USB cable details for C-to-C that is not Thunderbolt 3 or 4

USB Docking Stations
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Now that many things have USB C-to-C connectors:

  1. Which USB protocol do I need to connect my laptop C port to my dock C port?
  2. How do I identify the protocol(s) supported by a given C-to-C wire?
  3. What do I need to see as laptop specs behind their provided C port connector?
  4. I know that I could use a Thunderbolt 3 or 4 cable, given a mortgage, but what else makes reasonable sense for a “USB-C Docking Station”?

Thanks in Advance,

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Hi Dan,

Thanks for reaching out to Plugable support! I’d be happy to help with that.

As I understand things, this is related to a previous ticket that was filed for the UD-CA1A docking station.

  1. The UD-CA1A requires a USB-C cable that is capable of providing USB 3.0 data, DisplayPort Alt Mode connectivity, and Power Delivery for laptop charging.
  2. Similar to the USB-C cable requirements any USB-C port on a computer would need to support USB 3.0 data, DisplayPort Alt Mode connectivity, and Power Delivery for laptop charging.
  3. Ideally, the specifications for the laptop should list USB-C support for USB 3.0 data, DisplayPort Alt Mode connectivity, and Power Delivery for laptop charging.
  4. You are correct in that the standard for Thunderbolt 3 and 4 do include the requirements for this particular docking station such as USB 3.0 data, DisplayPort Alt Mode connectivity, and Power Delivery for laptop charging.

We do understand that some information online can be difficult to find, especially when it comes to the capabilities of USB-C cables. My recommendation is when in doubt use a Thunderbolt 3 cable as it should fully support what the shipped USB-C cable for this docking station supports.

I do hope that this information is helpful.

Richard A
Plugable Technologies
https://plugable.com/support

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