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Review on Sabrent 4-Port USB 3.0 Hub with LED Power Switches, 2ft Cable, Slim & Portable, for Mac & PC (HB-UM43) by Alan Massey

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Worse than useless, generally poor quality

As another reviewer noted, this hub has one critical flaw: even the slightest movement of the cable disrupts the flow of data/power, shutting down other devices. But in reality it's even worse. There are four power buttons, one for each port, but you'd better not dare to use them unless you boot with all USB devices attached and all power buttons and leave it at that. Otherwise, devices that are already on will be turned off by pressing any power button to turn on another device, as if you'd bumped into a power cord. If Sabrent didn't include power switches, this hub would be viable, at least for me. But even if the switches worked properly, I doubt they would last long. The construction looks very cheap. As I unwrapped it, I remembered the junk they gave away for free at the folk festival, or the "toy surprise" that used to come with Crackerjack - this hub was definitely a surprise. To be fair, while this is the lowest quality hub I've ever owned, probably out of a dozen, it's also the cheapest. And as other reviews point out, it may work for some users. If you don't plan on using switches and never come across a cord, you might be in luck. But of course I bought it precisely because of the switches: I was hoping not to mess around with physically plugging and unplugging USB drives, but to use the switches to select which drives are needed. I'm doing this pretty effectively on two other computers with two other hubs that also have switches. I took a chance due to the low price and for what I paid I will not return it. But it will go to the trash once I finish this review as I dare not trust it with my data.

Pros
  • USB hubs
Cons
  • Some minor issues