Ok, so first...



PROs:

1.) I love the design of the hub, it's blue LEDs are very bright, almost like a night light when you consider that a PCs 5v source is always on as long as the PC is plugged in, even when the PC is off... I also love having 7 easy to reach ports.

2.) The port has an external power connector, but does NOT come with an external power supply. Still, it seems to work fine for most USB devices (memory sticks, FitBit charging dongle, etc...) My phone says it can pull ~ 450mA from the hub which I'm sure is a limitation of my PCs port rather than the hub.

3.) It's CHEAP, which is always nice.



CONs:

1.) Ok, brace yourself for this one... When the hub arrived, only 3 of the 7 ports worked for data, the other 4 charged OK, but would not pass USB data... I'm a bit of an electronics guy, so rather than return a CHEAP hub, I opened it up and started diagnosing it. Here's what you're buying.



a.) The PCB is single layer, which means they used conductive tape whenever PCB traces have to cross one another. Longevity? Give me a break. How long do you think the tape will hold? ....

b.) About 40% of the structural, grounding solder joints were not soldered... Lazy manufacturing?

c.) The PCB etchings are NOT tin platted. It has exposed copper pads, which over time will oxidize and become resistive... This is a BAD practice in general.



So, what did I do? I soldered the unsoldered joints, I soldered over the unused, exposed copper, coating them. Then, I saw that the hub is actually 2 hubs in 1... It has two 4-port hubs, one is attached to the other (hence, the 7 port hub) ... the 4 ports that were not working when I bought it were all common to one hub (or chip) .. so, I started testing parts and found that the malfunctioning chip was due to a bad 12Mhz crystal -- I happen to have one of these laying around, so I replaced it and BAM, its fixed. It works beautifully now.



Now, if you're not the type to test every component and feel like gambling on yours being assembled properly to begin with, go for it... Otherwise, stay away from these.



I hope this helps.



JP