, directly to the CPU IO system (however that works). I can therefore dedicate one of the ports to this dock, and still have two other INDEPENDENTLY CONNECTED TB-4 ports available for other uses (with BOTH working at FULL TB-4 speeds)!
I FULLY REALIZE all this may SOUND like a "commercial", but when you look OBJECTIVELY at all the possible combinations of having multiple TB-4 (or direct connections to the CPU (at the INTENDED FULL SPEED), you get an idea of how a direct connection into the IO (or PCI-e system), combined with the added benefit this allows (making virtually ANY kind of port that can be created by a PCI-e board, like this dock), you get the idea of all the advantages. This is especially true, if implemented by a company that understands Macs and Thunderbolt, like OWC.
Very sorry for this commercial-sounding comment, although this is WHY I got this particular dock.
This convinced me to get the OWC over the TS4 which is out of stock. And it has more thunderbolt ports which is all I care about
@@chair_smesh How do you like your OWC Dock? I ordered mine (over the TS4 and others) and I'm curious to see how well it works.
@@ilikemyrealname it works perfectly. I forgot I even had it and I use it everyday with two monitors using USB-C, usb for Apple Watch charger, usb for Logitech cam, usbc for mouse charger, Ethernet for gigabit connection. Everything works flawlessly you’ll love it
@@chair_smesh Oh man, that just got me real excited! Thank you for your reply.
One thing that makes me apprehensive of the TS4 is that some reviews have complained about USB devices stuttering or disconnecting.
Still doing it
Mine died on me. Won't even turn on. WTH.
I have nothing but trouble with the caldigit on an M2 Max MBP in a studio. USB ports don’t connect as USB 3 ports but as USB 2. Much expensive equipment wouldn’t work.
I have the TS4 and the OWC... both are cool. The OWC is hooked up to a PC and provides 3 additional TB4 ports and it has been a champion. Its the PC has its own power supply, 90W vs 96W doesn't matter to me.
The TS4 is hooked up to a M1 Max. It looks excellent, but was causing kernel crashes during resume from sleep in 12.3 beta, but as of the 12.3 release, it's been fine. Also, drives haven't disconnected when resuming from sleep. The TS4 is running a newer version of the Goshen Ridge NVM firmware than the other TB4 docks, so I wonder if that firmware version has some incompatibilities with the M1 Max? I did run in to one weird issue with the TS4 where it wasn't being recognized by any upstream devices. It was in zombie mode...the only thing it would do was charge (pass thru USB-PD) the device but none of the attached downstream devices were recognized by the host and the white indicator light on the dock remained off. I've never seen a dock do that. EVER. I was about to get rid of the TS4, but I cut power 5 min and that seemed to have reset it, and it's been fine since, especially with 12.3.
Hey, what do you mean specifically with "zombie mode"? What exactly happened? Sounds to me no input like keyboard or mouse was working. If so, I experienced the same BUT with a Dell WD19TB. So I can't tell, but this sounds like a bug in macOS to me.. pretty annoying, only disconnecting the Thunderbolt cable from the MacBook (M1 Pro) and reconnecting it solves the problem. Since I experience this behavior with the Dell dock, I am looking for an alternative..
I own a Caldigit TS4 dockstation after trying Razer Mercury, OWC and Satechi TB4 docks... The Caldigit is the best of all them. It is realiable, very well built, it works perfectly and can work with lots of devices at the same time. Additionally the support team that are behind the device are best in class. I contacted them to ask about my exernal monitor max resolution and refresh rate compatibilitty and they helped me to make it work perfectly (4K and 144hz with my M1 Pro). For me it is so important not also the quality of the product but also the real support that underpins it, and Caldigit is the best in both aspects. No doubts for me after my experiences with other TB4 docks. Thanks for the video!
where did you get the Caldigit TS4. I dont think it is released yet.
@@shuaichengzhang1193 I bought it directly in the Caldigit’s online store in early march
With Mac or PC? This dock is super unreliable for Mac…mfg keeps promising to fix….
@@psycl0ptic he said M1Pro. So Mac
I’ve bought so many sub $100 hubs and over time they get glitchy even to the point of freezing my MBP. I’m so frugal that it hurts thinking of buying a $300+ dock but I think it’s vital. Never thought of the difference between a dock vs hub as well.
try once but be aware, the experience won't be that different, I have tried the Lenovo Thinkpad Docking station it works great with Mac at the beginning but the thunderbolt cable is too short, so you are very limited physically in the type of setup options, the cable is like 30cm or 1 ft.
