[itwasntme]

I have an unseemly mess of wires on my WFH desk all connected to my Belkin power strip:

1. Mandatory Dell laptop power cord (usual brick with proprietary connector);
2. Desk lamp;
3. Digital clock (micro-USB connection);
4. OnePlus 7 Pro + Oneplus 7T Pro (USB-C, huge Oneplus brick charger);
5. Fossil smartwatch (proprietary charging disk, usually charged overnight);
6. WiFi Hotspot (micro-USB, backup for broadband), and
7. Echo Dot Gen 1 (Micro-USB, timepass).
8. Apart from this, the kids routinely plonk their iPad or devices to charge on my desk if I am away too long.

I am looking for a elegant way to manage these, and eventually move towards a high speed USB charging hub or one of those integrated power strips. My current Belkin strip is a 'dumb' one without any USB charging ports or smart connectivity. Another factor is that when we travel, we are usually faced with inconveniently located power plugs in our hotel rooms or homestays. A good setup of power strip + USB hub would be a blessing during such times.

Amazon has a bewildering range of these devices. Any personal experiences would be great.

EDIT: Focus is on high speed or fast charging of modern devices, NOT data transfer.

[Shreyans_Jain]

I think you need wireless charging. If the phone and watch chargers go, a big chunk of the mess gets cleared. The Echo dot can also be moved to any other location in the house. Doesn’t necessarily have to be at your desk.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

I think you need wireless charging. If the phone and watch chargers go, a big chunk of the mess gets cleared. The Echo dot can also be moved to any other location in the house. Doesn’t necessarily have to be at your desk.

Sorry, should have clarified that - none of my current devices support wireless charging. Maybe I'll smile at this request 5 years later, but I need to do something for now.

[Sreesh1009]

I understand your mess. Will only help if you give me a drive in your 3er. Just kidding xD . Here are some things that will help reduce the clutter:

[binand]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

I am looking for a elegant way to manage these, and eventually move towards a high speed USB charging hub or one of those integrated power strips. My current Belkin strip is a 'dumb' one without any USB charging ports or smart connectivity. Another factor is that when we travel, we are usually faced with inconveniently located power plugs in our hotel rooms or homestays. A good setup of power strip + USB hub would be a blessing during such times.

Amazon has a bewildering range of these devices. Any personal experiences would be great.

EDIT: Focus is on high speed or fast charging of modern devices, NOT data transfer.

We have two "charge points" at home (in far away corners, one sharing power outlet with the ironing board setup and another living with the TV) where I have 6-USB port thingies from QuantumZERO. Anyone who wants to charge anything hooks it at one of these places. Something like this (the specific model I have is no longer available on Amazon): https://www.amazon.in/dp/B00P936188/

I don't need my phone all the time; calls are mostly via VoIP. For all calls - GSM or VoIP - I have a Jabra BT speaker+microphone that is paired with both my laptop and phone.

One good thing I did was to activate the "Your Phone" app from the Microsoft App Store on my laptop. This allows me to see the phone notifications on my computer remotely.

Basically, throughout the work day I don't need my phone on my desk at all. For watch/alarm I just use the corresponding Windows apps.

Wifi is wall-mounted in the corridor outside my room. Desk lamp is part of the decor.

So I have no mobile/IoT devices on my workdesk. Declutters a lot.

I use a wireless keyboard+mouse combo from Dell: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B01LOORNLY/

My home printer has WSD support. So that eliminates another device's need to be present on my desk / another set of cables.

My workdesk then has these things:

1. My laptop and its power adapter.
2. Wireless keyboard, mouse, mousepad.
3. My monitor, its power cable and the HDMI cable that connects it to my laptop.
4. The Jabra.

I have recently started looking at the various options available to charge my laptop via USB Type-C. If this works out then I believe the laptop power adapter's brick will also go away.

Edit: Forgot to mention, for a while I used one of these also: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B079MB8Z6Z/. But now I don't use it. It was useful when I had two chargers for laptop so I could leave one permanently on my desk.

[whitewing]

A combination of a multi-charging wall charger + a few (2-3)versatile charging cables should get things under control.
I bought a couple of these https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B07DYMTPC1/, some time back. They help in reducing the need for having dedicated cables for the different USB types.

