OWC Takes $120 Off Popular 14-Port Thunderbolt Dock During Its Spring Sale

My OWC 14 port Thunderbolt 4 dock failed at 2 months. It was replaced and then failed again at 25 months, a month out of warranty. Despite having a well-documented history of failures of this model, despite having paid full price for it, and despite my being an OWC customer since 1988, OWC refused to replace it. Between this and several failures of other OWC branded items (an expensive external RAID and several Aura and Mercury internal drives) I am losing faith with them as a company. My new CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 dock is is now on my desk and so far I love it (yes, substantially more expensive, but...)

My OWC 14 port Thunderbolt 4 dock failed at 2 months. It was replaced and then failed again at 25 months, a month out of warranty. Despite having a well-documented history of failures of this model, despite having paid full price for it, and despite my being an OWC customer since 1988, OWC refused to replace it. Between this and several failures of other OWC branded items (an expensive external RAID and several Aura and Mercury internal drives) I am losing faith with them as a company. My new CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 dock is is now on my desk and so far I love it (yes, substantially more expensive, but...)

Yeah, well, I purchased the OWC 11-Port Thunderbolt 4 Dock, and it failed port by port, and the CS was awful. I wasted so many hours with stupid workarounds and different tech people until they finally replaced it, but eight months later, it failed again. OWC is not the same company anymore. I heard they filed for bankruptcy, so I would be careful considering them for the long run.

OWC is great for a lot of stuff but for a TB dock I’d go with CalDigit.

My ideal hub would have a design that matches Apple's aesthetics with a minimum of 4 ports with USB-C connector (ideally 6), 10 Gbps Ethernet, SD Express slot, and CFexpress slot.

I haven't, either. Did a little quick browsing at Amazon. It seems Thunderbolt hubs and docks tend to be pricey - from the CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Element hub or CalDigit TS3+ Thunderbolt 3 dock (maybe $180 or so) up to the higher end Thunderbolt 5 CalDigit dock option at roughly $500, IIRC - so people buying one want it to meet all their port needs, and many have a keyboard/mouse wireless USB-A type receiver and/or some peripherals and don't want to have to bother using an adapter cable.

But there are USB-C 'port splitter' type hubs, though you won't get Thunderbolt 3, 4 or 5 bandwidth from hub to computer. My point is, I don't think the device you're after exists yet, at least without a number of additional ports (e.g.: USB-A). Just the 10 Gbps ethernet requirement narrows it down a lot (and I imagine restricts you to later generations of TB, not TB3 cheap on the used market).

For fun I did a little digging to see how close I could get. Anker Prime TB5 Docking Station, 14 Ports Thunderbolt 5 Docking Station with 140W Max Charging, 120Gbps Max Transfer, Ambient LED Lighting, Cooling System, Up to 8K Display for Thunderbolt 5/4 Laptops ('https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Thunderbolt-Charging-Transfer-Lighting/dp/B0DSVVJXK5/ref=sxin_17_sbv_search_btf?content-id=amzn1.sym.8aea4788-5372-43c5-bde7-3d239eb02a51%3Aamzn1.sym.8aea4788-5372-43c5-bde7-3d239eb02a51&crid=EXASHHZKGKER&cv_ct_cx=sonnet+thunderbolt+5&keywords=sonnet+thunderbolt+5&pd_rd_i=B0DSVVJXK5&pd_rd_r=02300988-4d72-4a6a-9340-085ee86efd4f&pd_rd_w=Oj8J2&pd_rd_wg=yv5UR&pf_rd_p=8aea4788-5372-43c5-bde7-3d239eb02a51&pf_rd_r=2JVEVR8EHKMXA0D4SB00&qid=1747073951&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sprefix=sonnet%2Caps%2C177&sr=1-1-5190daf0-67e3-427c-bea6-c72c1df98776') "

* 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Dock: Equipped with a Thunderbolt 5 upstream port, two Thunderbolt 5 downstream ports, two USB-C ports, three USB-A ports, SD and TF card readers, an AC input, a 2.5Gbps Ethernet port, an audio jack, and an HDMI 2.1 or DisplayPort 2.1 port. It also includes an advanced active cooling system for optimal performance even under full load, preventing overheating."


Roughly $400, SD and TF but not CFexpress, the ethernet is 2.5 Gpbs, 4 USB-C ports (2 TB5, 2 USB-C), the aesthetic isn't glaringly dissimilar to Apple's (a matter of taste, granted).

I think what you're after will take 2 hubs/dock + a CFexpress card reader.

Ironically, back in the days of tower and mini-tower computers with empty expansion bays, one could buy port cards and customize like what you want; the computer body itself served the 'dock' function. But that ship hasn't just sailed...it's been burnt to the water.

P.S.: I predict a slow shift toward more USB-C and fewer USB-A ports in docks/hubs with time, but USB-A will persist longterm.

How do you get the patch? I have this very product at home but hardly use it considering my daily use case only requires me to have one external SSD connected at any given time.

With the patch you mentioned im more inclined to get this OWC TB 3 dock and out of the closet and plug it into my MacBook.

For anyone wondering, I read on the OWC site that the ejector app includes the patch and also superdrive support.

Real talk, this has been my favorite USB4 hub for years:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09DTFQMXC

Model number TBT4-HUB3C. Bought it in 2021 for $190. Bought it for a family member last year for $110. 100% worth it every time. I have a single USB4 cable coming out the front, and an HDMI adapter plugged into my "2nd" monitor (SBS on a 32:9), and it has worked on my old iPad Pro (A12Z), new iPad Pro (M4), Macbook Air (M1), Mac Mini (M4), Steam Deck, and I even plug my iPhone into it to charge it to full when I get home.

If the TB4HUB5PM "OWC Thunderbolt Hub" MacRumors is linking here is based on a similar chipset (it has the same 60W host, 15W device wattage), it's a PEAK device. I kinda wanna pick one up 'cause it looks like the same device with an extra USB-A up front.

Boy, talk about hijacking a thread to advertise a less competitive product with fewer features.