Ordered the Caldigit with the 18 ports. Monstrous utility
We need a full-on “pro” dock with 10gbe 🚀
On the Belkin Thunderbolt 4 Pro Dock do the 2x USB 3 ports share an internal 5Gbps hub? That's how the ports are on the Belkin Thunderbolt 3 Pro Dock; giving you a max speed of 5Gbps USB 3 total, instead of 5Gbps + 5Gbps = 10Gbps; which is important for high-bandwidth USB 3 devices. This is the kind of info we need; each device needed to be inspected with UsbTreeView or System Information (on Mac).
None, I chose the Dell TB4 which has the best selection of display ports. Each of these lack at least one method.
Yes it has less commodity ports (USB, etc.) but what we mostly pay in these docks are the display capacities.
It works like a charm for every PC, Mac or Windows. Never had issues in 2 years
The cheaper the dock, the crappy it’s going to work if you have a lot of data moving through. Just buy one of the caldigit ones and forget about it. It will never screw up or break.
I have the OWC dock. 1) the network connection sometimes drops inexplicably. 2) they raised the price $20 just ahead of holidays. Both extremely annoying
Really need to start seeing CFexpress Type A & B readers on these docks. Many of the new cameras that are out now have these.
Yes! I have to use a whole external Thunderbolt 3 CFExpress card reader instead of being built in!
Do any of these have 5k passthrough / daisy chaining? I.e. one I can plug my laptop into, have a dock with ethernet, ports, etc... which then powers a 5k 60 monitor as well?
Still waiting for a Thunderbolt 4 dock with 10 Gbe. As far I know OWC Thunderbolt 3 Pro Dock is the only one but is thunderbolt 3.
I am in the same situation. Have the OWC TB4 + a TB3 to 10gbe adapter
As far as docks go, Thunderbolt 3 vs 4 doesn't matter. 4 only exists to eliminate confusion that was caused by PC companies like Dell and HP, who put out machines with the cut back version of Thunderbolt 3 on lower end computers.
Are USB-C HDMI cables a standard now, or do they have varying degree of compatibility etc?
Love that the belkin has usb 2.0 ports (many usb 3 ports cause wireless interference with mice/keyboard dongles)
Can you explain what this means? I am trying to decide what to buy for my Macbook Air M1; I have devices like a printer and a G-Drive that I need to connect via USB-A ports, but I also have the first-gen Apple Wireless Keyboard and mouse.
I use the dell wd22tb4 and the good thing about that is that it works on a 3 monitor setup with my mac m1 pro while delivering 180w power. So when you think of it it blows that caldigit out of the water..
Hey, can you please tell me how you make it work with 3 monitor setup with mac m1 pro. I have the same mac and this dock.
@Sathish Akasapu I am connecting 1 monitor directly with the thunderbolt port of the dock while the pther rwo are connected by an HDMI and DisplayPort respectively.
@@SayanBhattacharjee90 Yes, I have tried the same. The one with thunderbolt works and the other 2 displays with HDMI & Displayport are getting mirrored. I hope you mean connecting all cables to the dock.
I have the Caldigit element. Absolute beast and looks super crisp on the desk. PC user here.
What do you think of the new Plugable 16-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 Dock with 100W Charging? I'm trying to make a decision to use with my 16" MacBook Pro M1 Max.
the biggest complain I would formulate is that for someone travelling, none of those companies provides a lightweigth solution, nor a compact one (the external power brick is mostly massive).
and for international flights, the limitation in air travel (space and weight) forces us to reduce everything to the bear minimum. Hopefully they'll soon find a way... or do you know one?
Hey Wayan! I don't think you'll see any Thunderbolt versions. If you want something portable, you'll need to look for a USB-C hub instead. USB ones are often bus-powered meaning you won't need an external power supply to make it work but Thunderbolt hubs require additional power and they are usually trying to supply up to 100W of power which means the included power supplies won't be small.
I use a Glyph Thunderbolt 3 dock and I don’t think I’ve ever had an issue with it. It used the full 40Gbps bandwidth and had an m.2 ssd slot built in which is neat. It’s also got good build quality and 87W PD. Can recommend. Only downsides are the mic and headphone jacks (and DACs) on the front which are full of digital noise
Sounds like a ground loop issue. Make sure all the things you have connected to it are all on the same outlet.
