I have external hard drives connected to my TBT4-HUB3C. When I turn off or disconnect my computer my external drives continue to run at full speed without entering sleep mode. Alternatively when the same drives are connected to my USBC-HUB7BC my external drives are allowed to enter sleep/spin down mode when not connected to my computer. Is there any way fix to this or is this to be expected?
If, as a solution I purchase the USB4-HUB3A and connect my external drives to the single 10Gbps USB-A port will they enter sleep mode similar to the USBC-HUB7BC?
Thank you for posting, and we would be happy to assist you with your TBT4-HUB3C Thunderbolt 4 hub!
Thank you as well for the detail you have provided, it is much appreciated.
For your reference, when the TBT4-HUB3C is powered on but not connected to the host computer the hub’s three ‘downstream’ Thunderbolt/USB-C ports will provide up to 15W of power in order to charge connected devices.
Based on your description of the behavior, the external drives are staying powered on due to this feature.
For your reference, the USB4-HUB3A Thunderbolt 4 hub behaves in the same manner, and this includes the hub’s single front-facing 10Gbps USB-A port.
To put that another way, we would expect the same result using the USB4-HUB3A as you are when using the TBT4-HUB3C.
With that said, an alternative option (if you have not done so already) would be to connect the USBC-HUB7BC hub to one of the TBT4-HUB3C’s downstream Thunderbolt/USB-C ports and continue to connect your drives directly to the USBC-HUB7BC.
Appreciate you confirming that the USB4-HUB3A will behave in a similar manner.
Apologies, I should have clarified that I am actually running the system in your recommended way as this is the best for maximizing my computer ports. Macbook M4 Pro > TBT4-HUB3C > USBC-HUB7BC > USB external drives. Which works perfectly and is very stable when connected to my computer. As soon as I shut down or remove my computer the drives ramp up to full speed and do not sleep. When I remove the TBT4-HUB3C from the top of the chain this behavior disappears and the drives enter sleep.
While this is not a major issue, it just adds one more step to turn off external drives/unplug when I leave my home edit office, as that’s typically when I want my drives to enter a low power/sleep mode.
Thank you for getting back to us with the update, and I appreciate the additional detail you have provided.
Given your description, the ‘always on’ charging capability of the TBT4-HUB3C hub is cascading to the USBC-HUB7BC, and I am afraid we do not have a workaround to offer other than to suggest disconnecting the power from the TBT4-HUB3C when your computer is not connected.
A quick additional note, the TBT4-HUB3C and USB4-HUB3A are both based on the Intel Goshen Ridge chipset. To the best of our knowledge, hub products made by other manufacturers based on the same chipset will also provide the same ‘always on’ charging functionality. To put that another way, you would most likely experience the same behavior even if using a Thunderbolt 4 hub from a different manufacturer.
Apologies we are unable to offer a solution in this specific case, and thank you in advance for your understanding!