Anker 10-Port USB 3.0 Hub

—Update:

I added a star because I was contacted by customer support which actively tried to address my concerns, literally one day after my review went live. Regardless how I feel about the product, top notch customer service is key to repeat business. In any case, I was informed that in the product information, there is a bullet warning that wireless peripherals might have a hard time with this device. I don’t know if that was there when I originally purchased the hub, as I try to be careful about these things, but I may have legitimately overlooked it. If that’s the case, well, I feel like a dummy. If anything, consider this company because they really seem to be on top of customer service issues, and that says a great deal.

To be clear, this is for the 9 USB 3.0 hub, with an additional charging port. Amazon tends to group these reviews, and it can get confusing.

I’ll start by saying that my experience may not apply to you, since my usage of this device might be somewhat narrow. Still, if this helps someone make a wise purchasing choice, all the better.

Pros

– First off, the build quality and packaging are great. Everything is included in a nice box, and nothing feels cheaply made. Nothing was broken due to bad packing. Score for that.

– The device seems to work pretty well, especially where USB 3.0 is concerned. It’s backwards compatible, so it read all my other devices as well. Cool.

– I like the lights on the device, showing you what’s connected. There are plenty of reviewers who don’t like bright and shiny, and that’s fine too, but I like things with status and indicator lights.

– Gets power from the wall, as opposed to from the motherboard. This is a make-or-break for me.

Cons

– The big one for me, which was a large part of my return, is the fact that any kind of wireless peripheral is essentially useless with this device. It says so in the instructions…wireless mice and keyboards may not work well with the hub. My technical knowledge is somewhat limited, but this came as a surprise. I tried using my wireless mouse and keyboard with the hub, and it sucked: missed clicks, delay or outright not registering mouse movement. I didn’t see that anywhere in the description, and I wouldn’t have bought it had I known; a good chunk of my devices are wireless. Minus one star for that.

– The other big one (and to be fair, not really Anker’s fault) is that you can’t have a wireless camera plugged in, or, at the very least, you have to watch the order in which you plug in the device. If you plug in a camera first, then other devices, you’ll likely get an error telling you that the bandwidth for the hub has been maximized, and lead to other issues. I had never seen this before, and some research led me to the likely conclusion that this was Windows’ fault. If you plug a camera into the hub, it will take up all available bandwidth to maximize quality. If everything else has been plugged in first, you’ll likely be fine, as the camera will eat up whatever’s left. If the camera goes in first, it’ll take what bandwidth’s available and leave nothing for the rest. I didn’t want to deal with that hassle.

Overall, it’s a cool device, but it does have limitations. I wish those limitations were better noted, as I like Anker products, have a few at home (no complaints), and have no plans to stop buying their stuff. It would have prevented the hassle I mentioned above.

This is the best USB hub currently available. I say this having purchased cheaper hubs from Belkin, d-Link, Targus, and other manufacturers of powered hubs, only to watch each and every one of them die after a short term of service on my desktop. Either their power supplies burn out, or the hubs themselves fry. But this, the beautiful 9-port Anker USB hub (plus an extra high voltage charging jack for those power-hungry accessories) is just amazing. First, it’s design makes total sense. The ports are arranged in a straight row, with plenty of room in between each one for USB cable ends to fit easily without butting up against their neighbors. I appreciate the “all-in-a-row” design as opposed to the scattered-all-around-the-circumference design of lesser hubs – how does that make sense? It makes for a cabling jungle! The Anker way is delightful! Neat, orderly, appealing. The Hub itself is a testament to good design. It is attractive in grey and white, with lovely blue lights to show that the port is active and engaged. The power supply that comes with the hub looks like it could easily power a notebook PC, and the cord is more than long enough to allow you to stash the brick out of the way and still have enough slack to neatly arrange the remaining cable.

Now, on to performance. I currently have this hub connected to my Mac Mini, connected are three large, high-speed hard drives, an external Audioengine D1 digital-to-analog audio converter (the Mac Mini suffers from awful sound), an Alesis USB mixer and a Blue Snowball microphone. I also connect my iPhone for syncing, or when it only needs a charge, I use that high speed charging port. Everything hums along flawlessly! This Mac is my iTunes server for multiple Apple TVs throughout my home. It does all of this without even a hiccup! The Anker hub doesn’t even get warm, and we all know good heat dissipation is essential for long-lasting electronic components.

In closing, I give this beautiful, highly functional USB hub my highest recommendation. It is a desktop superstar, designed to give you and your peripherals many years of service. Oh, and it comes with a five year warranty!! No other hub offers that. Anker’s hub is well worth the extra cost over cheaper alternatives that you will have to buy twice or more when they die prematurely! Treat yourself to the Cadillac of hubs!