BEST Thunderbolt 4 USB-C Hub / Dongle - What to buy 2022

[@johnvanslykejr.8033]

Matt has done an outstanding job (and a public service) in his explanation of why the current market for I/O protocols, cables, storage devices and hubs is nothing short of mind numbing. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. BTW, I found it necessary to view this video twice in order to achieve some kind of clarity. Hear hear, Matt. Thank you. Well done.

[@patricklindahl868]

Now I'm just as confused as before, but on a higher level.

[@ichiro1306]

bro u just sound like me after my physics class today

[@ent1311]

Good he has achieved his objective then.

[@jayabramson6702]

Me too!

[@shaf3006]

Me too 😂 just mistaking ordered a monitor but somehow without a usb c 😢

[@aaronprimus1300]

Lol just buy the one he says is the best or the one that performs the best for what u want to use it for. I'm buying the charjenpro because I'm looking for high transfer rate using sd cards. It's also the best portable dock he tested.

[@stubblemanluke9479]

Thanks Matt. First video I've watched from your channel and couldn't have been more straightforward. No BS, just straightforward testing and result with price in mind. Subscribed!

[@mattgranger]

Welcome aboard!

[@Abedoss]

Yeah, I was almost lost the faith in KZbin. I would like to subscribe if I could, but at now I gave you the thumb.

[@RicanStudio]

One thing that I've REALLY appreciated about the new mac studio display that everyone laughed at is that it has TB4 and basically serves as my charger and dongle. Plus the speakers and screen are great.

[@sidneyclark4952]

I really appreciate your generous use of the trashcan! We need more reviews with that level of honesty!

[@davidrees7389]

perfect timing for this review Matt, thanks, I have just gone out and bought a Mac Studio and have ordered the Charjen Pro to sit alongside it. I was also happy to hear your results when using the Scandisk Extreme Pro 4TB SSD as your test drive, coz i had already ordered 1 of those 🙂 cheers man, and keep up the great work

[@won6240]

What every product review should be like.Thanks bud.

[@mikehenry5961]

Thanks Matt. That was immensely helpful in sifting the chart from the wheat. I ended up going with the Thunderbolt 5n1 as it was cheaper to bring it into NZ than the Charjen. Not sure if the 5n1 was available when you did the review or not but the difference was 1x USB-A, both were the same price.

[@ShaneRobinsonArtist]

OMG.... This is brilliant and helped me weed through all the options and just purchased the Plugable Thunderbolt 4 5-in-1 Hub from BHPhoto in time for a remote shoot and edit next week! Instant ❤ and Subscribe!!

[@Stokey_73]

Matt, you've made decision making all the more complex, yet all the more considered when needing external connectivity for Macs with limited ports? Video still stands up, subcribed!

[@67beng]

Excellent work ! The USB-C 3/4 Thunderbolt 3/4 wording and claims in many of the docks' marketing material is very ambiguous and confusing. You gave the essential information from a user perspective, thank you.

[@brianmatthews232]

Thanks for all the work making a comprehensive review, and good clear conclusions, best i've seen so far on YT!

[@duanejay360]

Even though you threw it in the trash I very happy with my Caldigit Element. Especially since I pre order it and got it for $140. I was tired of buying cheap $20 or $30 USB hubs. I bought a few before the Element and they all stopped working within weeks. They would continuously connect and disconnect from windows.

[@ONETAKETovar]

You are incredibly talented & intelligent, thank you for this video ! Subbed

[@tek_soup]

OWC Thunderbolt 3 Pro dock is my best choice, cause of 10GBE. i bought echo 5 thunderbolt 4 hub cause of the 85W power delivery. and Sonnettech is a great company to deal with.

[@carrot1151]

You are right the Thinkpad unit is for corporate work in my last job we had an earlier version of that unit handed to us along with a laptop to replace our desktop and tablet combinations we had been using. We got the option of keeping the desktop screen and keyboard for when we were at our desk and had it all attached to the hub for when we were at our desks.

