OWC 13 Port Thunderbolt 3 Dock, Space Gray

I did a BUNCH of research before buying this dock and everything pointed to this one being the best... by quite a margin. And I have to say that I am very pleased with the product so far. I wish it wasn't so expensive, but it is totally worth it. Very professional build quality, totally functional, no surprises. Just what I expected.I'm running two 4K displays through it in addition to the Retina display on my 2017 MacBook Pro laptop (one Thunderbolt 3 cord from the laptop to the dock, then Thunderbolt 3 to the first monitor, and a Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable to the second monitor).I'm using every single port except for the Firewire 800 and digital audio ports. I really like the fact that this dock indicates exactly what each port is with specifics (ie: USB 3.1 Gen 1, or Firewire 800). While I was doing research on all the other docks, none of them told which protocols each port was using... you had to dig through their documentation to figure out what speeds you could expect from each port. Annoying! So glad OWC printed it next to each port.I've even attached another small cheap $8 USB dock to one of the USB connections on this OWC dock to add a couple of extra USB connections for things that don't use a lot of bandwidth such as a printer, scanner, etc.)I was originally concerned that the 65W power supply through the Thunderbolt 3 connection would not be enough seeing as how the Apple charger is 87W, but I haven't had a problem yet. Granted, I haven't really done much heavy processing for prolonged periods yet, but my laptop is almost always at 98-100% power when I'm using it normally.Stop wondering if this is worth it. Just buy it already. You will thank me later. There is nothing that even comes close to what this dock does. Premium product for not much more than the other (inferior) docks. Yes, it is totally worth it. Thank you OWC for making such a great product.

I really dig this device for the following reasons:* Gives me several needed connections from USB-C of camera card, TOS-link audio, cabled ethernet* Powers one 4K display from DP port perfectly* Several USB ports work great.* Thunderbolt out works for a thunderbolt driveThus, I only need to connect to my MBP:* OWC* USB-C to DP cable for a 2nd 4K displayThe only problem I had was that the cable connecting my MBP to the device started to fray. Support is sending me a replacement.I suspect that this may have resulted in any jiggling of the cables to cause my external drives to disconnect.Tip: My thunderbolt drive has a thunderbolt out and that could drive a 4K display, but ONLY at 30Hz (Dell P2715Q). Using a direct cable got that screen up to 60Hz at 4K.Overall, I'm happy I just have 2 USB-C cables to unplug when I want to take my MBP with me.See attached image for all the devices I have connected.

There is SOOOOO much potential with this dock. When it works it's like eating all of your favorite foods all at once and never getting full or self-conscious about your weight. When it doesn't work? It's like eating all of your favorite foods and then getting a spontaneous invitation to the Biggest Loser Weight-loss Challenge. The thing is, this dock is supposed to be plug and play every time and all the time. However it is not. I will have to reboot my computer to get the correct resolution to my 4k monitor at 60 hz. I have to reboot my computer to get 1 of 4 hard drives to show up. Which hard drive shows up is entirely based on chance. I have to open my laptop and then plug in the dock and then sometimes STILL have to reboot my computer for things to display on my monitor (either display at all or it displays at the wrong resolution). Sometimes even the reboot doesn't work and I have to reboot again. I didn't run into the issue that others were having with the dock going to sleep, but the aforementioned issues are VERY annoying to the point where you start considering why you got it in the first place. Here's why I say that. My previous setup involved the Apple HDMI multiport adapter connected by HDMI to my monitor to correctly display 4k @ 30 hz (only real downside there) and connected to a macbook charger to charge my computer and connected to a USB 3 extender dock so I could use multiple USB 3 devices with the adapter and therefore my computer (albeit USB speeds would be affected). With this setup, I'd always have my MacBook Pro in clamshell mode. There's a bunch of downsides with this setup, but here's the thing. I could plug my MacBook Pro into the Apple Adapter leaving it in clamshell mode and EVERYTHING would come on and connect every single time. No rebooting. No disconnecting and connecting again. Every single time I could connect to my hard drives and my monitor would come on which are my top 2 priorities. OWC's dock could not fulfil the top 2 priorities. When it works this thing exceeded expectations, but 90% of the time I had to do things that slowed down my workflow.

The media could not be loaded. When it works - it works great, however it doesn't always do so: sometimes the screen won't come up, sometimes the network, sometimes the audio... And it might not be the device itself, but, rather, the OS, however, as a customer, paying 300$ for connector box I'd expect it to work flawlessly. The first unit that I got was actually completely defective(see attached video), so I had to get a replacement. I'm keeping the second one, for the lack of a good alternative, however I find myself avoiding using the dock as much as possible.To have things working do the next steps:1. Disconnect power from the box.2. Open the MBP lid, log in.3. connect power to the dock.4. connect the dock and the laptop5. unlug and re-plug ethernet.6. close the lid and work.