Is there a USB 3.0 Hub that really works with the Mac Mini?

I have completely given up on USB3 hubs. They are very unreliable, even with cables shorter than 2 ft.

I only directly connect USB3 devices (drives) directly to my 2012 iMac now, with short good-quality USB3 cables.

Note: I got several cables from Amazon, all same length 0.5m, and tested them. There was a 20% difference in disk data speed between slowest and fastest. I kept the fast one and sent the others back.

I was also told that my wireless 2.4 GHz mouse (not bluetooth) would interfere with the hubs. It did.

If you ask me, USB3 is a crappy but fast hack.

I use a kdlinks 4 port USB3 hub and no issues. It sits next to my 2012 Mini. The speeds are the same on my external drive in the hub or directly into the Mini. I have no bluetooth interference.

Hi William,

I have a Logitech M325 wireless mouse which behaved irratically when I first used the Anker Hub, but the Logitech and Anker websites both offered a solution. Use a short USB extension cable to move the little receiver away from the hub and into direct line of sight with the mouse. I purchased a 15cm cable and did just that, no problems at all since.

Sherbertdibdab wrote:

Hi William,

I have a Logitech M325 wireless mouse which behaved irratically when I first used the Anker Hub, but the Logitech and Anker websites both offered a solution. Use a short USB extension cable to move the little receiver away from the hub and into direct line of sight with the mouse. I purchased a 15cm cable and did just that, no problems at all since.

My Microsoft FM wireless base is 6-12" from the mouse. Why don't they shield the hubs properly? Most of them are plastic housings.

Anker® Uspeed USB 3.0 7-Port Hub + 5V 2A Charging Port, with 12V 4A Power Adapter and 4ft USB 3.0 Cable

I have 4-5 Microsoft Wireless Intellimouse Explorer 2.0, two of them brand new in boxes. I like them, I like the shape and button placement. I do not intend to throw these out just to get a stupid USB3 hub to work.

The new Anker Hub failed today as I was online negotiating with a client. The mouse froze and would not move or re-pair with base station. The Keyboard froze. Unplugging and replugging them and hub and batteries made no difference. Powering Hub off and on made no difference. Rebooting made no difference.

I put back the old USB2 hub and all was fine. By then the client had left.

USB 3 with a GOOD shielded cable directly to a device seems to work. You can FORGET HUBS.

All of the USB3 Hubs I tried ALSO reduced my WiFi range in my house by 10-20%.

CRA'P

I've had USB 3.0 hub problems since June 2012 until recently. Some points, based on my experience with a variety of USB 3.0 powered hubs (20 hubs so far representing 8 brands, and having 4 to 10 ports):

First, I use a Logitech wireless mouse and have had no problem with the USB 3.0 hubs I've tried or used. Reading that there were the problems with mice and USB 3.0, I connected the wireless mouse receiver into a USB 2.0 hub that was plugged into the USB 3.0 hub. About 18" of separation was provided. It was a good use for one of many legacy USB 2.0 hubs. I don't know if it's the separation from the USB 3.0 hub and any radiation, or the electrical isolation afforded by the electronics in the USB 2.0 hub. It's worked reliably in this installation.

Since gettng my first Mid 2012 MacBook Pro Retina, USB 3.0 hubs have been a major problem for me and others with the 2012 series of Macs with USB 3.0 ports. I've used many hubs trying to find one that would work. It appars the Macs don't communicate effectively with the USB 3.0 hubs. Typically, drives fail to mount; they'll spontaneously dismout (and sometimes spontaneously remount); or they'll mount at USB 1.1 or USB 2.0 speeds (12 MB or 480 MB) instead of USB 3.0 at 5 GB. Many of these hubs were tested on Windows PCs and "worked like a dream'.

Recently hubs have been available with the VIA VL812 Chipset(s) and with upgraded firmware. I've been told that Apple Engineering was involved in these upgrades and was trying to resolve the USB 3.0 problems.

