So I had the opportunity to checkout no less than three USB-C HUBS for my MacBook Pro.
Belkin Thunderbolt 3 Dock-Pro
An expensive beast at 259 euros, but works like a charm.
Also comes with an Ethernet port, can charge the MacBook Pro at the same time (without using the white charging block I got with my MacBook).
The thunderbolt cable provided with the Belkin is long and very good.
The thunderbolt cable provided with the Belkin for connecting between the MacBook Pro to the Belkin is the one you should use. Other cables likely won't work.
May take some time getting ready when first turned on.
First time use may have issues with the Ethernet, but the company has a fix for that on their website1.
Satechi USB-C MultiPort V2
Not that expensive at 80 euros.
The USB-C cable for conecting to the MacBook Pro is really short.
It requires the white charging block.
However, I'm continually having problems with external monitors. The MacBook reports that I'm still using the monitor from work (with 1920x1080) when working at home (with 2560x1440).
Quite likely, this problem is because I'm waking up the macBook from hibernate, and it doesn't query the external monitor when it wakes up?
I've posted some EDID settings below.
The only thing that seemed to work was to restart my Mac, and immediately close the lid. Somehow that causes the MacBook to reevaluate what external monitors it has, and get the proper EDID settings.
Vitamo 8-in-1 USB-C Hub Adapter
At 37 euros by far the cheapest, and it shows.
It requires the white charging block.
It suffers from the same problems with External Monitors as the Satechi.
The Ethernet port, while initially working perfectly, seems to have suffered from some mishaps as I've had no connection twice in a row now.
The HDMI port, whilst working fine originally, now has a tendency to cause the external monitor to lose the connection occasionally.
Remove the cable and reinsterting it seems to fix the problem.
Conclusion
The Belkin is fantastic, but expensive.
The Satechi seems fine.
The Vitamo is cheap, but you get what you pay for.
I do find these simple USB-C hub to be very low-quality plastic thingies, and they tend to "dangle" next to the MacBook.
I read on the Internet (make of that what you will) that all these lower-cost USB-C hubs tend to use the same cheap chipset.
EDID
Problems with external monitors seem to be effecting quite a large number of people when dealing with MacBooks.
I can apparently export the EDID settings using an app called SwitchResX.
The EDID settings of the Dell 1424H from work:
https://gist.github.com/maartenl/e39efad1899d80371306311b24c2573e
The EDID settings of the HP 27G from home:https://gist.github.com/maartenl/4b317b337deb7b26cbbf27e70a300d00
Checking things
In order to check things, like, what resolution is my Mac running, you can use Spotlight Search for look for "About This Mac". Thie app can show the used Displays in the tab Displays (second tab).
Of course you can always check your monitor settings themselves.
Some magic happens in the "Displays" configuration settings on the MacBook, when you press "Command" function. When pressed the "Gather windows" button changes into "Detect Displays". When pressed and clicking on "Scaled" shows many more monitor resolutions than normal.
References
- [1] Belkin - Troubleshooting ethernet connectivity on the Belkin F4U095
- https://www.belkin.com/us/support-article?articleNum=304840
- StackExchange - How do I get my monitor to run at the correct resolution reliably?
- https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/374982/how-do-i-get-my-monitor-to-run-at-the-correct-resolution-reliably
- StackExchange - Incorrect external monitor resolution detected, true resolution not available
- https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/344608/incorrect-external-monitor-resolution-detected-true-resolution-not-available
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