Trouble finding a USB-C docking station

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › Trouble finding a USB-C docking station

wratterus

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#293369 17-Jan-2022 09:26

Seem to be having trouble finding a suitable docking station for new notebooks currently - in this case a Probook G8. Needs to support USB PD to charge the notebook (65w), a few USB ports, 2x 1080p displays & gigabit Ethernet. Doesn't seem like that much to ask! pretty much all the cheaper docks seem to only support once display at a time.

Really don't want some 'universal' docking station that doesn't the DP over Type-C, but that looks like it might end up being the only option.

Our go-to previously has been the HP 1MK33AA Universal Dock, we've found that be very stable & reliable but those seem to be about impossible to get currently.

Anyone know of a decent dock that is available currently?

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#2851861 17-Jan-2022 09:34

Genuine docks for several manufacturers are like hens teeth, unfortunately. I have had a backorder for some HP docks since 12 July 2021, and the current ETA date is 21 April 2022. We've supplied a couple of ultrawide HP P34HC monitors as alternatives, which connect via USB-C and also charge the laptop. We have even kept a couple as stock where I would normally avoid having such a high priced monitor sitting on the shelf.

TradeMe has some but you'll be paying full price for a secondhand unit. Even many third party brands are low or no stock locally as people are looking for alternatives.

Search online for UNITEK USB-C MST. They are cheap but don't support power delivery. HDMI and DP options, with the importer showing DP units in stock and HDMI units out of stock but with an ETA of only a few days.

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xpd

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#2851864 17-Jan-2022 09:39

Weve had issues with the latest gen HP docks, Im trialing a Kensington branded one which is working perfectly so far, not sure where it was sourced from tho (PBTech dont have this one). Ill find out today and let you know.

Im using it on a HP Probook 650 G8 with dual screens etc.

@wratterus Update : Supplier was Lexel.

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wratterus

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#2851866 17-Jan-2022 09:40

Thanks @dynamic.

Just found this one, a little costly but looks like it should work Ok I think?

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NBDLEN400090/Lenovo-ThinkPad-USB-C-Dock-ThinkPad-Universal-USB

trig42

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#2851915 17-Jan-2022 09:41

Major issues getting hold of them unfortunately.

I have Dell docks on backorder, and just keep ordering more. I ordered a couple last week, and their ETA is June this year.

I've heard Belkin have a new one coming with 65W PD.

Dynamic

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#2851916 17-Jan-2022 09:41

wratterus:

Thanks @dynamic.

Just found this one, a little costly but looks like it should work Ok I think?

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NBDLEN400090/Lenovo-ThinkPad-USB-C-Dock-ThinkPad-Universal-USB

Yes, the specs on that one looks OK to me.

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#2851918 17-Jan-2022 09:42

@xpd what troubles have you had with which dock, if you don't mind my asking?

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xpd

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#2851920 17-Jan-2022 09:48

Dynamic:

@xpd what troubles have you had with which dock, if you don't mind my asking?

Cant remember exact model, but supposedly very recent if not the latest, looks like this :

HP USB-C Dock G5 Docking Station Black buy and offers on Techinn

To me, it was like it wasn't able to supply enough power to my laptop and kept dropping out the ethernet and occasionally the video. Swapped out for another, same issue, changed power supplies, leads, drivers, firmware updates etc etc, and still issue. Couple of others on similar model laptops had similar problems. HP denied there was any problem, so we said we'd try a 3rd party one and let HP know from there...... so far the Kensington has worked perfectly.

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wratterus

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#2851921 17-Jan-2022 09:48

Is this the Unitek one? That one looks OK & does support PD. For that price I think we could go without the Ethernet, it's cheap as chips.

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/HUBUNI1009/Unitek-D1051A-uHUB-P5-Trio-5-in-1-USB-31-Mulit-Por

xpd

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#2851924 17-Jan-2022 09:50

Unitek stuff, you get what you pay for IME.

