10 Tips & Tricks for your CalDigit Thunderbolt Docks

[@garyclement2888]

This was very helpful and jam-packed with good information.

[@dplj4428]

the mouse dongle on longer cable adapter…great tip!!!! Had gotten alerts that Logitech K480 for example might interfere.

[@memoriescapturednl]

Great video! Very helpfull tips☺️

[@DmitryKaminski]

Cool, thanks! Didn't know what's causing the lags of a wireless mouse, now it's fixed :)

[@AdamGonzebra]

What a beautiful video thank you so much for explaining every single detail! I had already targeted the cal-digit TS4 for a while because I’m running out of ports and storage, so this is the main reason why I’m getting informed onto this beautiful machine 👏

[@Fred_the_Head]

I purchased the Element hub in 2023 because I needed it fairly soon. I also know that Thunderbolt 5 products will be released in 2024. I will probably end up with two daisy chained Element hubs in 2024.

[@CalDigitHQ]

We definitely have some new products on the way next year, and they will be able to be daisy-chained with any of our current Thunderbolt lineup!

[@michaelbucciarelli3141]

Great suggestions. And simple and clear explanations, without the fake-happy salesmen voice you get on other Mac reviews. I find a lot of the fake cheery-jokey-talk that other presenters give tedious. You have keep it simple, concise, and with clear visuals.

[@ScottDMoore]

THank you sir. Very useful.

[@AndrewTindale]

This is a great video. A much different perspective than speed tests or compatibility.

[@engraverhand]

Looks really awesome! :-)

[@salmonsandwich3183]

Very informative and succinct. Thanks Jeff. Would you happen to know how well these work with audio interfaces and/or their compatibility with Thunderbolt 2 mini displayport outputs on old Lenovo Thinkpads? I imagine I need an adapter of some kind. Any recommendations you can send my way would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

[@CalDigitHQ]

Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 should work, but Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 4 will probably run into issue - on the macOS side, Thunderbolt 2 is technically not supported on newer TB4 computers. Unsure about on Windows. You'd want to grab an Apple Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 adapter for this. Audio interfaces should work perfectly fine. Some of our videos are recorded with a microphone plugged into an audio interface that goes into a TS4.

[@salmonsandwich3183]

@@CalDigitHQ Aha! Thank you! Had a feeling I would need one of those over-priced apple adapters, as they seem to be the only bidirectional ones sold. Haven't purchased an apple product since ipods where popular. Thank you so much for answering my questions!

[@CalDigitHQ]

@@salmonsandwich3183 No problem. There are other adapters out there, but this is one of those things where there really is a quality and reliability difference.

[@CarswithMiles]

The one-click disconnect is🔥

[@jalangstead]

Great video. Is it ok to leave the dock ON when not connected to a MacBook? There’s no power button and to disconnect from the power I’d have to scramble under the desk

[@CalDigitHQ]

Yes, totally fine. The dock will go into a low-power standby mode when not connected to a computer. On some of our docks, a few USB ports remain active to power connected chargeable devices, but otherwise the dock will pretty much turn off on its own.

[@jalangstead]

Thank you

[@ライ-n9x]

Love this guy. Thanks for the great tips Jeff!

[@janesam3257]

I have the TS3 Plus and an M1 Pro MBP. I plan to use an LG USB-C monitor. Will audio work through speakers that are connected to the USB-C monitors, not the dock? i.e MBP > TS3 Plus > Monitor > Speakers

[@CalDigitHQ]

If your monitor has an audio output, yes, it should work. You will have to select the monitor as your sound output in macOS' sound settings.

[@janesam3257]

@@CalDigitHQ excellent! I appreciate the quick reply! Thanks.

[@timsstereosystems3544]

Can you do a video walkthrough on the cal digit download utility, I'm having issues setting it up. I'm still new to Mac so I'm sure its something silly

[@CalDigitHQ]

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll bring it up as an idea internally for us to produce. Once you've set up the Docking Utility, it should show up on the top bar, towards the right side. It looks like an eject symbol. When you click on that, a drop-down appears with all your drives currently connected to the dock. You can then quickly eject any or all of them for more safely disconnecting your dock. If you're not seeing the utility or something isn't making sense, hit up our support team and they'll be happy to help you out! You can best get in touch via email at [e-mail]

[@chyan7274]

will TS5 released this year or next year? I am currently very hesitant about whether to buy TS4 now, or wait a while and purchase TS5.

