Dock for M1 Air that actually works

Dave85

Dave85

Dave85

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As per title I have tried a number of the usb C docks from amazon ranging in price from £20 to £80 and most of them have issues when you wake the macbook or first turn it on where after about a minute the image will disappear and screen goes black for 20seconds then comes back and will do this every few minutes until you reboot the macbook with the LG TV on. I even tried a Cable Matters 48Gbps USB C to HDMI 2.1 that is currently in use with the same sort of issue. i run at 120hz on 2560 x 1440 intead of 4k as find it a decent resolution to use on the 75" LG.

ideally don't want to spend a fortune on thunderbolt specific dock if anyone has any ideas. Is it the TV perhaps?
 
It's the Mac I feel. My work M1 16" is notorious for doing what you say, and refusing to wake from sleep. Well it does, just no external display.

Like you I've tried multiple cables, 2 KVM switches, clamshell mode etc. All the resolutions, refresh rates, HDR toggle, you name it.

I remember reading somewhere that Apple didn't follow the standard for sending the EDID or something like that which causes these sporadic display issues.
 

ThinkPad Hybrid USB-C with USB-A Dock | 40AF0135UK

Explore ThinkPad Hybrid USB-C with USB-A Dock expands the capabilities of most any laptop, new or old, making it perfect for enterprise customers with mixed-PC
www.lenovo.com

100% works, and you can even use multi displays on the Air models with this .

M1 Macbook Pro - USB C hub recommendation

I could do with a smallish usb hub that has ideally two hdmi ports so I can drive two displays plus use the macbooks at the same time whilst also handlingpass through charging, akin to a docking station. I can see there are a number on the amazon such as this...
forums.overclockers.co.uk forums.overclockers.co.uk

Edit: never tried it on a 120hz screen though ....


rp2000
 
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LiE said:
Caldigit I see highly recommended, but pricey.
Click to expand...
Yup, TB3/TB4 work well so does a few of the OWC docks - i have an older USB-C model and it seems ok after a firmware update, although you need a Windows machine.
Worth keeping an eye out on eBay as you can pick up some bargains, like the OWC and Lenovo docks (Caldigit's hold their value unfortunately).
 
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We use the Caldigit HDMI-dock as our standard TB dock in the office. They are easily one of the most reliable docking stations I've found and happily support dual screens too which is nice! I understand why they hold their value. They also work on non-Apple hardware too which makes them great for hotdesk usage in a mixed device environment, though this is a bit dependent on the capabilities of the Windows hardware, e.g. modern Windows devices that supports TB is fine, older stuff that is USB-c only can generally use external displays (might be resolution/refresh rate limited), network, audio and USB while some devices also supporting charging via USB-c too.
 
Spanner in the works here, plugable TB3 dock (TBT3-UDC1-EAU) with 60w PD works flawlessly on my M1 and M2 Macbook Airs in house and cost me just £39.00 from that south american river of money laundering fun on one of those random deals that pops up. The Anker 5 in 1 TB4 works flawlessly on my M3 Max MBP however 85w at times can be hit and miss due to the power requirement of that laptop at times. No other docks reliably go above 100w PD so I'll have the issues I have with the Anker regardless of brand.

Nothing unreliable, nothing incredible, just plug, play, forget.
 
I've found the most reliable docking solution for me has been the USB-C connection built into my Lenovo ThinkVision monitor. With a different monitor I've tried cheap-ish U-Green and Anker hubs which worked "most" of the time at the best and seemed to get worse over time. The Steam Deck Dock (what a mouthful) was surprisingly reliable but not the ideal form factor.
 
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