[@leereiyuu]

Hi Matt, I would like to share with you my experiences from the Dell dock which I have the "pleasure" of using in my workplace for many months now. It is incompatible with a lot of devices, for example the power button does not work with any of our Fujitsu or Lenovo Laptops. When powered on, the LED is not lit, so why bother putting and status LED there in the first place? A lot of times it just shuts down the monitors and the only chance to get them back to work is to restart the laptop. And finally it has a very annoying sounding fan, that does rather often "sing the song of its people". All in all, I absolutely hate this piece of tech as it troubles me quite a lot in my daily workflow. But I agree with the build quality and the nice cable.

[@zonumev]

Excellent video , kudos, lotsa kudos. Great job!

[@alanlee2751]

Wow Matt, nobody could possibly accuse you of a superficial review! Tremendously helpful, although I may need some time to digest which of this array of kit might suit me best. Cheers mate.

[@johnvanslykejr.8033]

I strongly suggest viewing the video twice and focusing on what Matt keeps on the table, and what he throws in the shit can along the way.

[@EduardoSilva-xg5gu]

Thanks Matt. Great video. Thanks from Portugal!!!!! :)

[@Slipsch]

I'm quite happy with my OWC Thunderbolt 4 dock.

[@davidunwin7868]

If you have TB3 or TB4 on your computer, don't get a dock that uses DisplayLink. USB docks tend to use DisplayLink. But TB3/4 supports video passthrough directly, so get a TB3/4 dock. I used to use a DellD6000 dock which was OK but I had Displaylink issues with my home PC. I recently changed to a Dell TB4 dock, and I love it. When using PC, I drive the screens from the GPU, but when I use my laptop or work laptop, the GPU in those passes through the video signal on the TB cable.

[@mateuszmarciniak1957]

I don't get author's point. Non permanent cable is actually one of the most critical features of well designed device. In case of braked plug you just replace the cable in seconds and you are good to go. Otherwise you need to replace whole device for couple of hundred dollars. This is just silly design.

[@juergenbreidenstein696]

Hello Matt, thank you for the thorough review. Unfortunately, the links you have provided don't work so well outside the US, for two of the three winners I get a generic Amazon search page here in Germany. I would therefore very much appreciate if you could provide the exact model names so I can plug them into a shopping search engine here. Thank you

[@artmaltman]

Excellent review, thanks!!! Please add OWC to your comparisons in the future.

[@cmonkey63]

Excellent review, and I like your approach. Detailed and thorough. I just bought a shiny M1 MacBook Pro (to replace my 7 year old Mac Mini) and needed a dock. Turns out I have two Thinkpad docks lying around and they work okay, but if I had to buy a new one I'd look at one of these. Subbed. PS: I also bought one of those 4T Sandisk drives. Nice.

[@daevm946]

Please, always provide a table that ranks and summarizes the presentation. Thanks

[@jellybean7253]

Hey Matt. Thanks. I'm really looking forward, Looks like Thunderbolt 4? I need lots of usb c outs. I'll check out your other vids, but, if you stumble on me, let me know if you have ideas. Truly appreciate it

[@olgabarasoain]

This was so informative .. thank you!

[@Guairenito]

Very useful, thank you for this video Matt.

[@nKrandom]

Really nice comparison! 👏🏻

[@Euphabone]

I would love to see a hub that includes CFExpress B as well as SD cards. Otherwise I still need another pluggable reader for all my camera cards.

[@jimpollockmusic]

Nicely done and very helpful comparison review! Probably saved me hundreds$ in potential buying mistakes. Thank you! jp

[@PsychicWarrior100]

Thank you for another of your great reviews Matt

[@procekim]

none of them in European amazon. Names would be great in description.

[@David-rc8fb]

Great Video, thanks for the Tech insight. Keep safe & well 👍🇬🇧

[@Yamas258]

So I bought this one VIEKK brand off Amazon. And it works for my brand new m2 pro 16gb 1tb. I’m able to do 2hdmi and 1 vga, and then also use 1 usb c port . So 4 external total. Problem is , it makes my laptop run realllt slow , and my Apps will end up saying “not responding, but will be just fine once I unplug the dock. But when I use that same dock wi th my 2012 MacBook Pro , it’s runn with no issues

[@W.i.l.l._Nguyen]

The Anker one where it says not compatible with M1 MacBook, most likely refer to the fact that it cannot output to more than 1 external display (this is referring to M1 and M2 MacBook Air also M1 MacBook Pro 13" and M2 MacBook Pro 13"). But thank you for doing this test.

