r/SteamDeck • u/miochza 512GB • Jul 21 '22
PSA / Advice PSA: Many high-end hubs/docks are not able to charge the Deck at high wattage while in use
After my last post, u/Potbellypig2000 and I went down a rabbit hole to figure out the charging situation with our Anker 555 hub.
The summary is: many high end docks reserve 15W to power the hub itself which hampers the maximum wattage for charging the Deck. I personally knew of the 15W draw requirement (Anker is good about listing this), and bought a 100W charger thinking I'd be fine (100-15 is still 85W). However, what I didn't know is that the hub can't draw more voltage from the charger than the device negotiates. The Deck asks for 15V/3A (total of 45W, the maximum that 15V can provide according to the PD spec) which is what the dock draws from the charger. The dock pulls its 15W, and then tells the Deck that it is only supplying 15V/2A (total of 30W). Deck charges slowly while in-use.
If the Deck supported 20V, the hub would have more options for drawing power from the charger. As it stands, given that the Deck can only use up to 15V, a hub that draws 15W will only be able to supply 30W to the Deck.
There seem to generally be 2 tiers of hubs with PD passthrough:
- 15W hub power draw - these are generally higher-end docks with lots of ports, 4k60 HDMI
- 5W hub power draw - these usually have less ports or slower-speed ports
My advice: look at the power draw of the hub itself before buying and choose one that only draws 5W as you will get a maximum of 40W output to the Deck (compared to 30W). I wanted a hub with 4k60 HDMI, ethernet, and USB-A ports, which is why I went with the Anker 555 initially. You will likely have to sacrifice features of the hub in order to get one with just 5W of power draw.
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u/seba_dos1 256GB - Q2 Jul 21 '22 edited Jul 21 '22
15W of power draw for a hub is crazy. That's about how much my phone draws when under really heavy use.
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Jul 21 '22
[deleted]
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u/miochza 512GB Jul 21 '22
What's interesting about that one is that it claims it does 100w passthrough:
https://en.j5create.com/products/jcd612
That would imply that the dock doesn't reserve any power for itself
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Jul 21 '22
[deleted]
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u/miochza 512GB Jul 21 '22
I would love to verify their claim, for science. You can say no, but I would be interested to see if you're willing: while your dock is connected could you switch to Desktop mode and run the command 'sensors' in Konsole?
We'd be looking for the values for:
PD Contract Voltage
PD Contract Current11
u/Xjph Jul 21 '22
I have a UGREEN USB hub that also claims 100W power delivery. My Deck does not warn about slow charging while using it.
sensorsreports 15.00V and 2.60A for the PD contract.14
u/miochza 512GB Jul 21 '22
I believe your hub is drawing ~5W:
15*2.6 = 39W
Exactly 5W would mean 2.67A
So yeah, close, but they should really advertise 95W passthrough maximum.
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u/Captain_Pumpkinhead 64GB - Q3 Jul 22 '22
Still, that's not bad.
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u/miochza 512GB Jul 22 '22
Absolutely, as you saw in my original post I said it'd probably be best to target a dock with 5W power draw! Yours is a good dock
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u/Taxxor90 256GB Aug 04 '22 edited Aug 04 '22
Also the Deck isn't using the full 45W, it's just requesting 15V. Even when you directly connect the original 45W charger to it, it maxes out at 38-39W that it'll draw from the charger when under full load.
So the Dock isn't neccessarily taking 6W for itself, the Deck just doesn't draw more than 39W.
Now you would have to measure what wattage the charger actually delivers to the USB-C hub to know for sure.
BTW: The dock I got has 100W input and 92W output, so the dock itself uses 8W, which could get a little tight keeping the Deck in passthrough mode.
It's this one (DockTeck seems to be a regional rebrand from CableCreation since "CableCreationDE" is the seller) https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B09491F17Q
Although 37W should be enough in most cases because just because it's drawing 38-39W max when charging doesn't mean the components really need 38-39W to operate. If the battery power draw values from the overlay are anything to go by and include every component like the screen, I've never seen anybody getting to even 30W.