@@codytanksley6673 I would check everything on that breaker which might be the culprit as well
It is surprising how poor the selection of Thunderbolt 4 docks is. Everyone is crying out for a Calidigit T4 with 10GB Ethernet and an HDMI. That is what people want. It is odd that the 10GB Ethernet is so hard to find; and quite why Caldigit didn’t include an HDMI or 10GB on the new one is beyond me? It only has a single Displayport out of those 18 ports. So not at all multi-monitor friendly as a hub. If I get one (which is impossible as oil right now, as they have sold out until May apparently) I’ll end up having to use the HDMI on the MacBook Pro directly. Is there much disadvantage in going for a Thunderbolt 3 dock? There seems to be more choice.
I want the Caldigit TS4 but they are unavailable, I've been waiting for three months and I'm tired now, will look for a alternative!
i just had to return the OWC one mentioned. video seemed fine but audio did not work consistently. music would play, but system sounds only randomly sometimes. tek support said i needed to download/install their "Dock Ejector" app, that it has needed drivers for this dock. but that made no difference. i was thinking about trying the Satech one but now i'm not so sure, since it's essentially the same thing as the OWC one. 😞
Thank you for the reviews. I am impressed.
I purchased a TS3 Plus last year from the Apple Store, It quit working already after seeing very limited use. I went to their site, download firmware, drivers, etc, etc, nothing worked. I tried to call, but using the COVID excuse they no longer answer phones. Left a massage, they never returned my call. I sent an e-mail, no response. I called again, no answer, tried to use the chat option and there is no-one there to chat either. It powers off and on, disconnecting and reconnecting my drives. This of course is damaging. I have other equipment dating back almost 10 years that is still working fine, outdated of course but still works. I also have a OWC Thunderbolt 4 dock that I purchased at the same time, that still functions flawlessly. I will never buy CalDigit Again. $300.0 to $400.00 a year is more than I am willing to spend for a dock. I will continue to buy OWC though, still working good and great customer service.
I tried a number of Thunderbolt 4 docks including Caldigit, Sonnet, belkin, etc, the only one that worked flawlessly was the Satechi Thunderbolt 4 dock.
Unfortunately it’s sold out everywhere now. Fortunately I found one a couple of months ago.
Have you tried OWC’s tb4 dock?
@@rauland
Unfortunately no. The Satechi thunderbolt 4 worked flawlessly after trying the others, so I didn’t need to try anymore.
The satechi thunderbolt 4 dock is now connected to my 2021 MacBook Pro Max, running 2 4K monitors and 2 external ssds and 1 external 4K blu-Ray writer.
Everything works perfectly without any disconnections.
This is something I had not experienced with Caldigit or Sonnet.
I am interested in feedback on OWC thunderbolt 4 dock. But as far as I am concerned, I found the thunderbolt 4 dock that works flawlessly - Satechi thunderbolt 4 dock
@@RM-hy4so if it works for you, great. But if you can’t get one how’s that useful?
I have the OWC TB4 dock… I have 4hdd’s in a 2 separate raid configurations within a 4bay enclosure connected by USB3.1, OWC’s Mini Stack STX (with an 8tb hdd and a 1tb nvme installed), 1 2Tb HDD partitioned into 2x 1tb sections that my wife accesses from her MacBook wirelessly, another 2Tb hdd used for digital storage, an LG UHD read/write/player from OWC. My keyboard is wired directly to my M1 Mini. Monitor is connected via hdmi to the mini. And have had 0 issues with drive connectivity in the last year (Mini Stack STX was just added a month ago…those drives were previously connected via there own enclosures) that I’ve owned the TB4 dock. The dock claims to support up to 2x 4k monitors, but I personally have not tried that. Haven’t heard anywhere that it doesn’t either.
@@rauland thanks, good to know. I actually got $50 off my Satechi for the new year sale at Best Buy, that’s why I purchased it over the OWC.
Glad the OWC thunderbolt 4 dock works well too. Being available freely is a big plus too.
Off Topic Question cuz you're a Nice Guy. 🙏🏼 My iPhone 8, my M1Air and my M1 2021 Purple iMac aren't synching. Any thoughts on what would cause that? I use several Hyper-Drive Hubs btw......which I like very much. Thanks.
What about the Brydge stone pro tb4 how does it compare to the ones in the video? It seems it's also the same as the last 3..
Is a thunderbolt doc better than a USB doc?
What is the difference between a doc and a hub?
a HUB is generally smaller and more portable, for example giving presentations, while using adapter for HDMI. dock is generally larger and more powerful, for you to set up on your desk for routine work
I’m new to Mac with the variety it’s hard to choose.
