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Review on πŸ’» Dell USB-C to HDMI / DP Adapter with Power Pass-Through by Christopher Smith

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Tested with a new Late 2016 Macbook Pro without Touch Bar.

Tested with a new Late 2016 MacBook Pro without Touch Bar. I was hesitant to get this due to the sheer volume of bad reviews but I was encouraged by the good reviews from all Mac users. I can verify that all four ports are working right away on my new Macbook Pro without installing drivers. The design of the device is perfect. It's very compact and the cable tucks completely inside the device, giving you a slim bar that's easy to remove and doesn't snag on anything. The cable is made of very flexible silicone and feels very comfortable. I really only needed Ethernet and maybe USB-A, but this device stores less than one adapter. So if you have a Mac, take it, not even a key, and you're protected from everything. VGA port: At first I thought I needed a DisplayLink driver because I couldn't get the VGA port to work, so I installed the driver. I never managed to get the VGA port to work. I've tried reconnecting and it seems to work when VGA is plugged into this device before connecting to USB-C. I'm not sure if this is the only way to get it working, but it definitely helps me every time I have a problem. Once I get it working it won't go away. To complete the process, I uninstalled the DisplayLink driver and verified that it was deleted and everything is still working fine. HDMI connection: I've never had problems connecting HDMI, whether I connect HDMI or USB-C first. I have a TV that accepts either 720P or native 1360x768 or 1080P. I was able to switch between all three resolutions without any problems. Ethernet port: Initially I had some problems with the Ethernet port, eg with VGA. I didn't find the circuit, but I reconnected it and shook it a little, everything worked. I can connect with gigabit full duplex. USB-A port: no problem here. I didn't have a USB 3 device handy, so I just transferred using a USB 2 flash drive. MacOS says it's a USB 3 port. So everything worked without drivers. In hindsight, the connection issues I had might have been due to the placement on the USB-C side. What I noticed is that the connector on the device is a cheaper type where the outer bottom is a stamped sheet of metal that is bent and bonded rather than a single extruded piece. It may have taken a few stakes to get rid of the oxidation and get a good connection. I'll update after some use whether I'm still having problems or not. I'm deducting a star for these issues, but they're minor. If it's reliable with some use I'll definitely upgrade it to 5 stars. Update March 2017: I've been using this for a while. VGA is still better if you connect VGA first, then USB-C. VGA usage is almost drying up. Mostly via Ethernet and HDMI. USB-A is now also very rare. There were no problems. Upgrade to 5 stars.

Pros
  • practical item
Cons
  • So far so good