My Plugable USB 3.0 hub continually “loses” or disconnects external hard drives plugged into it. I currently have 3 external drives plugged into it (1 Seagate, 2 WD) that one day began disappearing. Unplugging and replugging will fix the issue sometimes but not always. It’s been going on for quite some time, unfortunately I can’t recall if it started pre-Yosemite or not. It was first the 1st WD drive only but now the 2nd is disappearing too.
Hello -
Thanks for contacting Plugable!
Sounds like your external hard drives may require more power than the hub can provide. To verify, please help me with the following questions:
Does this issue only happen when all three drives are running? Or does it also happen with just one hard drive?
Can you share the model name of the Plugable hub? It should be on a sticker on the bottom.
Thanks!
Jordan
Plugable Technologies
The model is USB3-HUB7A. I actually did this test previously and…forgot what happened. So I’ll do it again and get back to you.
Thanks for the reply. First, I would make sure that the Plugable hub is using the latest firmware, available here: http://plugable.com/drivers/hubfirmware
The USB3-HUB7A has 7 USB 3.0 ports that each provide up to 900mA and 4.5W per port. However please note that the hub is limited to 20W power total.
If your USB drives and other devices are drawing more watts than the USB hub can provide, it could be the cause of your issue.
External USB hard drives can draw 2 to 5 watts of power or more. I would consult with your hard drive manufacturer(s) to confirm the typical power draw for your USB drives.
If you confirm that the power draw of your USB drives exceeds what the USB3-HUB7A can provide, I recommend plugging the USB drives directly into your computer, or purchasing a Plugable hub that provides more power.
For example, the USB3-HUB7BC is a 7-port USB 3.0 hub that provides up to 60W of power: http://plugable.com/products/usb3-hub7bc
Hope this helps! Let me know how it goes with the troubleshooting.
I went to the firmware update utility but the file is an .exe and I’m on Mac.
Honestly, I’m willing to bet this is a power issue. I’m going to move some things off the hub and see what I get.