Plugable TBT4-UD5 front USB 5gbps ports no longer recognizing wireless mouse and wired keyboard

[karljkrass]

I just set up a new computer system and plugged my peripherals into the docking station referenced above. Two HDMI monitors, two printers, a wireless mouse and a wired keyboard (the last two, i.e., the wireless USB receiver and the USB plug of my wired keyboard, were pugged into the front two USB 5gbps ports of the docking station, as referenced above). All of the above peripherals worked… for one day! On day two, the front two USB 5gbps ports stopped recognizing the wireless mouse and the wired keyboard. I removed both the wireless mouse receiver and the USB plug from the front two ports and plugged them into the two available ports on my new computer, an HP Dragonfly G4. This is how I am able to type this complaint. Please help me as I have a very busy work schedule. Thank you.

[Mitchell]

Hi @karljkrass,

Thanks for posting! I’m sorry to hear that USB ports on your Plugable TBT4-UD5 dock has suddenly stopped working as expected, but I’d be happy to help.

Given what you describe, the first steps we’ll want to take are to perform a power-cycle of the dock to reset its internal hub chipset. We’ve seen that this can often restore the dock back to a working state when we observe that the USB ports have suddenly ceased functioning. To do this, please follow these steps:

1. Disconnect all USB peripherals connected to the dock
2. Disconnect docking station from host machine, then disconnect the power adapter from power
3. Leave unplugged for 1 minute for power to dissipate
4. Connect docking station initially into power only
5. Connect docking station to host machine, then connect USB peripherals and test for functionality

Please let me know if this helps at all and we’ll take the next steps from there.

Thank you for your patience!

Mitchell

[karljkrass]

Mitchell:

Thank you for your expeditious response to my email.

I read your email instructions and performed the steps in the order that you suggested.

I am happy to report that your power-cycle of the docking station did correct the issues. The two USB 5 Gbps ports located in the front of the docking station are now functional and are supporting my wireless mouse and wired keyboard.

My concern is that this happened one day after I removed it from the box and set up my new computer system. As such, I have the following questions:

1. Is this problem that I just experienced something that I can expect to happen in the future, and if so, how often?

2. Can this problem occur by turning off the docking station at night and then turning it back on the next day?

3. Should I leave the docking station on all night or should I turn it off when it is not being used?

Thank you once again.

KJK

[Mitchell]

@karljkrass,

Glad to hear that the USB issue appears to be resolved with the power-cycle!

Totally understand your concern here with such a new product. I’ll speak to your questions numbered below:

1. As you’re probably guessing, it’s not normal that you would need to constantly power-cycle the dock. We don’t expect that this is something you need to regularly, so if you do end up seeing this issue happen again, please do let me know.

2. The action of turning off the dock at night then turning it back on in the morning isn’t something we would expect to cause problems. I would say however that it is certainly not necessary to do this – our docking stations are designed to be kept powered on at all times, so feel free to leave it on if that is more convenient.

3. See above answer!

Hopefully you are good to go, but don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any other questions.

Thanks!

Mitchell