Uni 8-in-1 USB-C hub review

Intro

Continuing the series on compact USB-C hubs, I’ve been using the Uni 8-in-1 hub for the last few months and decided it was time to post my review. This hub was launched as a Kickstarter in 2019 as the first “rugged” USB-C hub.

Full disclosure: While this is not a sponsored post, the products reviewed were provided at no cost for evaluation purposes. Products received in this capacity are destined for teardowns, future device interoperability testing, and/or charitable donations.

Feature summary

• USB-C PD charging passthrough (100W input, ~85W laptop charging)
• HDMI 1.4 (4K30, 1440p60 or 1080p120)
• Gigabit Ethernet
• 2x USB 3.x 5Gb/s with 4.5W charging (up to 7.5W if only 1 port in use)
• 1x USB 2.0 with 4.5W charging (up to 7.5W if only 1 port in use)
• UHS-I SD card reader and microSD card reader
• detachable 20cm cable
• removable protective silicone case
• works with or without external USB-C power

Unboxing & physical characteristics

Pictured are three different products left to right: 8-in-1 hub, 1 meter USB-C cable, and a 5-in-1 hub. Each had simple packaging with a box, warranty card, and user manual. Today I’m only examining the 8-in-1 hub.

8-in-1 hub and 20cm USB-C cable

With silicone case removed

1M USB-C cable (optional add-on)

Dimensions:

• 91 x 51 x 16.5mm without case
• 105 x 61 x 21.5mm with case

Weights:

• hub: 91g
• case: 27g
• 20cm cable: 12g
• 1m cable: 41g

Usability

Uni put some thought into the layout with the ports most likely to be plugged in/out on one side (SD/USB 3.0) and ports likely to be left alonr on the other (Ethernet/HDMI/USB 2.0). While there are tiny icons laser-etched near the SD card reader, none of the other ports are labeled. This choice is likely stylistic but in general, I prefer to have the ports labeled especially when there are USB 2.0 and USB 3.x.

The detachable cable feature is my favorite. With the cable off, the hub easily fits in a pocket.

The full-sized SD card reader is easy to use with little force required to insert the card. The microSD reader is not as easy and requires considerably more force than the full-size to seat in place. I usually use a full-size SD adapter with my microSD cards so this isn’t an issue for me. One minor nitpick is that when plugged in, the SD cards are not immediately recognized – it takes a few seconds for the hub to fully initialize before the SD cards can be used. This delay was long enough that I thought the hub wasn’t working at all a few times but if you give it a few extra seconds it works just fine.

The Ethernet port does not have status LEDs, a feature I like. Once again, I suspect this choice is mostly stylistic since visible LEDs could distract from the overall design.

Style and feel

This is where Uni excels. The fit and finish is the best I’ve seen on a hub. Ports are aligned perfectly to the aluminum chassis. The included cable has tightly wound braided fabric sleeving which appears to be quite durable while also pleasant to the touch. Uni provided a 1 meter long braided cable which had the same high-quality sleeving – but it was only rated for 60W charging so I didn’t end up using it.

Performance & Reliability

Most hubs in this price class are using commodity components from Realtek and ViaTech, so there is nothing unique about transfer speeds here. It’s fine.

I had no issues using this hub with several Surface laptops. When I used it with my Ryzen desktop PC, I got a few USB enumeration errors where the USB 2.0 port wouldn’t work. Unplugging and re-plugging resolved the issue. I think the root cause is a mainboard chipset bug with my PC rather than the hub itself.

Power and USB PD compliance

Advertising for this dock and many other brands state 100W power delivery. As I’ve noted in prior articles, the proper way for vendors to implement power delivery passthrough charging is to “de-rate”. For example, if the USB-C power supply offers 100W, the hub should subtract ~15W and advertise that 85W is available to the laptop. This reserves power for the hub’s USB ports and prevents the USB-C power supply from being overdriven and shutting down. Given that the hub must consume some power to operate, it is impossible to pass along exactly 100W to a laptop and be within the USB-C specification. Let’s see how Uni measures up.

First, I tested the included 20cm cable. With my USB-IF certified charger I verified that the cable is e-marked and is indeed 100W capable just as advertised.

Next I tried using two different USB-C power supplies, a 90W USB-IF unit (Insignia NS-PWLC908) and a 100W (SinDox RH-PD100W) unit and connected as follows:

• PSU
  • USB-C power meter
    • Uni hub
      • USB-C power meter
        • laptop or resistive load simulating a laptop
      • cellphone 1 charging via USB A ->C
      • cellphone 2 charging via USB A -> microB)
      • 7.5W USB A light bar

Here we see the downstream charging of the simulated laptop (resistive load) hovering around 86W. It never exceeded 87W via either power supply.

With the simulated laptop and three USB loads plugged in, the power delivered by the PSU varied between 101-104W for both the 100W PSU and the 90W PSU. For the 100W PSU this is expected. For the 90W PSU it might be overdriven, but the power supply itself could just be under-rated – I need to investigate this further.

This is a good result. We’re not seeing massive overdriving of the power supply and the 100W unit is running within 4W of its target and the power supply did not hit OCP shut down.

A bonus

Although not advertised by Uni, I found that the USB A ports can supply up to 7.5W rather than the stated 4.5W but only on one port at a time. When all 3 ports are in use, the power output totaled 12.5W with one port having 7.5W and the others having ~2.5W each

Teardown/Analysis

Because of the way this hub is constructed, I decided not to do a teardown. Assembly is one-way where a plastic tray holding the PCB slides into the aluminum chassis and locks in place. Opening it would permanently destroy the plastic clips or damage the aluminum exterior. My last teardown of a similarly assembled device did not end well. I understand the popularity of brushed aluminum finishes, but I don’t understand the obsession with eliminating exposed fasteners.

Instead of a teardown, I used device manager to inspect the USB vendor and product IDs:

• ViaTech DP alt-mode & PD controller – VL103 or similar
• ViaTech USB 3.x hub – VL817 or similar
• Realtek RTL8153 Ethernet
• Genesys GL3224 dual LUN SD card reader

Conclusion

Available from the Uni direct store and Amazon for $56-66 USD depending on available discounts, Uni delivers decent value in a stylish and compact hub. While most hubs in this price class include an integrated USB-C host cable, Uni includes a convenient detachable cable. The chassis cannot be opened to inspect/repair, but the fact that the cable can be replaced more than makes up for it given that the cable is the most likely component to fail. Even better is that Uni offers a lifetime warranty when you register at their website and seems to back it up with real customer service which is getting rarer for small electronics. The removable silicone case is a nice to have feature and will help prevent the aluminum finish from getting scratched or the hub scratching something else. But it’s easier to slip in your pocket with the case removed. For me, the only missing feature is 4K60 monitor support – but if you are using 1440p60 or 1080p120, it is a good choice.