Docking station treated as USB 2.0 hub on macOS Catalina

Hello all,

I recently purchased the UD-UTLC4K but for reasons I don’t understand every device I plug into it shows as a USB 2.0 device, even though all the ports are labeled as USB 3.0. If I plug the USB 3.0 compatible devices directly into my Macbook Pro (16" Intel) they will appropriately register as USB 3.0 devices.

Here’s what the tree looks like in System Information:

USB 3.1 Bus:

  Host Controller Driver:	AppleIntelCNLUSBXHCI
  PCI Device ID:	0xa36d 
  PCI Revision ID:	0x0010 
  PCI Vendor ID:	0x8086 

USB2.0 Hub:

  Product ID:	0x2813
  Vendor ID:	0x2109  (VIA Labs, Inc.)
  Version:	90.14
  Speed:	Up to 480 Mb/s
  Manufacturer:	VIA Labs, Inc.
  Location ID:	0x14400000 / 1
  Current Available (mA):	500
  Current Required (mA):	0
  Extra Operating Current (mA):	0

SAMSUNG_Android:

  Product ID:	0x6860
  Vendor ID:	0x04e8  (Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.)
  Version:	4.00
  Serial Number:	[redacted]
  Speed:	Up to 480 Mb/s
  Manufacturer:	SAMSUNG
  Location ID:	0x14420000 / 8
  Current Available (mA):	500
  Current Required (mA):	500
  Extra Operating Current (mA):	0

EFM8 HID ISP:

  Product ID:	0xf60c
  Vendor ID:	0x10c4  (Silicon Laboratories, Inc.)
  Version:	1.00
  Serial Number:	0123456781ABCDEF
  Speed:	Up to 12 Mb/s
  Manufacturer:	Silicon Laboratories
  Location ID:	0x14440000 / 3
  Current Available (mA):	500
  Current Required (mA):	100
  Extra Operating Current (mA):	0

USB2.0 Hub:

  Product ID:	0x2813
  Vendor ID:	0x2109  (VIA Labs, Inc.)
  Version:	90.14
  Speed:	Up to 480 Mb/s
  Manufacturer:	VIA Labs, Inc.
  Location ID:	0x14430000 / 2
  Current Available (mA):	500
  Current Required (mA):	0
  Extra Operating Current (mA):	0

USB Laser Mouse:

  Product ID:	0xc069
  Vendor ID:	0x046d  (Logitech Inc.)
  Version:	56.01
  Speed:	Up to 1.5 Mb/s
  Manufacturer:	Logitech
  Location ID:	0x14434000 / 5
  Current Available (mA):	500
  Current Required (mA):	98
  Extra Operating Current (mA):	0

d2 Professional:

  Product ID:	0x10b8
  Vendor ID:	0x059f  (LaCie)
  Version:	0.01
  Serial Number:	[redacted]
  Speed:	Up to 480 Mb/s
  Manufacturer:	LaCie
  Location ID:	0x14433000 / 4
  Current Available (mA):	500
  Current Required (mA):	2
  Extra Operating Current (mA):	0

iPhone:

  Product ID:	0x12a8
  Vendor ID:	0x05ac (Apple Inc.)
  Version:	10.03
  Serial Number:	[redacted]
  Speed:	Up to 480 Mb/s
  Manufacturer:	Apple Inc.
  Location ID:	0x14431000 / 7
  Current Available (mA):	500
  Current Required (mA):	500
  Extra Operating Current (mA):	0
  Sleep current (mA):	500

Does anyone have any thoughts of how I can get my USB 3 compatible devices, such as my external hard drive, to use the USB 3 bandwidth?

Thanks,
Evan

Hello,

Thank you for contacting Plugable support! Sorry to hear about this issue. I’d be more than happy to assist you.

Please ensure you’re connecting the dock using the USB-C to USB-C 3.1 cable that it was included with. Not all USB-C cables are rated for USB 3.x transfers, some are 2.0 only. (For example, the white Apple USB-C cables that they ship with cannot allow 3.0 speeds.)

Note that USB 2.0 devices will still show as connected through a 2.0 hub even if physically connected through a 3.0 port! But the 3.0 devices should show up as under a 3.0 hub.

Please don’t hesitate to let us know of other questions.

Thanks again for contacting Plugable support and best wishes!

Joshua Henry

Senior Engineer | Product Owner
Plugable Technologies

Thanks @Joshua_H, you were right. The USB-C cable between the hard drive and the dock was bad. I’ve replaced it with a new cable and my Mac registers it on the USB 3.0 bus now. Cheers!

1 Like

That’s great news, thanks for confirming and letting me know. If you ever need anything else we’re always happy to help.

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