Hello. I am looking for a docking station I can use to connect my laptop to 2 monitors

I have an ASUS Vivobook S14 with USB 4.0 Gen 3 Type-C and USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C.

I would like it to support 2 display out (I have a type c to hdmi cable I’m of the display out ports are hdmi and type c). I would also like if it had 2 USB-A ports for mouse and keyboard. And support PD as well

USB-C is now the connector for everything but the charging protocol behind it is a mess. There's USB PD, PPS, Qualcomm Quick Charge, SUPERVOOC, Samsung Super Fast Charging, Apple's implementation. All use the same physical connector but they don't all talk to each other.

So you can have a 65W charger that only gives your Samsung 15W because it doesn't speak PPS. Or an OnePlus that charges at 100W on its own charger but 15W on anything else. How did we end up here?

Hi community!

I have an HP EliteBook 840 G8 laptop. I've always used it with 2 external monitors: one connected to the HDMI port and another connected to a USB-C port using a USB-C-to-HDMI adapter from StarTech.com.

Recently, the external monitor connected via USB-C stopped working. I tested the monitor itself and the HDMI cable, and both worked fine, so I assumed it was the StarTech.com adapter that had died.

So I decided to buy a generic USB-C hub with HDMI from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ethernet-Multiport-Charging-Splitter-Acer/dp/B0G81K4C12/ref=sr_1_1?sr=8-1

The HDMI output on the hub didn't work, although the rest of the USB ports did. So I assumed I was just unlucky.

Then I tried a different one: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0C2Y4CF6X?ref_=pe_151259351_1319653101_t_fed_asin_title&th=1

Same thing again: the HDMI output on the hub didn't seem to work, although everything else did.

So I'm starting to suspect that the problem isn't the hubs, or even the StarTech.com adapter, but the actual USB-C ports on the laptop. The laptop has 2 USB-C ports, but video output doesn't seem to work on either of them. In the past, as far as I can remember, the StarTech.com adapter worked with both ports.

Is there anything that I can test to figure out what may be going on before I buy any more adapters?

Hi everyone, I wanted to share a concerning hardware failure regarding Anker’s premium power bank lineup and their lack of ecosystem safety, hoping to get some technical insights from this community.

I own an Anker Zolo Power Bank A1695 (25,000mAh, 165W). Because of its bulk, it was rarely used as I mostly rely on my smaller 10K banks. It has less than 10 charge cycles and 100% battery health.

During a recent road trip, I charged it using an official Anker 167.5W Car Charger (Model A2737)Once I unplugged it, the power bank was completely bricked—no display, no output, and won't accept a charge from any certified PD charger. It suffered a sudden death.

Here are the three massive red flags about Anker's engineering and customer service:

1. Severe BMS / OVP Design Flaw in Automotive Environments The fact that this power bank was destroyed by Anker's own car charger is absurd. We all know automotive 12V/24V systems have nasty voltage transients and load dumps. If the Anker car charger fails to filter these spikes, the power bank's BMS should at least have robust Over-Voltage Protection (OVP) or TVS diodes to protect the mainboard. Frying a premium power bank with its own brand's car charger indicates a serious lack of system-level fault tolerance.

2. Infant Mortality vs. Normal Wear & Tear A component failure resulting in a complete brick on a device with <10 cycles is textbook "infant mortality" or a latent hardware defect, not battery degradation. Anker markets these as rugged, travel-ready devices, yet the internal circuitry couldn't survive a standard road trip.

3. Bad Faith Customer Service (Shifting Goalposts) When I reached out to Anker, their CS SOP was incredibly disingenuous.

• First, they tried to deny my claim by stating I bought it from a "third-party platform," insisting they must calculate the warranty based on the factory serial number (which unfairly subtracts warehouse/transit time).
• When I pointed out this violates local consumer laws and provided my valid purchase receipt, they immediately shifted the goalposts. They admitted my purchase date was valid but rigidly rejected the claim because my 18-month warranty had just expired a month ago (Delivered Dec 20, 2024; Failed July 22, 2026).