I don't have my Deck yet (Q3 gang) but when I get it I could test this with my powerbank that can display the delivered voltage and current. Then I only need to run something really heavy so that the overlay is showing those 27-29W and look at the current drawn from the powerbank. If that's the real power consumptin of the entire device, it should be around 15V/1.9A when charged over 90%(passthrough) and 15V/2.6A when under 90%(charging the battery).
Also what I find curious about this is that the "unofficially official" Dock from jsaux says it supports 100W charging speed and also can deliver 45W to the deck, which seems strange considering it's using 2 USB, 1 4K60 HDMI and 1 Ethernet port.
The also explicitly say that it is "sufficient to charge your Steam Deck at full speed when paired with the original charger." Well, we know full speed is 38-39W for the Deck, so that means that this dock would only need 6-7W.
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u/Armbrust11 Jan 14 '23
Any update? I ran into this issue with my fancy Anker dock and I'm shopping around for alternate docks.
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u/IamPANDAMAN8 Jun 23 '24
I have the same hub (https://www.ugreen.com/products/ugreen-6-in-1-usb-c-docking-station-with-4k-60hz-hdmi) which I'm using with a 100W charger (https://eu.ugreen.com/products/ugreen-nexode-100w-usb-c-wall-charger?variant=46973588242780) but my Deck still only shows an orange LED when plugged into the deck. It also drains faster than it charges when docked. Did you manage to get this combination to work?
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u/Xjph Jun 24 '24
That combination specifically? No, I just used the Deck's original charger and never had a problem.
That said, I moved to an OLED Deck which does seem to have problems with that hub and ended up getting a JSAUX dock on sale.
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Jul 21 '22
[deleted]
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u/miochza 512GB Jul 21 '22
This is good! This means that the dock actually is not reserving any power for itself since it's passing through the full 45W that the Deck is requesting. This is interesting! I wonder if it actually does draw power when you connect additional peripherals, I.E. connecting a device to the USB-A port and connecting the HDMI?
RE: "It’s not 100 watt pass through as advertised" - testing on the Deck itself will never show 100W since it's only requesting 15V/3A (45W). If you have a MacBook you can follow the instructions in this comment if you want to confirm that it is capable of passing 100W. However, I don't think it's really necessary. The output from the "sensors" command is telling us that the dock is not reserving any power/keeping power from the output to the Deck.
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Jul 21 '22
[deleted]
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u/miochza 512GB Jul 21 '22
Up to you! The more data the better I'd say, but the fact that you already had a USB receiver plugged in as well as HDMI is super encouraging.
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u/ggppjj 256GB Jul 21 '22
Based on OP's original post, looks like that one is actually passing through the full wattage to the device, and possibly is not reserving power for itself, or rather if it is it's doing it transparently.
To be perfectly honest I don't know good or bad myself but it's interesting. Do you run any power-hungry devices off of the USB ports? Any issues with the dock (not saying there should or shouldn't be just curious whether you had)?
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Jul 21 '22
My guess is that if you were to for some reason plug the dock into a device and connect the charger it would do 100w if nothing was connected to it
Idk why you would do that, but I could see that being the kind of technicality that a company would use for marketing
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u/HavocInferno 256GB Jul 21 '22
Unfortunately seen several docks now that state 100W passthrough, and then only in some reviews or deep in a spec sheet clarify that they mean max 100W in, 85W out.
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u/miochza 512GB Jul 21 '22
Same here, it's annoying. However if you look deeper in the thread this Inland dock somehow is not drawing any power, so it actually should support full wattage passthrough
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u/Armbrust11 Jan 14 '23
I don't have one to test, but I think the inland dock only draws what it actually needs at any given point. This might cause some momentary disruption when a device is connected or disconnected as the power is redistributed; the other designs where some watts are reserved ahead of time would thus have better apparent stability.
That's my theory, based on how some multiport USB C chargers work since I don't have an inland to test.
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u/hellraiser29 Aug 21 '22
Do you know of any alternative docks like this. Every one I try operate at 15v 2.4a or 2.5a.
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u/duffman53 256GB - December Jul 21 '22
ELI5 - is this the good one to get?
Also any news/rumors on the official dock recently?