[GTO]

Viddy strongly recommended this Belkin model to me. Bought it - works like a charm.



Matches the colour & text of my Macbook

[sreedotk]

Originally Posted by GTO

Belkin model[/url] to me. Bought it - works like a charm.

Just a word of caution using any of these USB docks with a Macbook. Since most of these have the passthrough power connection for a single input, my recommendation is to leave it connected only when using it.

I was/am using a similar dock with my Macbook for connecting to a monitor, external keyboard and moues. I left it connected over night a few times during this lockdown on my desk and it made my Macbook pretty hot, and kind of damaged my battery.

Please keep an eye out for unusual raising temperatures when using these.

[The Rationalist]

This is what I use, has 3 USB-A slots, 3 sockets.
https://www.amazon.in/GM-3260-Indica...5593179&sr=8-1

[vsbabu]

Originally Posted by sreedotk

Just a word of caution using any of these USB docks with a Macbook. Since most of these have the passthrough power connection for a single input, my recommendation is to leave it connected only when using it.

I was/am using a similar dock with my Macbook for connecting to a monitor, external keyboard and moues. I left it connected over night a few times during this lockdown on my desk and it made my Macbook pretty hot, and kind of damaged my battery.

Please keep an eye out for unusual raising temperatures when using these.

Totally true. I've Macbook Pro 2019 and similar hub. It does get warm when connected to an external HDMI monitor (the only thing I use). But, if you connect charger cable to it, then this as well as the laptop gets warm (actually hot) very quickly. Since we are all WFH these days and Macbook Pro says acceptable temperature range is up to 35° C -- well, unless you've A/C at home, I am not sure if they will use this against us for warranty claims . I usually get the laptop charged during breaks and while working, leave it for discharging. Works well and good for battery's health too. And at night, disconnect all of that.

[AkhilR]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

I have an unseemly mess of wires on my WFH desk all connected to my Belkin power strip:

1. Mandatory Dell laptop power cord (usual brick with proprietary connector);
2. Desk lamp;
3. Digital clock (micro-USB connection);
4. OnePlus 7 Pro + Oneplus 7T Pro (USB-C, huge Oneplus brick charger);
5. Fossil smartwatch (proprietary charging disk, usually charged overnight);
6. WiFi Hotspot (micro-USB, backup for broadband), and
7. Echo Dot Gen 1 (Micro-USB, timepass).
8. Apart from this, the kids routinely plonk their iPad or devices to charge on my desk if I am away too long.

EDIT: Focus is on high speed or fast charging of modern devices, NOT data transfer.

Since fast charging is your main requirement, you will need a power strip With minimum five plug points and 3 USB points.The digital clock, Wi-Fi hotspot and echo dot can be connected to the USB ports.

You don’t need to bother with high speed USB ports and normal USB ports would suffice. This is because most of the high-speed USB ports use QUALCOMM quick charging which wouldn’t be of any use to you.You have a oneplus 7 which uses dash(vooc) charging and an apple iPad which uses USB PD. These are different technologies to the QUALCOMM quick charging and they are not interoperable. So either you need to spend heavily to buy power strip supporting either of the two charging protocols or you can go with the normal power strips and use charging bricks for iPad and oneplus.

[msdivy]

This is 7 port active USB hub. It comes with external power for powering the external hard disks but will work as passive hub if power is disconnected.

https://www.amazon.in/dp/B00LI4O9EA/...ing=UTF8&psc=1

[showboat]

I've been using the brand HooToo for about 2.5 years now. This is the newer version of the model I have (which is also available on amazon but more expensive). I highly recommend it.

Most laptops will heat up with use when using a USB-C hub for an external monitor, power pass through will increase the temp too. I have not found a solution for this. I have been using the hub with my Pixelbook and that also heats up.

[Johnnny]

Originally Posted by The Rationalist

This is what I use, has 3 USB-A slots, 3 sockets.

How's this product? I was looking for GM's cord but found that this model doesnt have any dedicated switch for each sockets and went with Peachberry. I looking to cancel my order now.

https://www.amazon.in/PEACHBERRY-Uni...620094&sr=8-17

[hardilip]

I have recently bought this HyperDrive after a lot of research. This is a bit on the pricey side but competes better against other competitors '

Amazon Link:

https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B08...?ie=UTF8&psc=1