[@timlaunyc]

That's why the M1 and M2 macbooks don't claim TB4 compatibility.

[@arjungandhi1242]

I'm looking at the larger docks with HDMI out. The odd thing is that the Lenovo is the cheapest option here. By a noticeable margin. I'll sleep on it, but I think I might go with the Lenovo. My M1Pro macbook pro has a SD reader built in, and the rest of the performance looks to be good enough.

[@PatrickDAllen1]

You never mentioned that with hubs, all of the devices connected are powered directly by your computer which can drastically lower battery life whereas with a dock they typically have their own power supply and they power the ports with that supply, so it wouldn't draw much (if any at all) power from your computer for the connected devices. Charging your laptop aside. One downside to a dock is that is constantly charges your laptop and you can't turn off this charging if you need to use your devices. This is a MAJOR pitfall because it will keep your battery always charging when plugged in and cause overvolting/overcharging which will lower your battery's lifespan significantly. This is why I typically prefer hubs to docks, because I can use my devices and disconnect my charger from the laptop for a bit so as to let it discharge and not cause battery damage by having it constantly charging all the time.

[@mattgranger]

If you have power to plug in the dock, you have power to run the computer and a hub :)

[@PatrickDAllen1]

@mattgranger correct. But leaving the battery in a constant state of overcharging over 100% is not good for the lifespan of the battery. It causes overvolting which actually damages the battery when done for long periods and shortens their lifespan. It can lead to battery swelling. I work in IT and I've seen users who rely on docks being constantly plugged in have all sorts of battery issues. It's something I think the makers of docks don't want you to know. It's a very good practice to discharge your battery entirely and then charge it up again, every so often, but not to just leave it plugged in all the time, 24/7.

[@sydlow]

Hi Matt - excellent review, thanks. One consideration you didn't discuss is the amount of power delivery of the various hubs. Your MBP 16" comes with a 140W USB-C adapter. None of the hubs supply that so if you're using passthrough power via the hub, the connected laptops may not recharge as fast as a direct connection.

[@mattgranger]

True. I didnt want this to become a review focused solely on mac computers.

[@staanemersvideos]

USB-C cable is defined to 100w power delivery. More ist no possible this times. That's why Lenovo for example has a splitter cable für USB-C/Thunderbolt and power. Its not mentioned in the video, as a lot of other important things.

[@nchristensen3309]

Great test thanks ! not sure if it is outside of the scope but since you do so much detail anyway, for 2023 it would be nice to get some feedback on the ethernet part of products that are able. like link speed specs and if the actual performance differs between the models.

[@RustyGraffitiReviews]

I need one for my iPad Pro 2018 to come with a dongle an SD card reader and 2 usb jacks so it can send power to my usb microphone from the wall plug.

[@c.a.r.l_p2059]

Him throwing it in the trash so satisfying thank u!

[@ecmediapro]

Great review. Thanks!

[@MarcelinoNogueiro]

Thanks. Very informative.

[@gabbodj95]

The fact is you can find that thinkpad ones for around 40€, in Europe at least, thanks to companies who likes to produce useful ewaste on a daily basis

[@agnethaladuff8559]

Cool tech, those store a lot and at a very fast transfer rate. Great video.

[@brianmatthews232]

great in depth reviews 😀

[@lujuan9751]

would have loved to take the cal digit out the trash.. I really want that one just out of the budget.. 😕

[@vikingsfan2218]

21:35 Why would you consider a built in TB cable to be a positive? I've had two Dell docks with built in TB cables and both developed connectivity issues in the long term. I would rather have the cable separate so that I can replace it when necessary instead of having to replace the entire dock if/when the cable fails

[@brubrushanghai]

Great stuff. Thanks

[@BFArch0n]

Caldigit is giving me strange DAC audio blips on my HDMI 2.1 adapter so returning it....hopefully another dock you recommended resolves the issue.

[@shanehen]

You should include links in your description to all the hubs without going off of KZbin.