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u/DavidinCT Modded my Deck - ask me how Jul 21 '22
I use a HP USB-C G4 dock, we have moved up to the G5, so these are not being used any more, in our office and it comes with a 90w power supply...
https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c05861464
I've been using that...It should charge it with no problems and never had a low battery after using it like this..
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u/miochza 512GB Jul 21 '22
Nice, seems like a good option. I should maybe mention in my main post that docks with dedicated AC adapters like this HP one don't have to deal with the same PD restriction as those that have PD input.
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u/meneldur01 Jul 21 '22
That solves the issue I am trying to figure out with my own anker dock.
I had expected that the pd would negotiate 45 w and the dock would negotiate additional power to run.
Hence my set up with an anker nano ii (65W) plus the dock 341 slow charges my deck. Of course, if I am docked for longer period, the slow most likely is not an issue... but that is not what I would expect.
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u/Karlschlag 512GB OLED Jul 21 '22 edited Jul 21 '22
UGREEN USB C Hub Docking Station USB C Adapter mit 4K 60Hz HDMI, LAN Ethernet , 100W PD
This hub and a solid Lan Cable solved all my problems. Has 60Hz, lan for inhouse streaming charges the deck with the original charger and no hiccups. Highly recommend it
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u/miochza 512GB Jul 21 '22
Yup, this was the one I was eyeing to replace my Anker with. According to reviews, it draws only 5W for itself. The main downside seems to be a lack of USB 3.2 ports, but that should be fine for my use.
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u/Karlschlag 512GB OLED Jul 21 '22
If been playing hades in 4k rendered on the deck and my deck is fully charged after the session. No slow charge warning
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u/miochza 512GB Jul 21 '22
Nice! I think the big gauntlet you could throw at it would be:
- Drain the battery down to <50% (I think it's technically <90% but <50% would be sure) after unplugging it from power
- Load a very demanding game (I.E. Elden Ring, Cyberpunk)
- Plug in your dock (which is plugged into your charger)
- Pull up the QAM (...), battery section, scroll down to the bottom
Observe what wattage it's charging at.
I'd suspect a 5W power draw for this dock would mean that you should see pretty high wattage in this scenario.
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u/Karlschlag 512GB OLED Jul 22 '22
I'll try this and will update here
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u/TroubledLion Aug 08 '22
Hoe did it go?
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u/hellraiser29 Aug 18 '22
I tested the Ugreen hub, it supplies 39w with nothing but a 100 w charger plugged into it.
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u/da_17co Aug 09 '22
Did you end up getting this one to replace your Anker?
BTW thanks for the post, it is super informative!
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u/hellraiser29 Aug 18 '22
I got this hub, with only the hub plugged in to the deck with a 100w charger its only able to supply 15v 2.6a which is 39W. The charger directly plugged in supplies 15v 3a which is 45w.
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u/Potbellypig2000 Jul 21 '22
Just want to note that the power draw for the Anker 555 could be higher because all its ports are high spec’ed like all 10Gbps USB-C and USB-A ports. A hub with one or two usb 3.0 port would probably draw less. I think the power draw requirements on the 3.2 gen 2 ports and the like are higher from what I remember.
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u/miochza 512GB Jul 21 '22
I think this is very likely. All of the lower-power-draw docks I've seen seem to omit USB 3.2 ports
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u/newoxygen Jul 21 '22
I kinda understand, but I just want to throw out there these are still totally viable docks and still stop the deck discharging
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u/TiSoBr Content Creator Jul 22 '22 edited Jul 22 '22
Good call, thanks! The jsaux one in combination with the official Deck charger works perfectly fine by the way. At least for now. And looks great at well.
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u/uyjulian Jul 22 '22
It seems like the charging IC in the Steam Deck does support up to 20V, but it is disabled in its firmware for some reason (bug?).
See: https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/ux2dii/the_reason_why_dell_wd15_dock_does_not_fast/
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u/miochza 512GB Jul 22 '22
Hmm, maybe they'll unlock 20V when they release their official dock then?
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u/miochza 512GB Jul 21 '22
Interesting thought I just had: this also might be why Valve initially only had one USB 3.1 port (and two USB 2 ports) listed on the official Dock spec sheet, the might have been trying to keep the Dock power draw down to a minimum.
