I ordered this item 7/09 because my old laptop has only 2 USB ports and a 30GB hard drive. I wanted to attach a mouse, mini-hard drive, external dvd drive, and VHS converter. I knew I needed more power as well. So, I figured this hub with AC adapter was just what I needed. It arrived quickly. OK My excitement was quickly dashed when I hooked everything up and it didn't all work. Specifically: the mini-hard drive, which requires 2 usb ports did not work at all, solo or otherwise. The error message was that the hub did not have enough power. Boo. Then I noted that the included AC adapter was only 2 Amps. When I attached the hub to a 4amp adapter it worked just fine. USB Highspeed 7 Port Hub w/ AC Adapter (Silver)
The supplied 5V 1A (not 2A) transformer is low power which almost defeats the purpose of buying a self powered USB hub. If you want to replace it find a regulated wall transformer with a 2.1 mm coaxial power plug, unless you know how to solder on your own plug. If it doesn't say it's regulated then it is unregulated and will cause problems. Any increase in amps is good, but devices don't expect more than 0.5 A per port so more than 3.5 A probably won't help any more (doesn't hurt though).
I haven't had any latency issues on my thumb drive like the other reviewer btw. But it holds small files.
Update: I edited the above to reflect the glitches I've been having with my unregulated transformer. Don't bother; find a regulated one.
The problem with this hub is that it has horrible latency. If you're planning on plugging a thumb drive or external hard drive into this, forget it. If you're trying to run a keyboard & mouse, it'll work fine. Go from the point of view that anything with an extremely low data rate will work just fine, but anything else is going to have major issues.
Package arrived in just a few days. I plugged in the AC power and the USB and immediately received an error that product is not compatible with Windows 7. I looked at the packaging for a web site that would offer support. There is no manufacture to be found on the packaging. The seller does not list this product on their web site and does not offer support. If you have Windows 7, you may want to look elsewhere for a powered hub.
I returned the hub. Amazon gave me a partial credit. I called and they gave me a "goodwill" credit equal to me purchase. Thank you Amazon.
I do not recommend that anyone buys this hub. It's power supply has a two foot cord which is not long enough to reach the floor, and requires an extension cord. Hanging like this, the hub will not sit on your desktop then due to the weight pulling on it. The base that it slides into is also lose, so this is of no help either. The true problem is the cord being way too short. Finally it projects a useless an annoying blue light out of it's back that lights-up a huge spot on your wall. There are much better hubs out there, pay the price for a different and better hub, it is worth it.
I bought 2 of these from ebay. The shipped from Hong Kong which took about 2 months. When they arrived I only need one, so I hooked it up to my Macbook Pro. A few days later, i noticed my computer lid was closed, my power cord to my laptop was unplugged, and it was shutdown..but for some reason the activity lights were flashing on it and the fans were on. The only thing hooked up was this hub. Some how it was backfeeding voltage to my computer. I trashed that one, got my computer fixed under warranty, then a few months later, decided I would try the other one on my Brand New Belkin router with a USB port. Not 2 hours later, the router USB port was toast and the router was barely functioning. I DO NOT suggest this product.
I'm running the 64bit version of Windows 7.
The hub worked on my Canon Pixma MP500 Printer. No problem.
I then plugged a Western Digital external drive into this hub and got the Windows 7 message that a driver could not be found for this device; I plugged the Western Digital external drive directly into a USB port on my laptop and the drive installed perfectly.
Which says the plug-n-play driver that Windows found only partially works with this hub. I've looked and can't find another driver for this hub.
So, if you are running Windows 7, prepare to be disappointed.
PS If someone stumbles upon a driver, grateful if you'd let me know.
THIS LITTLE SO AND SO BLEW OUT MY USB PORT ON MY LAPTOP AND DESTROYED MY BRAND NEW USB POWERED FLAT BED SCANNER...***WARNING***** WARNING**** ***DANGEROUS PRODUCT*** DO NOT BUY IT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.....BUY ANYTHING ELSE - 7 Port Usb Hub - Usb Hub - Powered Usb Hub - 7-port Usb Hub'
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