USB C Hubs

[Danp]

Our classrooms are set up with CTouch screens and teachers who have Chromebooks. Most screens have hdmi & usb cables to usb c hub, which the teacher then connects to their Chromebook and teach away. But, the usb c hubs I've been buying are lasting 4-5 months before needing to be replaced. I've bought "nicer" Belkin ones, and they might last a bit longer, but not long enough to justify the extra costs. So, I've been putting in these ones, but once they start playing up, the only fix is to replace them. The cost isn't really an issue, but I don't feel it's great that they are then turned into weee after such a short time.

 

Any other suggestions for a brand or type that might last longer?

 

p.s. the newer screens have usb c cables, and those last longer.

[DalekSec]

We use Ankle dongles like this one: https://amzn.eu/d/3kWWrtg

 

Not had a single 1 die in 3 years, have brought atleast 40

[Danp]

23 minutes ago, DalekSec said:

We use Ankle dongles like this one: https://amzn.eu/d/3kWWrtg

 

Not had a single 1 die in 3 years, have brought atleast 40

Thanks, good to know.

 

Downside, it says "Organisation restricted" when I try and buy via that link, not sure what's up with that seller!

[DalekSec]

20 minutes ago, Danp said:

Thanks, good to know.

 

Downside, it says "Organisation restricted" when I try and buy via that link, not sure what's up with that seller!

 

We have an amazon business account so may be the link i sent you was for a business only provider, should be other providers! 

[Danp]

8 minutes ago, DalekSec said:

 

We have an amazon business account so may be the link i sent you was for a business only provider, should be other providers! 

Ours is too, it's something that has been set by our finance. I've ordered 10 of a different Anker ones

[psydii]

This is more an informational post to future people searching for solutions to USB C related issues, but it may be worth considering - at some point continuing to replace dongles might be more expensive that an actual dock.

USB C is a fickle beast. Cables are fragile, and if they are not replaceable but the device they are connected to are in effect "consumable".  But then if they are replaceable, that's an additional physical connection that needs to be "good" and the ongoing danger that a replaced cable is sub-standard.  

 

How Long Can a USB-C Cable Be?

What is USB-C Power Delivery?

What is USB4?

USB-C Cables and USB-C Adapters from Cable Matters

 

Also dongles are not designed with the expectation that they will be used by 6 different people every single day, where as docks (particularly post-covid where hot-desking is much more common)  should be and more engineering effort has probably been spent in protective mechanisms for the electronics. 

 

Anker is a good brand, and with a 5gb/s 4k/30Hz cap the are probably using USB 3.2 Gen 1 or 1x2 rated cabling which allows them build a product that is not quite so electrically sensitive to wear and tear.

All our staff laptops support DP-Alt mode, so where we have dock/dongles we install a full USB-C 3.2 2x2 Dock with PD and DP-Alt mode we now use only  USB 4  USB-IF certified cables.

 

[Danp]

Thank you for taking the time to share this.

 

You are right about them not being looked after. In one classroom, I am tempted to put a proper dock in there as it needs long hdmi cable to get around the desk, the hub quite often ends up on the floor!

[MrEprise]

2 hours ago, Danp said:

Thanks, good to know.

 

Downside, it says "Organisation restricted" when I try and buy via that link, not sure what's up with that seller!

 

In our case, "Organisation restricted" usually means that the seller can't provide a VAT invoice.

 

Our experience so far with the "more expensive" USB-C docks is if you have the choice, buy new rather than used/second-hand/refurbished ones.

 

We have a large number of "refurbished" HP USB-C Dock G4's and the primary issues we see with ours ranges from USB-C cable failure to the DisplayPorts suddenly ceasing to work. Sometimes the docks will sometimes just stop working and requires either a power cycle or unplugging/replugging the USB-C cable from the dock end while plugged into a laptop.

 

One of the issues we have with ours is that because they're refurbished/second-user devices, most of them came with the original type-c cables but many did not so sometimes you find yourself changing out cables until you find one that works and often the cables that didn't work on one unit, might work fine on another despite being visually identical (methinks some of these are different revisions.)

 

Having detachable USB-C cables has its good points as well as bad i.e. you can replace it if it should go bad but there are of course many downsides to this such as people walking off with the cable when it should remain with the dock for example. Our docks also have a USB-C port on the front which also means that when Staff try to self-diagnose connection issues, they usually plug the cable into the front and this won't work. It's the same if rooms are left unlocked, some Students have worked out they can sabotage lessons by moving the USB-C cable to the front and the Teachers - despite being told that this port can't be used in this way - still seem oblivious to the cable having been moved and then I get called to sort it out.

 

Fine when they work but not without issues unfortunately. If I was doing it all again I'd go for docks with some sort of integrated USB cable (like the G5 docks where it can still be removed if needed but cannot be removed easily) and new ones too. There is the added disadvantage that docks with a hardwired cable means that you'd need to replace the dock if the USB-C cable goes bad... but for a couple here, I've simply added a USB-C extension to at least prevent jack damage, though just note these are not covered in the spec so all USB-C extensions are not official and not certified.

[Danp]

I've enquired about some HP G4s, might look at getting 2 or 3 and see how I get on. I've been known to tap over sockets that are not needed, ie usb c, display port in the hope of limited issues.

[pete]

We've used Anker and Startech docks and they work fine in all but one of our buildings (it's something odd with the particular building or the behaviour of the inhabitants, but we've never narrowed down exactly what).

 

The Anker docks can become less reliable if they're allowed to overheat and they stay hot for extended periods (someone uses both HDMI, all the USB, charges through the dock and buries the dock on the desk).  Consider mounting them where they can't be buried in classroom detritus.

[LeMarchand]

1 hour ago, pete said:

Consider mounting them where they can't be buried in classroom detritus.

 

Trouble with that is that the ceiling isn't very easily accessible.