[@CalDigitHQ]

Sorry, I can't talk about any potential future products right now

[@zro_dfects]

When is T5 coming out?, I am surprised and do not understand why the T4 with 18 ports has only 2 usable thunderbolt ports, can you plug a thunderbolt cable in the usb-c and still get 40gbps data transfer like a thunderbolt 4?, if not, then again I don't understand why only 2 thunderbolt ports, when the 3rd is used to connect to pc, which means I need to get two T4's since my laptop has 2 thunderbolt 4 ports.

[@mrghosty271]

Help! I have a USB-C Pro Dock but I lost my AC Adapter. Replacements are out of stock and I cannot find one anywhere. When will they be restocked or where can I find one that will work?

[@CalDigitHQ]

Our support team might be able to help with this. I believe the USB-C Pro Dock's power adapter is still in use in some of our products, so it should be obtainable. You can best get in touch with our support team via email at [e-mail]

[@trentburns1753]

I have a TS4 but am constantly switching between my PC and Mac. How can I combine them together? Not sure what a KVM is but is that the answer with my TS4? How do I do that?

[@CalDigitHQ]

There's not really a good way to do this currently. KVMs allow you to switch peripherals like keyboards, mice, etc, between multiple computers, which would work, except you need to use a Thunderbolt 4 KVM to retain all the features of the TS4. The only Thunderbolt 4 KVM that is available to consumers is from Sabrent. This can work, however, there's another potential problem. You would connect it like this: both computers plug into the KVM, which plugs into the TS4, then all your devices plug into that. When it comes to Thunderbolt charging, only the first device in a "chain" will charge the computers, so the Sabrent in this case. That only supports up to 60W charging, which could be enough, but it will not charge as fast as the TS4's 98W. This is pretty much the only way to readily accomplish your goals at the moment, so hopefully this helps!

[@J-Dawg-1]

The TS4 is amazing! A great solution for the problem of connectivity.

[@nicolelangford7125]

I need one with a usb-c KMV switch! I use a mac and a pc at the same desk. unplugging my stuff every time is getting real old

[@CalDigitHQ]

I keep telling our Engineering team that a Thunderbolt KVM + Dock would be a big hit! No news yet, but maybe one day!

[@robnowe5464]

It would be helpful if you would include links to all the products you mention... like... the USBA to USBC USB2 and the 10GBps adapters

[@sphchurch]

Gaming is fine, but what very day office use. My computer is a Mac mini 2018 addition. I’m trying to run two external hard drives and two monitors. What dock and cabling and equipment suggestions for that. At the moment I use a SVGA main and a 32 inch HDMI.

[@CalDigitHQ]

The 2018 Mac Mini should be able to support dual monitors over one of our docks no problem. If all you need is two hard drives and two monitors, the Element Hub is a good pick. There's 4 USB-A ports and 3 USB-C/ Thunderbolt ports, so it can easily fit all of the devices you mentioned and have room for a little more in the future. You'll need to get two adapters for this: 1 USB-C to VGA, and 1 USB-C to HDMI

[@cupofkona]

Will need the adapters!

[@00111000]

Can a late-2013 Macbook Pro with Thunderbolt 2 connect through the host port and still able to display two monitors and connect to external drives via the dock/hub?

[@CalDigitHQ]

Thunderbolt 2 macOS computers aren’t able to properly support Thunderbolt 4 devices. Thunderbolt 4 support came in macOS Big Sur, which also signified a start of deprecated support for Thunderbolt 1 and 2. Because of this, the macOS update you would need to use a Thunderbolt 4 dock also will break your computer’s Thunderbolt ports. With all of this in mind, Thunderbolt 3 devices are compatible with Thunderbolt 2 computers, so our TS3 Plus would work here. Dual monitors are supported, as well as external drives. Pretty much everything works EXCEPT power delivery to the computer, which Thunderbolt 2 does not support.