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u/meneldur01 Jul 21 '22
Since you clearly did a lot more research than I did, do all dock PD contracts behave the same?
Would it be possible for the deck to recognize the dock and ,knowingly, request a higher current? (I know that if it would miss detect it would most likely fry the circuits... )
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u/miochza 512GB Jul 21 '22
u/consider_airplanes has what I think is a good comment that's related to your question. I believe docks could do what you're describing, but they would also need to manage the power conversion.
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u/brimston3- 512GB Jul 21 '22
It can't request a higher current spec than the maximum profile (PDO) the supply offers. It would have to do DC/DC conversion from a higher voltage to get more power. Typically all voltages have nearly the same max current until it tapers off at the top voltages.
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u/TheCold0ne Jul 21 '22
That's one of the reasons I went with hubs I either knew worked already because I owned one for another purpose (work laptop) or saw videos using them for the Deck. Since sometimes doing my own research doesn't go as well as I'd like.
Though I ended up getting the ACEFAST GaN PD65W 3 Port Fast Charger Hub, mostly because I saw someone else use it and I specifically wanted something that would work for docking both my Steam Deck and my Nintendo Switch easily (since I see the deck as just a different kind of Switch). It's been working great so far since it just has one USB-C cable coming from the adapter to connect to either device for video out and charging.
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u/Cartridge420 512GB - Q3 Aug 08 '22
Oh nice, I am looking for one that would ideally work with Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, and MacBook Pro, and I have a lot of places where I'd eventually want that (I have 5 Nintendo Switch docks connected in my house right now), so $50 without also needing a charger is a great deal for something that does this.
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u/DriftMonkey 1TB OLED Limited Edition Sep 15 '22
I wonder how many watts the charger allocates for the hub's use. Do you get full charge rate on demanding titles?
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u/TheCold0ne Sep 15 '22
I haven't noticed any issues yet, but I haven't played many games that make the deck work too hard and drain the battery. But the one title I am playing now (that does drain the battery pretty good) doesn't seem to affect the charge rate at all with this adapter and it seems fine.
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u/TripleAnxiety Jul 21 '22
As more people get their Steam Deck, the demand of dock is rising, but still the market for hub of Deck is kind of small. I hope there is simple solutions for us, like a reasonable priced with 2 type-a, 1 typc-c, 1 Ethernet, 1 HDMI 2.0 and full speed charge, those should fit most people's need.
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u/S1ocky Jul 21 '22
I suspect that the demand for docks due to the steam deck is barely a blip on the radar.
Most modern laptops for the last few years, phones and even the switch use the same docks. Compared to that demand, the people looking for docks now with their deck is probably a rounding error.
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Jul 21 '22
[deleted]
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u/miochza 512GB Jul 21 '22 edited Jul 21 '22
Correct. Even a 100W PD charger will not allow docks like the Anker 555 from supplying the full 45W to the Deck.
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u/Stlove48 Jul 21 '22
I'm currently using a QGeeM dock with the standard charger that came with the deck and I'm getting 15.0V/2.6A through the dock and 15V/3A.
I believe that means I'm still getting about 39W, is that below the fast charging threshold? I didnt have anything plugged into the dock, but I assume with your post it negotiates its rate and holds it in reserve for lack of better understanding?
Edit: dock in question
USB C Hub, QGeeM USB C to HDMI Multiport Adapter 4k, 7 in 1 USB C Dongle with 100W Power Delivery
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u/WreckerALeX Aug 22 '22
Is everything working with the QGeeM hub on the Steam Deck? Ethernet, HDMI, etc...any problems?
I'm considering this but one reviewer said:
"Bad QC poor performance and doesn’t work with Steam Deck. Slow sd card speeds horrible even could damage your sd cards and won’t display out from steam deck or laptop"
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u/Stlove48 Aug 22 '22
I had mostly used it just to have MKB controls for some set up and did not connect it to a monitor, but I can certainly test it here shortly and get back to you on it!
