SOLVED Do I need a powered hub for my M1 iMac?

[Howard Brazee]

When I ordered my M1 iMac, I also bought an unpowered docking station (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08HVFH3G2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

I've had memory cards disconnect fairly often without touching it. Today I plugged in my Apple USB superdrive into the hub. (It is USB-A, and M1 iMacs don't have USB-A plugs). Finder doesn't see the drive. The drive won't let me put the disk in. The drive works on my wife's older iMac. Does that mean I need an externally powered docking station if I want to be able to read disks?

I can find other bus powered thunderbolt docking stations for $150, but with external power, they are significantly more expensive.

Did I just get a bad model? That's a lot of money to be able to play disks with my Apple drive.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello,

That particular hub is designed for Dell/Surface/HP/Lenovo Laptops, as stated in the description. Yes, it needs to be powered, but I believe that device can be connected to AC as show in one of the photos. Not sure if that supplies power to the USB ports however.

Personally, I would purchase an Apple USC-C to USB adapter and connect the Apple USB SuperDrive directly to the iMac.

C

 

[Howard Brazee]

I used a USC-C to USB adaptor and plugged it into the end of the cord of the SuperDrive and plugged it into the iMac. Good thing I have the more expensive iMac with 4 plugs. The Superdrive was powered. I put a DvD in it, and the DvD program opened, but for some reason didn't play it, but an audio CD played fine.

I wish I had bought a powered docking station to begin with, preferably Thunderbolt. It would have been more expensive, but it would have worked better. I got that link above to the dock that I bought, by looking at Amazon's record of what I bought. I didn't look very closely, that is *not* the docking station I bought. The one I bought is not powered.

Thanks.