• support@ianker.com.

Note that LaptopMate/Anker, and more recently Plugable, have provided me with USB 3.0 hubs for testing. I have reported on these experiences on other sites, and here. Their providing these hubs has in no way affected my reviews of them or the problems encountered.

The most recent hub from Plugable has the Version 90.81 firmware installed. It has performed over about a month of use without an error that could be attributed to the hub.

The first 19 USB 3.0 hubs used were found to be unstable and demonstrated similar issues when used on 2012 MacBook Pro Retina. I even took the hub and 3 portable drives to the Apple Store where I was permitted to test with a late 2012 MacBook Pro Retina and a 27” iMac that were on the floor. Both demonstrated instances of failing to mount one or more drives. (This was documented by a Genius.) Unfortunately, time didn’t permit more extensive testing of the other problems being encountered.

If you have a USB 3.0 hub now that's giving you problems, the chipset and firmware version should be high on the list of suspects. Upgrading your system to a hub with the latest chipset and firmware may be a small price to pay. The alternative is the loss or corruption of data, something I’ve become very familiar with since June of 2012 and it can get very expensive to recover from.

I'm hopeful that we're nearing the end of Apple's boondoggle with USB 3.0. Workable and stable hubs seem to be becoming a reality. In your research contact the vendors' tech support departments with probing questions. I’ve found them very cooperative and eager to provide information, or to process a return within the return period if there should be problems. They were handed a difficult situation when trying to sell hubs that not only didn't work, but destroyed data. I place the blame on Apple for not being ready for USB 3.0 when first implemented. My opinion.

So I seem to have come to this discussion very late. I have been trying to work out why my Lacie d2 Quadra drive keeps auto ejecting. A little testing shows my cheap and cheerful USB 3.0 hub to be the problem.

Can anyone recommend a hub that will support 4 external hard drives at USB 3.0 on my 2012 Mac Mini.

Many thanks.

JudgeGledd wrote: Can anyone recommend a hub that will support 4 external hard drives at USB 3.0 on my 2012 Mac Mini.

No. USB3 hubs are a dangerous waste of time. Even the manufacturers of the Hubs say that you must expect trouble with WiFi and other wireless devices.

Period.

"Can anyone recommend a hub that will support 4 external hard drives at USB 3.0 on my 2012 Mac Mini."

As mentioned earlier the Anker hub I bought in May seems to work perfectly with late 2012 Mac Minis, however it would seem that other Macs still create issues. Apart from the small issue with my wireless mouse, solved easily by isolating the receiver from the hub and USB 3.0 ports on the mini (its the USB ports themselves that cause issues, not the hub) by 6 inches or so, the hub has worked fine.

My logitech Bluetooth keyboard has never misbehaved. The Amazon link posted before is no longer available, but the link to the equivalent item with the new chipset and firmware is below.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker®-Uspeed-7-Port-Adapter-Chipset/dp/B006TTA75Y/ref=s r_1_3?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1389981874&sr=1-3&keywords=USB+hub+3.0

I run two external WD 2TB drives off my hub along with various Flash drives USB 2.0 & 3.0, plug my Ipad Mini and iPod Nano into the ports (which still charge incidently). As for speeds, I run iTunes, iPhoto and iMovie from the external drives with no probems, I am not bothered enough to measure speeds, but they are plenty quick enough imo.

Good Luck!

Not all hubs play nice with OSX. I have one made by Anker that has served me well and is also 3.0.

My previous (verbose) posting above may be of help. I believe that a hub using the VIA VL812 chipset with Firmware Version 90.xx will work. If a vendor can't tell you the make or model of the chipset, or the version of the firmware, find another source.

One vendor said they didn't know how to obtain the chipset data (that's easy using System Information). Another vendor shipped an old version to a friend after advertising it had the new 90.xx firmware. Caveat Emptor!

I've been using the 7-Port aluminum Plugable hub with this firmware since September and have had no problems attributable to the hub. Plugable support has been there when I needed an upgrade on an earlier hub that was within the warranty period.