[@dancastrochannel]

HELP! I just bought this a couple of days ago and works perfectly but I’m having a big issue I hope you can help me with. I’m using one thunderbolt 4 to my computer (M1) and the rest I’m using for external ssd drives and one usb connectors for an a other external hard drive. The problem is when I turn of my laptop everything is still on except the ts4. Everything connected to the ts 4 is still on eg… all my ssd’s and external hard drive. I’m assuming that turning of the laptop turns of everything connected to the Ts4, or at least it should. Am I doing something wrong? I really don’t want to return this, please help. Thank you!

[@CalDigitHQ]

The TS4 keeps some ports active while not connected to the computer. This is a feature meant for charging devices while a computer is off. Here are the ports that support this feature: All USB-C ports on the TS4, and USB-A ports with the battery indicator next to them (there's one on the front and two on the rear).

[@eboasso]

How would I connect my two Macbook pros through this Caldigitts4? I currently have M1 mac outputting to two Monitors. I do want to connect my other MBP to entire set up to transfer files to hardrives in my setup.

[@CalDigitHQ]

You cannot connect more than one host device to a Thunderbolt dock in the way you are describing.

[@lynsmith1096]

Good tips

[@sphchurch]

You were a little fast on the A to C adapter for SSD drives?

[@sphchurch]

What usb a to c to maintain high speed?

[@tri-unetrl3966]

Do you need to update the firmware on this Caldigit thunderbolt 4 Element Hub?? 🤷🏽

[@kentvun]

@4:45 Can I clarify this can apply to PC not just mac, that I can continue to charge my pc with it's own charger at the same time plug in to my element hub that has its own power supply? I am worries 2 electric source would conflict? Would you be able to confirm this is ok? because the 60w passthrough charging from element hub is slightly less than what my pc required. thank you

[@CalDigitHQ]

Yes, it's totally safe for any device that could accept charging from the Element Hub to accept multiple power sources at once. Modern computers are smart enough to manage multiple power sources without hurting themselves. The computer will simply reject incoming power from one source - likely the Element Hub in your case, and the dock will otherwise function totally as normal.

[@Hassan_MM.]

Can we Run Laptop without Battery on the Dock station ❓️

[@CalDigitHQ]

If the laptop is able to be powered off wall power exclusively, then yes!

[@EHall-yx9xy]

How is your Apollo Twin working with the TS4. I own a Apollo x6. Will that work well connected to the TS4?

[@CalDigitHQ]

I don't think we've tested it ourselves, but I've seen user reports going both ways. Our support team may have more information. You can best get in touch via email at [e-mail]

[@sieghartlionheart7664]

Hi! I have a Samsung USB C monitor with power delivery. So I'm Wondering if it will not cause any issues if I connect that to thunderbolt3 port of the TS3+... Donyou have info on this? I guess this applies to any other usbc monitors with power delivery. 🙂 Thank you!

[@CalDigitHQ]

Modern computers and devices are pretty smart when it comes to power delivery. In the case of a Thunderbolt or USB chain, any upstream devices that can't accept power(like the TS3 Plus in this case), simply reject all incoming power, and the connected devices respect that. You can think of it like this: when any charging device is connected to something else, there's a kind of handshake and agreement made that goes on before any power is transmitted. The two devices how much power can be sent and received, and if it wants any power at all. The same kind of thing goes on when a charging device is plugged into a computer too! So basically, you've got nothing to worry about - the monitor and TS3 Plus are smart enough to sort themselves out. Hope this helps! let me know if there's anything else I can do to assist.

[@sieghartlionheart7664]

@@CalDigitHQ That helps a lot! That was the only worry preventing me from finally deciding on purchasing the TS3+. Thank you and much appreciated on the detailed info! 🙂

[@jessa7306]

That’s cool

[@kevinfeeley8406]

Can two TS4 docks be linked together?

[@CalDigitHQ]

Yes! You can daisy-chain multiple Thunderbolt devices together. Up to 6 Thunderbolt devices (including the computer) are supported at a time in a chain, though you might run into degraded performance if you try daisy-chaining 5 TS4s all on the same connection.

[@kevinfeeley8406]

@@CalDigitHQ But Two will work with A Mac Book Pro M1 Max?

[@CalDigitHQ]

@@kevinfeeley8406 Yes.

[@arthurotsuka3198]

Good to know.