[@mtminded4498]

You're missing the OWC Thunderbolt Dock on the high end. For the benchmark, I'm surprised you're not using a M.2 NVMe SSD Thunderbolt Enclosure with a high end drive like the SAMSUNG 980 PRO SSD the for the fastest Read and Write speed vs. the SanDisk with only good read speeds but much lower write speed. You didn't give the hubs an opportunity to exceed the speed of the SSD you standardized on.

[@phloem4]

Thanks for this review. It’s very helpful for my purchasing decision for my M1 iPad Pro. Question: do you know how the Plugable “small” compares to OWC Thunderbolt 4 Hub that is the same size, same ports, with one additional USB A 3.1 port. The prices for both are the same right now $149. I like the OWC because of the additional USB A port, but I wonder how do their speeds and temperature compare.

[@CaliTrader8]

Great video but I am more confused then I bought the new Mac

[@LisaOsta]

Good info, Thanks Matt!

[@mattgranger]

Thanks Lisa. Hope you’re well

[@chrispeden979]

If it has ethernet and display ports, isn't that more of a dock? I have a CalDigit TS4 and love it. Would have been nice to see the OWC tested,

[@mattgranger]

Cheers. I got in all the ones that were available at the time.

[@joshatkins6533]

Hi Matt, Appreciate the effort on the testing. I am in Australia and none of your Amazon links show the products you have tested just generic Amazon stores. Would you please be able to tell me the model number of the Dell dock? Thanks Josh

[@dave-xe6pc]

Thanks for the video, Matt! Can you confirm that the Charjen Pro can do data transfer through the USB-C Power Delivery port? I saw a comment from the manufacturer on the Amz product page that stated it is Power Delivery only, not data. Your video mentioned you were able to use the SanDisk external drive through the USB-C port on the Charjen Pro. Not having this ability would prevent me from purchasing this unit. Can you please clarify? Thanks.

[@Subaru69420]

Hey, I have this product, and I can confirm, it is powerdelivery ONLY. The usb c port does not provide data transfer... Very unfortunate as I thought the reviewer used it through the usb-c port...

[@kaivaja]

So if I understood correctly if I only have a USB-C 3.2 gen 1 port in both my computer and monitors USB hub I can still use a Thunderbolt 3 or 4 cable but ofc only get the speed of 3.2 gen 1?

[@AndrewWong08]

Thanks for the very thorough review. What's your opinion of the the HyperDrive Thunderbolt 4 Dock that retails for $279.99 ?

[@mattgranger]

I’ve only tested the ones in this video

[@mick1967]

Thank you very much for that extensive test. Is there such a product in the market with a CFExpress Card Reader? I don't need a micro SD Card reader anymore. What do you do as a Z9 shooter? I assume you also don't have any use in a SD Card- or at least a Micro SD Card reader anymore. Doesn't it bother you?

[@mattgranger]

I use a dedicated reader. Havent seen a hub with it built in

[@el_patillo]

Excellent video! Do all Thunderbolt 4 hubs can charge any laptop? Or is this not a standard to become Thunderbolt 4. The main reason I’m considering a hub is to be able to charge my laptop without using my charger… will these options work? I currently have an Asus Studiobook with a 240W charger. Thanks

[@MrVadymMykh]

No other hub/ock will give you 240W of power. They can deliver around 100W max.

[@jackfein8914]

Im about to dig through this dudes tradh

[@mattgranger]

😂

[@skatterpro]

I have absolutely no need for any sort of display connection or ethernet. I just need something like 5 USB-A and 2 USB-C, all at least USB 3.0. It would be a big bonus with an SD card reader too. No need for transportability what so ever. Any suggestions?

[@ivanmytube]

I really want to get a Thunderbolt 2 to USB-C adapter / cable / hub / dock. Can anyone put up a link here?

[@warpathh]

Thanks for the testing! Question: The Charjen doesn’t have a USB C port for data… Is there a similar one that can take USB C data (aka a drive?) Thanks!

