Multifunction USB Type-C adapters have been popular because they can work conveniently as a sort of docking station. UGREEN, a company based in Shenzhen, makes a great variety of these adapters. I have one of them for this review.
I’ve a bit of trouble describing the UGREEN adapter I have, because it seems what I ordered from Lazada isn’t what actually got delivered. My order was for a “6 in 1 USB C HDMI Adapter” that is described to have the following ports: HDMI x1, RJ45 x1, USB 3.0 x3, and PD x1. There are six ports, aside from the actual USB Type-C cable that is used to plug into the notebook.
However, the adapter delivered appears to be a 8-in-1 hub.
The front side has a slot for a microSD slot and another for a full-sized SD slot.
Around on the back, there is a HDMI port supporting 4K resolution at 30 fps, and 3x USB 3.0 Type-A ports. The 30 fps limitation at 4K may be a bit of a disappointment to some people. At Full HD, you’ll get the usual 60 fps.
Finally, on the side, there is a RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet port, and a USB 3.0 Type-C Power Delivery port. This port does not provide data, so you can only use it to connect a charger.
I use this adapter with my present daily driver, a Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 7390, and by and large there are no problems, especially with power delivery. I have some other USB Type-C hubs that, although they seem to work fine delivering power to a MacBook Pro, both this Dell and another Lenovo Yoga 920 I have on hand complains about lacking sufficient power.
There is a glitch, however, that upon connection I keep getting this error about “display connection might be limited”. It refers to a DisplayPort device But the adapter has no DisplayPort. So perhaps there is some oddity about this adapter that makes Windows 10 believe that there is DisplayPort available.
For avoidance of doubt, the packaging of this adapter is labeled with a model number “50538” and carries the description: UGREEN USB-C to 3*USB 3.0 + HDMI + RJ45 + SD/TF Converter (Gray).
USB Type-C has brought a lot of conveniences. Although once upon a time these multifunction hubs were crucial to address the lack of sufficient ports on some notebooks (looking at the 12-inch MacBook), nowadays these are still tremendously convenient to have. With a multifunction adapter like this one, just one cable connection to my notebook gets me instantly connected to power, external monitor, external webcam, USB storage, and other accessories. It effectively works like a docking station.
Check out the UGREEN flagship store on Lazada for their USB-C adapters and other products.
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