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Benoire

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#2851925 17-Jan-2022 09:55

Dynamic:

wratterus:

Thanks @dynamic.

Just found this one, a little costly but looks like it should work Ok I think?

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NBDLEN400090/Lenovo-ThinkPad-USB-C-Dock-ThinkPad-Universal-USB

Yes, the specs on that one looks OK to me.

Does the power button work on non-Lenovo units?

I picked up an HP G5 USB-C dock last year to replace the crappy displaylink one I had and its worked well but ideally I wanted a TB3 dock that was universal. I looked at the lenovo but couldn't find any information that the power button would work on anything but the lenovo so canned it for the base USB-C one which has been fine but limits peripheral activity with the monitors I have.

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#2851978 17-Jan-2022 10:02

wratterus:

Is this the Unitek one? That one looks OK & does support PD. For that price I think we could go without the Ethernet, it's cheap as chips.

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/HUBUNI1009/Unitek-D1051A-uHUB-P5-Trio-5-in-1-USB-31-Mulit-Por

I was looking at the Unitek V1407A or it's HDMI equivelent, but yes that would do.

I rarely buy Unitek gear, but have not had any trouble with it to date.

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networkn

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#2851983 17-Jan-2022 10:10

xpd:

Cant remember exact model, but supposedly very recent if not the latest, looks like this :

To me, it was like it wasn't able to supply enough power to my laptop and kept dropping out the ethernet and occasionally the video. Swapped out for another, same issue, changed power supplies, leads, drivers, firmware updates etc etc, and still issue. Couple of others on similar model laptops had similar problems. HP denied there was any problem, so we said we'd try a 3rd party one and let HP know from there...... so far the Kensington has worked perfectly.

If you are running multiple high-resolution monitors, USB-C has an issue (not just HP) where there isn't enough power. There is a setting in the bios of HP Notebooks which from memory drops the speed of the ethernet to 100MBit and reroutes the power for other things. We switched my wife notebook to Thunderbolt and don't offer USB-C docks any longer if we can help it.

Problem is, Thunderbolt docks are just as hard to get our hands on.

wratterus

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#2851984 17-Jan-2022 10:11

Thanks everyone. Going to go with that Lenovo this time around. Just don't quite trust the Unitek. Might try that in a another situation where it's not quite as vital that it's rock solid.

Benoire

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#2851985 17-Jan-2022 10:12

xpd:

Cant remember exact model, but supposedly very recent if not the latest, looks like this :

To me, it was like it wasn't able to supply enough power to my laptop and kept dropping out the ethernet and occasionally the video. Swapped out for another, same issue, changed power supplies, leads, drivers, firmware updates etc etc, and still issue. Couple of others on similar model laptops had similar problems. HP denied there was any problem, so we said we'd try a 3rd party one and let HP know from there...... so far the Kensington has worked perfectly.

That looks like the HP G5 USB-C dock. I had ethernet issues until the latest firmware which fixed the drop out issue, constantly dropped during teams calls but now is stable. Powers both my HP Elitebook x2 G4 (work) and the misses Ryzen 4500u HP Envy fine without issue.

Benoire

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#2851990 17-Jan-2022 10:19

networkn:

If you are running multiple high-resolution monitors, USB-C has an issue (not just HP) where there isn't enough power. There is a setting in the bios of HP Notebooks which from memory drops the speed of the ethernet to 100MBit and reroutes the power for other things. We switched my wife notebook to Thunderbolt and don't offer USB-C docks any longer if we can help it.

Problem is, Thunderbolt docks are just as hard to get our hands on.

Its stream compression on under the alt. mode settings, I think its high resolution display and this forces stream compression on via alt mode. It seems to retain the USB and ethernet function as they need on mine. I found it wasn't needed with 2 x 1080p screens but moving to 1440p or larger requires it otherwise it just holds at 1080p. The compression doesn't seem to have changed the quality. TB3 or higher will support just fine but TB docks are either based on laptop manufacturers and aren't fully compatible or are by others and do not ahve the power button etc.

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