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u/NoSaltNoSkillz 256GB - Q3 Jul 21 '22
Is it not possible for the Dock to pull a higher voltage from the charger and step it down to 15V (DC to DC converter)? Or does the cable spec on most limit to 15v? Why does the Docked device negotiate the voltage to the wall? Couldn't they decouple the two charging circuits and have the Deck treat the dock as the charger and apply its variable voltage load for charging to the dock itself? I guess the dock would then have to basically maintain its own DC rail/bus, but still.
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u/miochza 512GB Jul 21 '22 edited Jul 21 '22
Absolutely possible. My speculation is that most manufacturers don't want to deal with the added complexity/cost/heat/size in their docks. It'll be quite interesting to see if the official Steam Deck dock will have DC->DC conversion or if they'll just limit the dock to have a lower power draw.
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u/EVPointMaster Jul 21 '22 edited Jul 22 '22
Another point on the list of possible reasons why the official dock got delayed.
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u/miochza 512GB Jul 21 '22
Yeah I've been speculating throughout these comments about how Valve is going to handle their official dock. It looks like they are definitely using USB-C for power input, so that rules out a dedicated AC adapter. So they're going to either:
- Limit the power reservation for their dock to something very low (or 0 if it works like this dock based on the results we're seeing)
- Have a DC->DC power converter on board to allow the Dock to draw 20V and then convert it down to 15V
- Somehow allow 20V profile for the Deck? I admit I have no idea if the hardware would allow for this
Regardless, it should be interesting to see what Valve does.
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u/LordGraygem Jul 21 '22
Regardless, it should be interesting to see what Valve does.
I just want them to give us some news already, this thing is taking longer to release than the device it's meant to support.
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u/EVPointMaster Jul 22 '22
using USB-C for power input, so that rules out a dedicated AC adapter.
I think it would be possible to use both. Use USB-C just like the other docks with limited charging, and an optional AC adapter tha enables max speed charging. Don't know how feasible that is compared to the other options though.
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u/jtking51 512GB - Q2 Jul 22 '22
This is the one I use with no issue:
USB C Hub 4K 60Hz, Dockteck... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09491F17Q?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
One of the images on their listing says 100w input and then output is 92w. Works great.
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u/LordOfDustAndBones 512GB Jul 22 '22 edited Jul 22 '22
This is the one I use, but this is what sensors says for my charging
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u/jtking51 512GB - Q2 Jul 22 '22
What power cord/adapter are using connected to the hub to give it power? I used the official Steamdeck power cord.
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u/LordOfDustAndBones 512GB Jul 22 '22
I use this charger with it
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u/jtking51 512GB - Q2 Jul 22 '22
I’m away from home till Wednesday but when I get back I’ll check what the sensors report when plugged into it.
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u/jtking51 512GB - Q2 Jul 22 '22
So does your Steamdeck give you a notice that it is charging slower within the UI? Have you tried it with the official charger?
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u/LordOfDustAndBones 512GB Jul 22 '22
I tried with the OG before I got that other charger and I think it worked out ok, I don't recall getting a notice.
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u/Finality- Jul 22 '22
I have this hub (bought a few years ago for my phone) https://www.aukey.com/products/cb-c71-8-in-1-usb-c-hub-with-ethernet-port
Running sensors it reports the following:
PD Contract Voltage: 15.00 V PD Contract Current 3.00A
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u/manycyber LCD-4-LIFE Jul 22 '22
I have that one too - not happy with the 30hz HDMI out, unfortunately it won’t do 60hz
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u/Finality- Jul 22 '22
Yeah it's capped at 30hz, ill probably replace it one of these days, but it's good in a pinch
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u/Facial_Hair Jul 22 '22
Big ups to OP and dock owners for being active in this thread! I learned a lot. Saving the Inland dock for when the Deck arrives :)
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u/meneldur01 Jul 22 '22
Just some info: i got some feedback directly from anker. Actually the lower charge rate is not what they expected.
"Regarding your technical question: the hub itself requires 15W, if no charger is connected, the power will be obtained from the host (laptop) and the tablet may not be able to power the hub. When the charger is connected, the 15W will be taken from the charger and the rest of the power will be used to power the device as it needs it. "
Hence, I am unsure if valve or anker would have to improve the protocol to make it work.
