Z370-F – TP-Link UH720 USB3 Hub Low Power

[JingleDjango]

I bought this powered USB 3 hub for use at my studio:
TP-Link UH720

Out of the box it only worked as a USB 2 Hub. If I plug in a USB3 HDD it connects and reconnects repeatedly which I recognize as a familiar symptom of a bus-powered device connected to an underpowered port.

I was going to return the hub but then I tried it with my home workstation, a hackintosh from an earlier generation (i5 4690K). There it worked fine so I'm thinking it's a software issue I should be able to resolve on the studio machine.

Currently I'm using the same USB drive plugged into the front chassis port of the tower without issue. I'd love to hear any troubleshooting advice you've got.
Thanks.

Motherboard: ASUS ROG Z370-F
CPU: i7 8700K
Memory: 32GB DDR4 @ 2400MHz
Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

 

[UtterDisbelief]

I bought this powered USB 3 hub for use at my studio:

TP-LINK USB 3.0 7-Port Hub with 2 Charging Ports UH720

TP-LINK USB 3.0 7-Port Hub with 2 Charging Ports UH720

www.canadacomputers.com

Out of the box it only worked as a USB 2 Hub. If I plug in a USB3 HDD it connects and reconnects repeatedly which I recognize as a familiar symptom of a bus-powered device connected to an underpowered port.

I was going to return the hub but then I tried it with my home workstation, a hackintosh from an earlier generation (i5 4690K). There it worked fine so I'm thinking it's a software issue I should be able to resolve on the studio machine.

Currently I'm using the same USB drive plugged into the front chassis port of the tower without issue. I'd love to hear any troubleshooting advice you've got.
Thanks.

Motherboard: ASUS ROG Z370-F
CPU: i7 8700K
Memory: 32GB DDR4 @ 2400MHz
Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

Hi there.

I think this problem is exactly what you've worked out it is - power supply.

As you can see from your System Report the USB3.0 Hub is offering the higher-rate of power. USB2.0 is only 500mA.

Sadly your link to the new hub vendor doesn't actually point to the item, only the initial language selection page. From there it goes general. No way to tell.

So, then is the new hub unpowered or does it feature it's own power-brick?

If unpowered then depending on how many ports it is trying to provide it's entirely possible it's stretching the power it gets too thinly.

If a powered hub then it sounds more like a connector/cable issue. I have a USB3 external hard-drive here with a Type-B USB3 socket and the cable that came with it does exactly the same as you describe. I have to use a USB2 cable to get anything like a connection, but at slower speeds obviously.

 

[JingleDjango]

Thanks for taking the time to reply, UtterDisbelief

Sadly your link to the new hub vendor doesn't actually point to the item, only the initial language selection page. From there it goes general. No way to tell.

Fixed the OP. Hub is powered. I think it's 1.5A but I don't have it in front of me.

If a powered hub then it sounds more like a connector/cable issue. I have a USB3 external hard-drive here with a Type-B USB3 socket and the cable that came with it does exactly the same as you describe. I have to use a USB2 cable to get anything like a connection, but at slower speeds obviously.

I thought it might be an issue with the cable or the hub itself, but it works fine on the other 2 computers I've tested it on, using the same cable and power adapter.

 

[UtterDisbelief]

Thanks for taking the time to reply, UtterDisbelief



Fixed the OP. Hub is powered. I think it's 1.5A but I don't have it in front of me.




I thought it might be an issue with the cable or the hub itself, but it works fine on the other 2 computers I've tested it on, using the same cable and power adapter.

Ah, that's better, Yes, that looks fine. There should be no problem with power then.

I can't think of a software issue that causes drop-outs to USB. The sub-system is all hard-wired. There are certainly ways to increase the power delivered to USB ports using code edits, and they are quite technical, but clearly that's not the problem here. What's more I wouldn't expect you to need to touch that considering you have a high-quality motherboard like the ASUS Rog Z370.

Here's a test you could do. I recommend it only because my own external USB HDDs are USB3.0 but work fine, if slower, on USB2.0 ports.

Your hub has one of the long, flat USB3 connectors but I guess the other end of the cable has a USB Type-A plug. If you have a USB2.0 extension Type-A to Type-A, attach that it to see if the drop-outs continue. Yes, the speed will be USB2 but maybe it will offer more clues if it's more reliable?

 

[JingleDjango]

I should have mentioned that I'm using a USB3 rate A-A extension already (AmazonBasics) and connecting to a rear USB3 port. I tried all of the USB3 ports at the rear with no success, but I haven't tried it with one of the legacy ports yet.

I'll try your suggestion the next time I'm there to see how it affects things, but I really want to get USB 3 going because I need the throughput for the audio work I do.

I may try a different powered hub as well and reserve this one for home use where I already know it works properly.

 

[UtterDisbelief]

I should have mentioned that I'm using a USB3 rate A-A extension already (AmazonBasics) and connecting to a rear USB3 port. I tried all of the USB3 ports at the rear with no success, but I haven't tried it with one of the legacy ports yet.

I'll try your suggestion the next time I'm there to see how it affects things, but I really want to get USB 3 going because I need the throughput for the audio work I do.

I may try a different powered hub as well and reserve this one for home use where I already know it works properly.

Yes, understood.

The reason I specifically suggested a USB 2.0 Type-A to Type-A is to check connectivity. By design it strips away the USB 3 part and tells us if therein lies the problem. USB 2.0 works at lower power and is not so sensitive to cable-runs etc., harking back to my own drive experience and testing. I realise you want the full-speed but at the moment pinning-down the problem is where we're at.

 

[JingleDjango]

So I did try putting a USB2 extension between the hub and the USB3 port but unfortunately I don't have the same USB3 HDD on me to test that. I can report that it makes no difference to the available power reading in System Report. None of my buses or hubs report greater than 500mA.

I tried removing USBInjectAll and flipping these settings in config.plist:

I'll try the USB HDD via USB2 the next time I have it here with me.

 

[JingleDjango]

Removing USBInjectAll was unhelpful. Many ports were disabled as a result, which is predictable I guess.

I had the chance to try the USB3 HDD again, with the USB2 A>A extension between the hub and the computer. It does work (at USB2 transfer rates of course). I'm not sure what this tells me. I can't even use a USB3 flash drive (practically no power draw) without dumbing the hub down to USB2 which is disappointing.

*The same USB3 port works fine without the hub. The same hub works fine on other machines.*

Any further troubleshooting advice would be appreciated. At this point, maybe I should try another hub and reserve this one for a different workstation.