[@brianmatthews232]

subscribed 🙂

[@90chevytruck]

One think you didn’t consider in this whole thing is the actual media in your laptop. I assume you have fast NVMe drives in it and other desktop and laptops may have slower versions or still running from HDD

[@mattgranger]

Sure. But I don’t think anyone is watching this expecting the exact same results. It’s about the relative speed of the hubs, keeping the other things constant.

[@sabregunner1]

i have the dell wd19tb for my laptop at work. its works great. my portable option is gonna be the sandisk ssd you showed. i am still ambiguous as to which dongle i will use as it would only be for travel (vacation) and i dont need high speed transfer of files from an sd card

[@Romenet310]

Can you tell me what kind of monitor you run with the dell? I have a older dell dock and it struggles with passing clean HDMI.

[@sabregunner1]

@@Romenet310 i use thedisplay port on the back. one goes to a HP XR2740w and the other goes to a dell monitor that is DP to DVI

[@Luigi0228]

Do you hear the fans on the wd19tb dock?

[@danolson6892]

What do you think of the Cal Digit TB4?

[@cvncvncvnf]

@Matt Granger Hello, i have a motherboard on my pc wich has 2 port usbc thunderbolt 4 (gigabyte z590i vision D), i never used and i know nothing about thunderbolt but for me the only utility from this port is to remove all usb from the back of pc (mouse/keyboard/headset/mic) and 3.5 jack audio to 1 cable only. (i dont use video through that output). now the only problem for me is that i saw hubs/docs with conection usb-c to usb-c host wich have many ports that i need and is a couple of bucks and the same docs with the same connection usb-c to usb-c to the host but with mention of (Thunderbolt 3/4) but is couple of hundred $ ... for what i need wich one is good for me , i really need a hub with Thunderbolt mention if already have Thunderbolt on my motherboard? Thanks. (i have the oportunity to buy this one Lenovo ThinkPad USB-C Dock (40A9) for a good price but i dont know if it`s good for what i need)

[@staanemersvideos]

One of the best test I have seen so fare, but still you are missing very important information. Also you have to go further on with testing. The biggest thing is, that this test is far away from reality, because no one buys an expensive complete TB4 Hub (btw this are docks, not hubs) for connecting a drive or SD Card. I think, a full setup test is needed and I know that this will change everything. For example: the Dell Docking Station has a fan, which is claimed to make noise. Dell, Lenovo (I think also Anker) have several ports for Displays, but support only one Display with a Mac, because all ports a mirrored. For the second display you will lose the Thunderbolt Port. There's no audio in/out on the Dell, Lenovo doesn't support HDR with dual monitors, etc. etc.

[@mattgranger]

Far comment mate. Most of my audience are photographers, so I was testing for this primary usage

[@staanemersvideos]

@@mattgranger Oh, I didn't know till now that photographers are so special, don't care about noise fans, also they don't use external displays or HDR. So in conclusion you say they use expensive 40 Gb/s TB4 docks to extend slow 10 Gb/s USB and even slower SD Card slots, which are already built in the Laptop? Sounds a little bit strange to me.

[@OroO708]

@Matt which would you recommend, caldigit SOHO or the charjenpro?

[@tristanpau1p]

Question:when using all USB ports, does it still deliver 10Gbps?

[@ROBERTELECTRIC1]

Hi Thank you for amazing video

[@mattgranger]

You are so welcome!

[@justinklevgaard1723]

Hello, Great reviews! I was hoping to get your opinion on docking stations with internal SATA 3.+ SSD Enclosures? Having a hard time finding the perfect one for me.

[@mattgranger]

Haven’t tested sorry

[@justinklevgaard1723]

@@mattgranger have there been any notable company’s that you’ve seen offer this feature, I can only find a few on Amazon

[@tonybatterton9609]

would the "best portable " work with a Surface Pro 8??

[@MarkethColeman]

thanks Matt

[@dominiclester3232]

Could you do a CFExpress B reader comparison please?

[@dhonzlimlingan0118]

no delay internet.. which one?

[@NikCan66]

Excellent

[@SoCal769]

I ordered the Chargen Pro tested in this review and tried it with my M1 iPadPro and my 2020 MacBook Pro. I used a Samsung T7 1TB and a LaCie Thunderbolt 4TB drive over USB-C connection - both would not mount if I plug them into the hub, neither on the MacBook Pro nor on the I Pad. They do though when I plug them in directly - What am I missing? This unit is not working for me …

[@KainsTorment]

I have a normal USB A hub with 12 USB only hub. Is there only a Thunderbolt 4 port dock without the multi ports?