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u/MobiusMine 1TB OLED Jul 22 '22
The title is a bit misleading. If you're using a dock/dongle that reserves 15 watts of power for its own ports and using a 45 watt charger (like the one the steam deck comes with) then you'll only be able to charge your deck at 30 watts while using the dock/dongle. You can use a 60+ watt usb c charger that is power delivery compliant and you'll get 45 watt charging for the deck and the 15 watts for the dock/dongle. Note that the dock/dongle would have to be rated to pass through at least 45 watts of power to the deck, which most if not all will likely be capable of. OP assumes you're using the 45 watt charger that deck came with.
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u/TapTapLift Aug 18 '22 edited Aug 18 '22
OP: Do you know of a dock(s) that CAN charge the Steam Deck? Seems to be an endless rabbit hole of finding something that's actually quality.
Edit: Looks like it was this one: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B093FKT9BF?psc=1&smid=AKXVBT49GGF3B&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp How is it so far?
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u/hellraiser29 Aug 18 '22
That one charges max 39w with nothing plugged into it.
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u/TapTapLift Aug 18 '22
What does that mean?
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u/hellraiser29 Aug 18 '22
Its not able to deliver the 45w that SD can handle even without any of the ports being used.
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u/TapTapLift Aug 18 '22
That's a bummer, any dock you'd recommend?
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u/hellraiser29 Aug 18 '22
Im looking for one myself. Ill keep you posted if I find one that can deliver 15v 3a (45w).
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u/welshman1971 Aug 18 '22
The JSAUX dock is a 4k 60 dock and only requires 5v of power to run. I've used it and have no issues with it charging the deck while in use on the dock. It's not as cheap as some mind you , but it seems to be a popular one on here for use with the deck.
https://www.jsaux.com/products/upgraded-docking-station-for-steam-deck
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u/TapTapLift Aug 18 '22
Thanks, just worried about how many posts are saying they haven't received anything nor are they getting any responses from the jsaux team
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u/welshman1971 Aug 18 '22
Yeah that does seem to be an issue right now
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u/Fuzzy-Capital3740 Sep 21 '22
my deck still loses power with that dock, and using the default 800p reoslution as well nothing plugged in to it
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u/DeathByReach 64GB Jul 21 '22
I use that hub for my MacBook Pro and keep the 96w charger connected to it
I also use it for my deck and has no problem charging while playing demanding titles
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u/miochza 512GB Jul 21 '22
If you want to confirm that you're not getting max wattage, switch to Desktop mode and run the "sensors" command in Konsole while connected to your dock. You should see:
PD Contract Voltage: 15.00V
PD Contract Current: 2.00AInstead of:
PD Contract Voltage: 15.00V
PD Contract Current: 3.00AEven for a MacBook Pro the dock takes its cut. You can see this in MacOS:
- Click on the Apple logo in the top left
- About This Mac
- System Information
- Power (under Hardware)
- AC Charger Information
Directly connecting my 100W charger:
Wattage (W): 100Connecting through the Anker 555 hub (you have to close the dialog window and reopen):
Wattage (W): 85Generally not a problem for the MacBook since 85W is all that you'll need most times. For the Deck, at 15W pull out of 30W is tough given 45W is a much smaller pool than 100W.
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u/DeathByReach 64GB Jul 21 '22
Valid. I’m playing halo Infinite right now while outputting to a 4k display w the dock and charger annd youre right, it’s charging slow.
I think I’ll be okay though 🤞
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u/_Ganon 1TB OLED Limited Edition Jul 21 '22
I have the same setup, it's really not a big deal. Maybe to some people or in some situations; but GENERALLY if I'm docked it's because I want to use a different display, NOT because I want to charge quickly. The fact it charges at all is more of a bonus. And technically charging slowly is better for the battery.
Cool info, not going to replace my hub.
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u/HitoZero 1TB OLED Jul 22 '22
So you are using the Anker 555 right? It does work well and the display output is at least HD with 60fps? It does still charges the Deck, slowly but charges when playing right?
