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The Anker 7-Port USB 3.0 Hub is a high speed data hub that connect your devices to your computer and has a port that has the ability to charge your phone and still pass data back and forth at the same time.
Anker 7-Port USB 3.0 Hub – Features
Taken directly from the Anker 7-Port USB 3.0 Hub Amazon sales page.
- Light and Compact: Palm-sized and lightweight (2.9oz) for greater convenience.
- Huge Expansion: Enjoy super-fast transfer rates of up to 5Gbps for up to 7 devices—simultaneously!
- High-Speed Charging: The charging port provides high-speed charging for your devices, up to 2.1A.
- Broad Compatibility: High-grade chipset and adapter guarantee stable operation, including plug-and-play and hot-swapping functionality. Works flawlessly on Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10 and Mac (OS X [10.2 and above]).
- What You Get: Anker USB 3.0 7-Port Hub, 12V / 3A power adapter, 2.7-foot USB 3.0 cable, welcome guide, 18-month hassle-free warranty.
Anker 7-Port USB 3.0 Hub – Review
A few months back my old 2.0 USB data hub died. The case just “cracked” and stopped working. It was weird. I hadn’t even touched the hub in almost two years. The best I can tell is the device over heated and the case failed and as it did the internal technology was fried out.
As a replacement I decided to try out Anker’s 7-Port USB 3.0 Hub. I ended up purchasing at full price (missed the lightning deal by an hour). Even though my computer doesn’t have USB 3.0 ports I decided to use the best hardware for my computer as I can.
The hub comes in a Anker branded brown box with a white paperboard with a picture of the hub and the specs wrapped around the box. Once opened the hub is nicely displayed and easily comes out of the box. Inside you will find a heavy duty USB data cable, power cord, happy card, and welcome guide.
I powered up the hub and all the port lights light up. So every port theoretically was receiving power. Next I connected the hub to one of the main USB ports on the back of my desktop.
Details about my old computer
My desktop was one of the more powerful computers on the market 10 years ago (still faster than many new computers on the market today) and only has a 2.0 USB ports and can’t read 3.0 USB pci cards. My computer can’t take full advantage of the 3.0 data hub but it is still faster than my old 2.0 hub.
Back to the review
The computer found the hub and installed drivers. Next I connected 6 hard drives to the hub. All of the hard drives connected and ran without issues.
First I connected my oldest 2.0 hard drive. It found it within seconds. I did some file transferring and watched a short 5 minute movie that was stored on the drive. It ran smoothly. With this new hub, the drive seems to have operated a little faster. Don’t get me wrong, read/writes haven’t changed, but play back was smoother and transfer rates were a little faster.
Next I connected two more 2.0 USB drives and they were found instantly. I ran the same tests, I moved files from the oldest drive and moved them to one of the newer 2.0 drives.
For the last 3 drives, I connected a 3 TB (terabytes) 3.0 drive, 4 TB, and a 8 TB 3.0 drive. I moved 1 TB of jpeg and RAW image files from my old 2.0 image storage drive and moved them over to my Glyph Black Box Pro 3.0 USB 3 TB drive. The transfer took about 20+ hours (I forgot how long it took). I use this drive almost daily for image and video processing. The transfer/rate is fast enough for my needs. No lag when opening large files.
I took my 4 TB 3.0 media server and moved 2 terabytes of movies and music to my WD EasyStore 8TB 3.0 drive (new media server file storage). It took forever but once it got there, my networked movies and music ran faster and smoother. (Movies on the old drive ran better but it wasn’t designed to play media).
For the last port I use for temporary connections and slow charging of my cell phone. Don’t get me wrong, its faster than most OEM chargers but not as fast my USB charging hub. I used it to charge an iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5, iPhone 4, LG g4, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPad 2nd Gen. All charged with ease and did it faster than some wall chargers.
When the computer is off, the charging speed got faster. But for the most part I don’t use this feature. If I need to charge when I’m not on the computer, I will use my charging hub or Anker wall charger.
Currently I’m using the port to power my digitizing tablet. It works great and and doesn’t have any the issues that connected 2.0 USB keyboards and mice devices may have when connected to a 3.0 hub.
Final Thoughts on the Anker 7-Port USB 3.0 Hub
The Anker 7-Port USB 3.0 Hub works great and I haven’t had any issues. But what I don’t like is that at night its bright. When the hub is powered up, there is a modern blue status light for each port is so bright that it can hurt my eyes or light up a dark room. So I have to keep the hub under the monitor shelf.
Other than that, I do not have any issues with the hub. My experience with the hub has been positive and I plan on buying one of their smaller hubs for my notebook. If you need a 7-port hub I recommend giving this one a try. At the time of writing this review Amazon is selling the hub for $32. If you need more than a 7-port hub or wanting a smaller hub option check out these other great options from Anker. I haven’t tried these out yet, but the reviews on Amazon give these hubs a high score.
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