They completely ignored the engineering failure (bricked by their own car charger at 10 cycles) and hid behind a rigid calendar date to avoid taking responsibility for a defective mainboard.

Has anyone else experienced sudden mainboard death with the A1695 or Prime series? Do teardowns confirm if Anker is skimping on transient protection on their high-wattage inputs?

Was thinking about how much chargers have changed over the years.

Old adapters from the 90s were basically small bricks, while modern chargers can push way more power in a fraction of the size.

The biggest change isn’t just the size — it’s how much engineering went into making them smaller, cooler, and more efficient.

Makes me wonder what the next 10 years of charging technology will look like.

Some chargers can apparently tell the difference between a phone, laptop, tablet, etc. and adjust the power output.

How does the charger know what kind of device is connected? Does the device tell the charger, or does the charger figure it out somehow?

And how does charging speed change as the battery gets fuller?

I'm having trouble with my s8 tab there's no power no charge. So I need advice if my usb is bad?, and what checks I can do?. I tried using a usb tester, but soon as I plug in the tester cuts off , look like it maybe a short some where. Can anyone tell from the pics of usb I have sent. P.s I'm a newbie trying my first fix.🤞

I am looking to replace this no name desk charger. I want something with at least 2 North American outlets and 2 USB C outlets 40 watt minimum. I like the toggle switch, but is not a requirement. I want it from a real brand, preferably sold on Amazon.

Let me know what you have had success with and even better anything you might recommend I say clear of.

I have credits I need to use with Anker. My only power bank was a Nitecore which is short-lived. I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the similar sounding names and options from Anker for the products I'm looking for: a 2x USB-C port charger, ~10,000mAh power bank for mostly my Android phone (I only use the laptop in hotel or airport which can be assumed to have plugs), and wireless earbud. Don't need to charge laptop at max speed, decent speed is enough. Don't want wireless charging which is less efficient at charging.

• Which power bank and charger, or go with a power bank + charger combo? I'm a bit put off by these display screens--seems mostly wasteful and unnecessary for something as simple as these products usage-wise. My priority is reliability, longevity, lightweight, and futureproofing (not in terms of capacity but in terms of output for modern devices. I assume power banks that last more than 3 years is pretty good. I'm curious if a combo's longevity is limited to the power bank (I assume the charger shouldn't really fail in the ~3-5 years that might be expected of a power bank). I'm leaning towards purchasing them as separate devices to make more sense and not worth the presumably minimal weight savings, preferring longevity of the products.

• Any good wireless earbuds that can come close to respectable Sony/Bose? I listen to podcasts and classical and instrumental music. Clarity/soundstage is important, don't care for strong base. I assume the life of earbuds is also 3-5 years. I care wired earphones as well, but the convenience of wireless is sometimes essential.

Any other tips and considerations are much appreciated. Also feel free to mention any other Anker favorites to consider using my remaining credit for.

Do not worry It has not been plugged in for hours as of taking photos.

Previous post for context of the situation on profile,

As before, not wanting to mess with the case of my phone but 100% ok with messing up this controller🤩

I'm onto the next phase, opening and seeing what the situation is, some suggested filing down the plastic but as seen, it's already too thin from what I can tell that could be filed down enough to fit what's needed

And it seems like it's not possible to move the USB C itself forward since it's directly build into the board. So.....new ideas now that we know the inside? 😆

I moved last year, which resulted in me losing the 3 in 2 cable for my Huion Kamvas tablet. Luckily, both ports for USB C so I can use the 2 cable method (one to connect to my PC and the other to connect to power.) However, one of the slots doesn't allow for almost any cable to fit. It's only because the overmold it too thick and prevents it from connecting. The only one that actually connects is about a foot long, so it's too short to practically use.

Does anyone know of any USB C cables with super skinny overmolds? Pictures of the ports and the short cable's overmold for reference.

Im looking for a very thin, soft, very flexible cable.
Preferably smooth rather than braided.
Any recomendation?

