That $80 USB-C hub I bought was a total scam for monitor work

Picked up a cheap Anker hub off Amazon last month cause I needed extra ports for my laptop. Turns out it can't actually drive a 4K monitor at 60Hz even though the box says it can, got constant flickering. Wasted 3 hours troubleshooting drivers and cables before I realized the hub itself was the problem. Has anyone else run into fake spec claims on these things?

3 comments

3 Comments

torres.thea1mo ago

Bought that same Anker hub thinking I was getting a deal, ended up with a very expensive paperweight that just flashes its blue light at me like it's mocking my poor life choices. Tried plugging in my work Dell laptop and the monitor kept going black every 30 seconds, thought I was losing my mind. Turns out these companies slap "4K 60Hz" on the box like it's free candy but the chipset inside is basically a potato with a USB logo glued on. Are we all just paying for fancy packaging now or what?

nancyj111mo ago

Oh man, that blue light thing is brutal! My buddy Mark bought one of those cheap hubs off Amazon, the kind with the fake aluminum finish, thinking he was being smart. He hooked it up to his Lenovo and his mouse started stuttering like it was having a seizure, then the whole thing just died on him during a Zoom call. He spent like two hours swapping cables and restarting his computer before he realized the hub was basically draining power instead of supplying it. Finally he just threw it in a drawer and went back to plugging everything directly into his laptop, which is like going back to dial-up after you've had broadband.

linda1141mo ago

Heard some tech reviewer say those cheaper hubs can't handle the power draw from laptops.