Not sure where to ask this but why do some wall powered usb-c hubs refuse the charge anything until they are plugged into a computer?

Edit:

It charges devices on its own If I first plug it into a computer or android device and then plug it into the device I want to charge

48 points · 10 comments · view on lemmy.world

10 Comments

lordnikon@lemmy.world · 33 pts · 290d (6 replies)

Becase some devices require a signal on their comm pins to negotiate the correct voltage to charge the device. Also some devices are dicks and needs a proprietary signal in order for it to charge. Looking at you sony.

edgemaster72@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 290d (4 replies)

Sony and proprietary nonsense, name a more iconic duo

sbeak@sopuli.xyz · 17 pts · 290d (1 reply)

Apple, Samsung, all the Chinese phone brands with their proprietary fast charging standards, HP, Bambu Lab, Nintendo, Xbox, Microsoft, Google, Adobe, etc. etc.

There's a lot of terrible companies, actually.

bizzle@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 287d

All companies are terrible

Jarix@lemmy.world · 16 pts · 290d

Nintendo and it's propriety hardware

crandlecan@mander.xyz · 6 pts · 290d

Apple?

x4740N@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 279d

Becase some devices require a signal on their comm pins to negotiate the correct voltage to charge the device.

Whats weird is that my usb c wall powered hub will charge devices on its own if I plug it into a computer (or sometimes an android phone) first and then unplug it and plug it into the device I want to charge

j4k3@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 290d (1 reply)

The hub doesn't have a negotiation chip to set the voltage correctly. It is likely presenting as a bus hub. Like if you do $ lsusb on Linux, you'll see the hub and whatever is connected. That hub may be integrated into other chips or it may be stand alone as a peripheral somewhere on the board. It is basically like a digital cable splitter for the bus. It is only concerned with the data. The power is likely just passed through. For USB-C PD, it would need some complex additional circuitry to negotiate, convert voltages and do current limiting. The way the pins can be inverted by flipping the connector makes it logically complicated.

TranquilTurbulence@lemmy.zip · 5 pts · 290d

Speaking of passing through PD communications, I have a cheap Chinese power meter that sort of does that but not properly. Hopefully, OP has a good hub that plays nice.

If you use a setup with a power supply, first cable, power meter, and a second cable, you can measure things when connected to a chargeable device like a laptop. It obviously tells the PS to give it 12 V, which it will. Once you unplug the laptop from the second cable, the voltage reading doesn’t drop back to 5 V. Apparently, the power meter doesn’t let the PS know there’s no load anymore.

As a result, you get a USB-C cable that gives you 12 V without asking any questions. Guess what happens when you plug in something that can only handle 5 V? Bad things. Don’t ask me how I know.

Anyway, once you unplug the power meter from the first cable, the PS finally gets the message and drops the voltage back to 5 V. Makes me wonder if a hub could behave the same way as my power meter.

Kolanaki@pawb.social · 9 pts · 290d

I'm guessing the driver on the PC regulates the power somehow and not any logic on the hub itself.