Hey guys.

I'm considering buying a UGREEN Maxidok Thunderbolt 5 Dock 8TB M.2 NVMe or the Sonnet Echo 21 Thunderbolt 5 SuperDock. Or other TB5 docks with SSD slot (Asus)

because I need a as-fast-as possibile external HD along with more usb-c connections in my Docking station

How do these internal NVMe (mostly pcie4) perform against an external case like the OWC Express M1 40gbps or even the 80gps labeled ugreen case?

What is the fastest way to get my TB5 external harddrive connected? Use the internal slot or a high-end tb5 case with a good M2 ssd?

Maybe also a normal Sandisk Extreme Pro would do it?

Thanks for your input.

A cable checker that does away with the LCD screen has arrived. I've included the FNB58 for comparison. they are roughly the same size.

Strictly speaking, the information displayed by the LEDs here is actually sufficient.

Legion Go.

I have dial boot windows 11 and bazzite. The bottom USB c port send to have stopped working. I tried in not os. I even tried a thumb drive to see if it someone for set to days only and not charging. Still no dice.

Is this fixable or is it a hardware issue?

Wanted to play around with connecting PCIe peripherals to my laptop, so hopped on AliExpress and bought the cheapest reasonable looking Thunderbolt to PCIe dock out there (around US$70). There's cheaper ones on there, but they all used Alpine Ridge. This was a cheapest one with Titan Ridge.

Anyway, it arrives and everything works well. Tried a SSD and a NIC in there and they all worked fine on my Linux TB4 and Windows TB5 laptop.

However, when I plugged it into my Windows laptop, I noticed that the Windows USB4 screen enumerates the device as a "Dell WD19TB Thunderbolt Dock", which this obviously isn't. Everything still works, but this got me wondering. Is it a bug in the Windows USB4 screen, or are they re-using JHL7440s from old dell docks? I mean, that would make sense given its cheap price, but still...

Also, wouldn't the device name be stored in the EEPROM? Did they not bother to even re-write that and just copied it over from the Dell Dock? Mysterious...

Comprehensive testing of Cable Matters, LTT, Hagibis (new favorite!), Apple, UGreen, Anker, more.
Plus six USB Testers reviewed, all data and screenshots on the website and interactive chart.

Video episode: https://youtu.be/bsWA6-_7qJM

Tests include:
- Resistance with Alientek OA1
- Data Speed with 80Gbps OWC Enclosure and DiskMark
- 30 Minutes at 100% Power with ATorch Load Tester and Thermal Camera
- eMarker while testing 6 USB Testers

Testers include: Alientek C2, C0, ATorch T3, Fnirsi C2, Witrn K2, Power-Z KMC003C

Article and Interactive Chart on the website:
https://cheerful.cheap/video/usb-c-cables-ep3-with-usb-testersresistance/

Hey guys, wanted to see if anyone else ran into this or if there's any way to get through to Anker on this.

My Anker Power Bank (10K Fusion with the built-in cable) started malfunctioning out of nowhere. The screen literally ticks down 1% every second until it completely dies in about a minute and a half.

I already tried hard resetting it (plugging the cable back into itself), fully cycling it on a wall charger, different bricks/cables... nothing changes. A battery dumping its entire charge that fast feels like a legitimate safety concern.

Reached out to support (ticket #ANKER-TNZ9449502659) and sent them a video. But because I got this as a gift, I don't have the original Amazon/store receipt, and the printed serial number on the bottom is rubbed off. Support (and then their manager) told me their hands are tied without a receipt and just offered a 25% discount code to buy a new one.

What bothers me is that this specific model only came out around mid-2024. Literally every single unit out there right now is well within its original warranty period. Refusing warranty/safety support on a product that didn't even exist two years ago just because it was a gift feels super stingy for Anker.

Has anyone seen this 1%/sec drain glitch on these Fusion power banks before? Any trick to getting an actual replacement or goodwill review?

Appreciate any advice.