I just ordered a Macbook Pro 14" with all other bells/whistles. But I have clients conference rooms with HDMI, USB-C and VGA plugs that I need to be able to use to display my presentations (some video, but definitely powerpoints). I also need to have two USB ports for a corded mouse (at times) and USB for client flash drives. What should I get? I really just need adaptors not a full-on docking station.
I’m new to Mac and would need dual screen. Which one would suit my need? I’ve seen a lot of recommendations for Caldigit, OWC and Belkin
Wish you would have included Plugable and Anker in your comparison.
TS4 is great except it's sold out everywhere.
I wonder if any support the various video capture dongles. I have the OWC dock and Blackmagic Ultra Studio Recorder 3G does not work and all of my HDMI to USB3/USBC dongles only use reduced frame sizes. Have you tested any video capture at least 1080p30 or UHDp30?
Nice hub 👍
where can we pick up the logic thunderbolt 4 blasé docking station? Thank you for your help!
When you say the 98w charging, is just charging not along with screen sharing right!
มีะบบ รีเวิร์สชาร์จในตัวของ docsertamp อุปกรณ์ต่อพ่วงแนวแปลกนี้มัยครับ
Was kinda hoping this would cover more docking stations and not hubs. Good video though!
Why do so many docks feature DisplayLink that doesn't play well with many Macs and monitors? I've even had guys at Apple tell me that DisplayPort isn't fully supported. I have had nothing but problems with sleep/wake when using DisplayPort with various docks and my LG 4K displays. I'm just about to buy a 16" MBP M2 Max and want a TB4 dock with dual HDMI that supports 4K. Any recommendations?
I was going to go for the CalDigit but the previous one I bought went straight back as the screens either stayed black, or only one worked or it flickered on and off at random.
Help!!! Can you recommend a hub or solution that has a Thunderbolt 2 input /output (used with my 2013 G Technology 4TB external drive) and SD card input.that works with high speed SD cards..(my 2013 iMac has built in ports for these connectors and now I am looking at buying a M3 iMac.
Any thoughts on the Razer TB4 dock?
Hi Buddy, I have a question which i hope you can help me with. I recently bought a Samsung Odyssey G9 Neo Ultrawide monitor. I'm not a gamer, just like the idea of one big screen instead of two 27" ones. I have it connected to my MacBook Pro M1 13" through the CalDigit TS4. What I didn't know at the time, is my MacBook won't run two screens. I have the Samsung connected to the CalD with an expensive display-port cable. My problem: I work from home and all my seminars are done on MS Teams. My plan was to split my Neo into two 27" screens, one side showing my participants and the other my virtual white-board. I cannot share my "white-board" with my students without losing them from the screen. As the CalD only has one display port, do you think buying a second Dock with HDMI to run a second cable to my Neo would allow me to share that second screen whilst continuing to see my students on the other screen? The Neo has one display-port and two HDMI inputs. I hope you understand my problem and I would greatly appreciate you helping🙏
I'm amazed Anker and Plugable didn't make the cut.
Did you ever test being able to use the DP port on the back, connected to a monitor at 4K@60Hz and still retain Apple's Retina Scaling Thumbnail features for scaling resolution in the display properties? I was not able to use the DP connection for the purposes of a 4K display, and therefore renders the hub useless, since I need 2xTB4 connections (one for a high speed external drive and one for a 4K@60Hz monitor). That leaves only the DP for the second monitor, which doesn't seem to work properly. CalDigit support doesn't answer the phone and they have not returned my email messages either.
What is the difference between a doc and a hub?
I'm looking for a doc or hub to add functions to a new iMac. I want to attach an internet cable as well as have some additional USB ports and an SD card slot. Any suggestions?
Anybody know if you can disable the charging functionality on the main thunderbolt 4 connection port? I bought the Satechi, just concerned about my macbook's battery health :/
Help! Lots of options and I don't know which way to go. Today I have an 18 in 1 from Cabletime that does not support my peripherals and does not charge my notebook, It's "devourings" its battery. I have a MacBook Pro M1 Max 64gb of ram and 1TB of SSD (soon I will need more space in HD and SSD).
In it, I need to consnect 1 n 5K@120Hz, 1 pen display 22" FullHD@60Hz (which I use as a monitor when I'm not using), 1 pen display 15.6" (which I always use) also FullHD@60, a mouse (with 3antena usb 2), 3d mouse (usb 2), a Sandisk Extreme SSD Eventually I have to charge my keyboard and iPhone.
