Amazon Basics 4 Port USB to USB 3.0 Hub with 5V/2.5A power adapter

If you need more USB ports than you are able to access on your computer, this is a great product for you.I run programs that require an iLok license USB key. The iLok takes up a lot of port space on my MacBook Pro, so if I need to plug in another USB device, it needs to be low-profile or it will not fit. This hub solves my problem. I can move my iLok to the hub and keep other USB devices such as my external hard drives or interfaces plugged directly into the computer. The USB Hub has four ports so you can put four USB devices into the port and all four of those devices will go into one USB port on your computer.The Amazon Basics USB 3.0 hub does support USB 3.0 speeds – up to 5Gbps. You can run any compatible USB device on the hub and it will support it. It is backwards compatible so any other USB devices you need to run will work with this product.The USB hub is also powered. Because it is powered, it means that the USB port on your computer isn’t powering four devices at the same time. This is a great feature if you are running devices that require quite a bit of power to operate. It can charge your phone (I have done so many times), but it doesn’t supply enough power to charge a tablet.The hub is pretty sturdy. I have been using it for a little over a month, and it is still working perfectly.While the hub is $18, this is a pretty comparable price when you look at other powered USB hubs. I don’t need more than four USB devices to be plugged in at the same time, so this was a great product for what I needed. Other products have way more ports that I needed, and I didn’t want to pay for more ports that I wouldn’t use.There is only one con with this product. The cable from the hub to your computer is a little short. However, this is easily solvable with a USB extender. I have not used an extender but if you need more length, you may want to consider your options.All in all, this is a great product for what it is intended to do.

I am surprisingly very happy with this product. I was very wary of purchasing an Amazon-branded electronics product...Amazon isn't typically the brand I look for in electronics, or for any product for that matter! I ended up buying the Amazon brand over other hubs because of its ability to use either USB bus power or AC power, which is convenient if you own a laptop and plan on using the hub away from the desk at times. Some hubs are only USB bus powered, but techies caution against these hubs since it puts a strain on the computer.The hub is entirely plastic, except obviously for the electronics components, so it is susceptible to cracking if you are clumsy with it. Otherwise, it does not look cheap. It has a nice decal on the top (almost looks like a wood finish).The functionality is as expected. It seems to maintain USB 3.0 speeds but it also works on USB 2.0 (and 1.0, but I do not have a 1.0 computer to test it on).If you have it hooked up to AC power, it will keep your devices powered even when disconnected from the computer. This could be handy if you wanted to use it to charge your phone, etc. It does warn you that it may not charge some products (probably tablets). I have not used it for these purposes, though, so I cannot vouch for this. It is probably BEST to always charge your products with the original charger, as you might put a strain on this USB hub since that is not its intended purpose.It does have a limit for how much power it can provide. Some powered USB devices require to be plugged directly into a computer. One specific device like this is the Apple Superdrive. It is notorious for not working with USB hubs. Some hubs provide enough power for it to work, but the AmazonBasics hub does not (even when connected to AC). Therefore, if you have a USB bus powered device, check that it doesn't require to be plugged directly into the computer. If it does, it may not work with this hub.

I liked it

Had problem with AmazonBasic 4 port powered USB 3.0 hub recognizing USB 2.0 portable hard drive and USB 2.0 stick. Drive light comes on (on hard drive case), but drive does not appear in explorer. Drive needed extra power on old computer's 2.0 hub, so I thought this might be the problem, but a USB 2.0 stick did not work either. Hard drive works plugged directly into same 3.0 port the hub was plugged into. Tried various things: no power adapter, with power adapter, start power adapter before and after computer starts, etc., no effect. Tried USB 2.0 hub (unpowered) on computers 2.0 port, hard drive works fine. Then, I reversed power adapter in outlet and push power plug into hub as far as I could get it (though I believe it was in correctly before this), and it started working. Has been ok for a couple of days. Note: drive worked when first attached to hub with power adapter plugged in, for a couple of days anyway. Using windows10 on new computer. Problem solved? Time will tell.Update: 01/27/2017 Only problem is power plug comes out on its own at times. Would be better if it went in further. Changing to 4 from 3 stars.