[@zephyrkhambatta]

Yeah well my devices keep diconnecting, even thought I have an Apple M1 Macbook Pro and you would think it would all work fine.

[@tabithaolson3098]

❤❤❤❤

[@davidscottbowlesphoto]

Here's the best tip.... Return it.... Mine just kept ejecting drives, then started to just not even recognize drives.

[@CalDigitHQ]

Sorry to hear that! Try swapping out your Thunderbolt cable. Sometimes the cable can introduce intermittent connectivity such as you are describing. If it is the cable, our support team can help get you a replacement. Beyond that, definitely get in touch with our support team for further diagnosis and troubleshooting. You can best get in touch via email at [e-mail]

[@davidscottbowlesphoto]

I should of reached out sadly didn’t have the patience haha I returned it to adorama already.

[@CalDigitHQ]

@@davidscottbowlesphoto It happens. If you do decide to try one of our products again, our support team is always happy to help with any questions or troubleshooting!

[@KrystalMensinga-y3q]

interesting

[@PendelSteven]

3:10 I think the presenter went a bit offscript here. Resulting in a omittance of the fact that a Thunderbolt 4 can in fact be on a Windows system. Yes, it used to be Mac first, but it' an Intel technology that's now on PC's as well. Everyone makes mistakes and this one is very understandable, but I want more people to know that Thunderbolt 4 is available on PCs now. In fact, it opens up a whole other market for the company. You should be glad. Great video though!

[@CalDigitHQ]

Thunderbolt 4 also works on Linux (and ChromeOS, and probably some other OSes I'm forgetting)! Thanks for pointing this out, though! Jeff comes to us from 9to5Mac, so he's in more of an Apple-centric mindset. Pretty much all of our other videos that go into detail and showcase how features work show methods on both macOS and Windows.

[@fredhampton1786]

Give me 10 tips how to get a repair, replacement, and or refund. Purchased the TS3 last year only used in 3 sessions and the unit no longer powers up no powers my devices. All this spec and tech talk means nothing if the internals/hardware is crap.

[@CalDigitHQ]

Sorry to hear about that. Definitely get in touch with our support team if you haven't already. You can best reach them via email at [e-mail]

[@sth4964]

Well, 2 CalTigit TS4, 2x pulsating coil whine -> Conclusion overpriced influencer toy with poor quality

[@CalDigitHQ]

If you are experiencing coil whine, you may have a first run PSU which sometimes exhibited coil whine. We've since moved to a new PSU manufacturer and the behavior is resolved. I recommend you reach out to our support team regarding this behavior. You can best get in touch with our support team via email at [e-mail]

[@sth4964]

@@CalDigitHQ Hello, "sure" you have that...both devices were from Amazon Germany directly from YOUR shop! So this statement is a lie if your own shop on Amazon continues to sell these supposedly exchanged devices!

[@sth4964]

@@CalDigitHQ Hello and why can't I order a device with a revised power supply from Amazon? So a revision 2? Why do you keep trying to sell your defective devices on Amazon? Oh yes, I've been waiting for a response from support for 5 days now -> in fact -> support does NOT exist!

[@CalDigitHQ]

@@sth4964 Sorry, it wasn't clear when you purchased your dock in the original post and coil whine has most often occurred related to the power supply. If you purchased recently, this most likely isn't the source of the behavior. Though, Amazon fulfills our sales on the platform, meaning that we give our stock to them for them to sell and ship. Historically, there have been cases of them losing our stock in their warehouses, only to find and sell it in the future so something like that may have occurred here. Otherwise, this behavior may be introduced by dirty incoming power. This can sometimes be caused by a power strip or other intermediary power device or from wall power. To test this, we recommend first connecting the TS4 directly to wall power if you aren't already. If that doesn't help, we recommend testing the TS4 on a different circuit in your home to see if the behavior may be introduced by the current circuit. Beyond this, our support team can help further diagnose and troubleshoot this behavior you with you, so I recommend you reach out to them. [e-mail]

[@CalDigitHQ]

@@sth4964 Apologies for the delay in response. Our offices are closed over the weekends, so support inquiries are not answered during that time. I'd be happy to check in on the status of your case. DM us on another platform like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram with the email address you used to reach out and I'll be happy to reach out to our support team.