So, thinking about what I need today, but without forgetting to think about the future, what is the best way forward?
Do I buy a TB3 or TB4 dock?
Do I buy a TB4 dock with multiple ports (hdmi, display ports, usb 2, usb 3.1 etc.) in addition to 3 or 4 TB4 ports?
Do I buy a TB3 dock that supports everything I reported having in this comment?
Do I reuse my TB3 and connect it to one of the TB4 ports of a TB4 dock (daisy-chain) and buy a model with few ports?
Do these Thunderbolt 4 Docking Stations also work on an Intel MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)?
Can I run two LG 5K through Caldigit Element Hub? I have a MBP M1 Pro
I have it connected now and read some reviews saying it’s possible but nothing comes up when connected.
Trying to do the one cable solution…
really wish Apple would just make one that works. I'd pay for that
That Apple died with Steve Jobs.
curious...can you use a mac mini hub ( one that has an ssd enclosure Stand & Hub ) for an imac hub?
Can we get 144hz on display with max with any of these devices ?
What about the Anker 777?
Question
How do I connect HDMI or Display port to this?
what did we learn today? yes macs with M chips suck. im selling my air m2 and switch back to windows simply because there are no limitations on display usage.
You forgot the Anker 777
Hi everyone - does anyone have a recommendaion on a docking station for macbook pro for work purposes? I have a 49in samsung monitor, and im in the market for a docking station that can support displaying to monitor on top of having usb dongles connected to it for headset/camera/mouse. Been using 4URPC dock, and it works great for a few months then I start to run into connectivity issues within a few months. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
Hi man, interested in reviewing our latest TB4 Mini Dock?😎
I want connect 4 external monitors with laptop thunderbolt can someone confirm any thunderbolt hub ???
they did not cover the what's included in the box.
You failed to mention the ongoing caldig 2.5Gbit port issues with Mac
what's kind of problem ?
Why is it so difficult to find a docking station that will allow a Mac to use more than 2 external displays while it's a breeze for Windows systems?
Because newer macs are limited to 2 external displays?…
@@codytanksley6673 The M2 chip finally allows max of 3. Just got a couple for Execs at my job, but I had to do extensive research to find docking stations. It’s ridiculous!
CalDigit SOKS
None of these are docks, but hubs. It requires actual docking for it to be a dock.
The best? You left that unanswered
You need to add the Razer one to your list, it works great so far with my M1.
Yes! That one does work well but I didn't have it on hand. Plus, the RGB stuff doesn't support Mac on the software side if I remember correctly?
I was wondering if the RGB works as well!
Can the razer power two monitors with m1 pro processor
@@Vontai21 rgb is just for fun in the end, if the docks works well (as it seems), who cares about rgb light? :) Just a worker opinion! Bye :)
im surprise there no fourt thunderbolt hubs. i dont need other stuff
Avoid the OWC Thunderbolt 4 dock. Disconnects all the time. And it's expensive too. A total waste. Does anyone know of a reliable dock?
Really? Sorry to hear. My OWC TB4 Dock works perfectly. You must have a defective unit.
I have OWC and it is very unreliable...
What are u talking aboutt he bellin has 3 Thunderbolt 4 ports..more than any other period
Almost ALL Thunderbolt 4 docks have 3 or more. Definitely not "more than any other period." The Belkin one is fine, but designed primarily for Windows office users, not Mac users or creatives.
Sound level is too low
Seems very apple to have usb 2.0 ports so your iphone 13 pro isn't plugged into a port that is too fast.
You recommend one docking station with a single video input. And another one where both inputs can't be used at the same time. Either this video is a joke or the best TB docking stations for macs are a joke. Which is it?
Do you mean 'outputs'?
Mostly useless review. These are all built by RealTek and use the very problematic RT8513 chipsets that will cause very well known network crashes or unstable USB port drops. There isn’t a firmware fix for the problem because it’s a chip design flaw. Best you can hope for is that they release an updated version that uses a better Intel or Qualcomm chipset.
zikka
Calshit TS4 is shit. Read the real reviews. It dumps drives and all sorts. Do not use.
Seriously ... Who the fuck still needs a DisplayPort ...
i dont see the benefit of using thunderbolt vs just a normal usb-c dock
why do they all have USB A? I want to move everything to USB-C at least. I want to get rid of all my USB A cables.