Here's NEWS: I have an older identical hub, but with the older firmware (pre-90.xx) that is now plugged into the good hub. The old one now works fine. Plugged directly into my MacBook Pro Retina it's unacceptably buggy. Apparently it'll "talk" to the new hub, but still not the Mac. My point here is, older hubs that didn't work should work fine as a second hub in series, or as a repeater. This may give those of us with old/ unreliable USB 3.0 hubs a way to make use of them and gain additional ports.

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IMO

I am going to try this one, but don't hold out much hope due to Intel's own warnings about how crappy USB 3.0 is with WiFi and Wireless devices nearby.

ORICO Apple Style 4 Port Super Speed USB 3.0 HUB with VL812 Controller & Premium 12V / 2.5A Power Adapter & USB 3.0 Cable Full Aluminum - Silver

To the previous Comment:

The Orico 7-Port USB 3.0 aluminum hub mentioned in the previous posting appears to be the same as the Plugable hubs. Orico is not specific on the Chipset model. Unless the Chipset specifies it's Revision B2 and/or Firmware Version 90.8x or later I'd avoid it like the plague.

Plugable is specific on the version, and is $5 cheaper. Whether it's available in the UK is an unknown. I'm not selling for any one dealer, but I have their latest and it works. Others with the upgraded firmware likely will as well.

Try Orico support for more details if you really like them. My experience is that earlier versions of the chipset are incompatible with Apple's implementation of USB 3.0. They are unusable if your data is valued. Yes, I did lose large files that were corrupted.

I was told by a vendor that Apple had worked with VIA on the latest firmware to make it compatible with their USB 3.0. The 20th hub that I tried had this firmware and it works. The other 19 did not and were returned. That didn't compensate for the corrupted files and the hours spent trying to recover what data I could.

Several vendors do specify they contain Firmware Version 90.8x. Stick with them.

Note: It's my understanding that the prior 8x.xx Firmware cannot be upgraded to the 90.8. Check "System Information" on the Apple OS under the USB section. Look under the SuperSpeed hub to find the details on the chipset model and the firmware version. It's listed.

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IMO

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00CBEKK58/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8 &psc=1

It only says "latest firmware". I have sent them a question to find out rev #

In reply to the previous posting:

I'd be interested in Orico's response to your question regarding the firmware version. Thanks for including the link as it helps ensure we're referring to the same hub. I like the looks and features. It's attractive, uses a Type-B connector, instead of the less reliable Micro-B connector, and has a switch.

I'm skeptical about their failure to specifically state the firmware version, especially since it's such a critical factor for reliability on a Mac. They say "newest", but not that the chipset is Revision B2 or the Firmware is 90.8x (mine is 90.81). I personally know of cases where the vendor stated they sold only the "newest" version, then shipped Firmware Version 85.81. It doesn't work — I have one (now plugged into the 90.81 hub and it works. The price also seems a bit high for a 4-Port hub (after I converted to US$.)

BTW, Orico states that the hub first came out in April 2013. However, It's my understanding that the 90.8x firmware wasn't available until September 2013, which is when mine was received.

The hub at the below link offers more features and at a lower cost (which could reflect differences in power adapters.) The additional charging port (2.1 A, or 2,100 ma) would be nice for charging an iPad/tablet. (The Orico refers to charging, but then cautions against it. I've not done comparisons on other 4-Port hubs. Don't forget that USB 3.0 ports are limited to only 900 ma.)

http://amzn.to/1j5EowT

Less obvious on the Plugable hub as an advantage, at least IMO, is the cables coming off the top. I use quality 12" cables to cut down the clutter. The cables go up, then back and down to the drives behind directly behind the hub. They don't go across the desk. Not having the 0.5 and 1 meter cables running across the desktop reduces the footprint and clutter substantially. Although I have a very long desk, it's also very loaded so any gain is appreciated.

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