[@mattgranger]

Not that I’ve seen

[@mattgranger]

Test results: learn.mattgranger.com/courses/tb4 Best Dongle: geni.us/aIc6nb Best small TB4 Hub: geni.us/OmMBxCD Best Complete TB4 Hub: geni.us/hCUvWo9 Runner Up (Anker): geni.us/sh55

[@mister_ray]

Is there a hub that just offers four to six USB C or TB ports? I don't need any other ports.

[@mattgranger]

6 - not that I know of. The smaller TB4 options i cover here are the closest. Note that TB can be daisy chained, so you can connect more than 6 devices with 4 ports.

[@johnbelles5955]

I watched the review and bought a Chargen Pro to use on an HP laptop (Windows 11, i7). The device would not transmit video through the HDMI port. Contact Chargen who had me try a couple of tweeks to no effect. Given my PC was brand new, they felt the problem was in their device and sent a new one. The same problem occurred. I have not contacted them. Perhaps you have a solution?

[@mattgranger]

Sorry to hear!

[@sannyboi851]

idk if anyone will read this and help me out but my computer doesn't have thunderbolt connection, will these hubs work when I plug it into a usb c 3.2?

[@mattgranger]

Yes. But the thunderbolt units will be slower.

[@SynchrosSynchros]

Why give top marks for docks that don't multiply the number of TB4 ports? The whole point is to expand the number of the same ports you plug it into.

[@mattgranger]

Is it?

[@SynchrosSynchros]

@@mattgranger Well, yeah. TB4 ports provide a wide array of connection options and are the most future proof, but an HDMI has one purpose. TB4 already has ridiculous speed so any 5-10% degradation through the dock is irrelevant, compared with the types of connections. I felt the Kensington you tossed in the garbage was the most relevant for the idea of a TB4 dock.

[@mattgranger]

Ok. Buy that one then.

[@DusselYorkCityStudios]

I can not get my Lenovo Thunderbolt 4 Dock to work..............................................................

[@johnballesta2544]

Caldigit??

[@richardbriscoe8563]

Don’t buy crap from Orico. They have no warranty support at all when it quits working in the warranty period.

[@ichiro1306]

brooo im just looking for a small device for my surface pro but u just keep throwing all small ones in the trash i cant take a 400gram+ brick to school everyday just to access usb a sticks or sometimes work with lan at home :(((

[@johnfritz1164]

Have you tried a USB C to USB A adapter? They are only about an inch long and relatively inexpensive.

[@shaf3006]

Meaning the IPad will choose the lowest available protocol, A lazy but expensive thing 😂

[@zatoichiable]

poor lenovo hang in there to be discarded later....

[@leonardodavinci7425]

So basically they are all crap?

[@ewanm1928]

Used to have Lenovo and Dell. Dell is rubbish. It works badly with dell computers (surprise) and absolutely useless brick with Mac. Thing that I hate the most - stupid built-in short cable to connect with a pc. Zero flexibility when u use more then one laptops and want to store them both but from different sides of your table… Lenovo is suitable but a little bit pricy and outdated - I need more usb c. Anker looks agly and cheap in my hamble opinion.

[@mattgranger]

Dell works perfectly with my Mac fyi

[@ewanm1928]

@@mattgranger might be that my was broken 🤷‍♂️ but neither pro m1 nor air m2 didn’t work. No charging, no monitors. At the same time dell laptop used to work somehow (mostly partly).

[@danielf4438]

This review is awful. Its not about the best thunderbolt docking station overall but about the best dongle for file transfer speed. What about the ability that all you have to put inside your mac is 1 thunderbolt and it charges it as well? What about monitor support ? 4K monitor, 144hz monitor? What about audio support? Unbalanced jack to plug studio monitors right into it ? So much more missing from this review which attributes should define the "BEST" Very misleading and disappointing

[@justletmesigninokthx]

I tested mine; 27mbs 🤣🤣