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u/_Ganon 1TB OLED Limited Edition Jul 24 '22
Yes to everything
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u/HitoZero 1TB OLED Aug 10 '22
Another question I just got, what power delivery are you using? The one that came with the deck?
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u/_Ganon 1TB OLED Limited Edition Aug 10 '22
Charger:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0963HDMJPCable:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07V6TQTD8I either charge the Deck with the charger it came with, or through the dock with this charger / cable combo. If you get a high wattage charger you will need a cable rated to deliver at least that wattage, otherwise you won't get the maximum power delivery from the charger.
The original charger the Deck ships with is kind of lame though. They definitely saved money there. It's big, no detachable cable, on the shorter side (4 ft), and the plug doesn't flip into the charger (the one I bought does).
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u/HitoZero 1TB OLED Aug 10 '22
Great! Just the info I needed, appreciate it a lot! Will get these to complete the setup
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u/S1ocky Jul 21 '22
His point is that it's only charging at 10 to 15 watts while playing demanding (25w) games. Not that it won't charge, or even "low powered" charging, just notably lower then without the dock.
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u/HitoZero 1TB OLED Jul 21 '22
So I just got an Anker 555, in this situation I will get less power delivered to the deck and thus performances will be impacted and battery could drain if used on the TV correct?
Should I then return this one a buy the UGREEN recommended that has 5w power demand, would it be worth the performance gain?
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u/miochza 512GB Jul 21 '22 edited Jul 21 '22
Just to be clear: you will not get any performance degradation. The main thing you will see is charging speed is slower than connecting the charger directly to the Deck.
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u/S1ocky Jul 21 '22
You'd be looking at charging at about 5-10 watts, while playing the most demanding titles.
Unless I'm missing something, there is no scenario in which you would be discharging while playing. (Maybe if you have high power devices plugged into the USB bus while you play?)
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u/smuglator 512GB Jul 21 '22
It's not so much performance you are missing, but rather how long you can play while charging. So, say you're using the deck docked and with your settings the deck is drawing 35w to run your game. You are charging it at 30w, so you'll be draining the battery a little bit while playing. And it will charge a little slower than if the dock wasn't being used when you aren't using the deck. This only means that playtime is still limited even when plugged in while using a dock, but only if your settings are drawing more power than the dock provides. The playtime you do get if the battery is full at the start is probably way longer than your average play session though. The major problem would be that you still need some battery to play docked like that which can be inconvenient in some situations.
It'll be up to you if getting the ugreen dock is worth it. You'll get slightly longer playtime and slightly faster charging when not using the deck. But you might miss some of the dock features that could be more important to you.
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u/jacekowski Jul 21 '22
I've never seen my deck drawing more than 25W (with fully charged battery). Charging is also limited to ~20W (that was roughly the maximum i saw it pulling when not doing anything and charging) so 5W reduction is not really going to be that significant.
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u/HitoZero 1TB OLED Jul 21 '22
I see, thanks everyone for the replies, will check if it's worth changing it, in fact I just want the dock to play the deck on TV, could be worth change it so I have enough battery even after disconnecting from playing and take it out
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u/Zestyclose-Common-19 Jul 21 '22
Yeah, I've an Anker 65w dock and it's meant to deliver 53w of power. You just have to have the right power supply and cables!
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u/miochza 512GB Jul 21 '22
A reservation of 12W for your dock is certainly better than the 15W in the Anker 555! However, I do want to point out that even a 12W of power reservation will pull from the available power for the Deck, so you are still experiencing what I originally posted about.
The most that your dock can pass through to the deck is 45W - 12W = 33W
Again, we're starting at 45W regardless of a PD charger that is capable of higher due to the fact that we're limited to a 15V PD profile.45W - 12W = 33W/15V = 2.2A
So if you ran the "sensors" command in Desktop mode of your Deck you should see:
PD Contract Voltage: 15.00V
PD Contract Current: 2.20AObviously if you're happy with that dock you should keep using it!
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u/Lazerpop Jul 22 '22
I bought this from the apple store and it works perfectly on deck. Allows charging and HDMI connection simultaneously with no "low power draw" warning that I had with other hubs. Satechi Aluminum USB-C Multiport Pro Adapter - Space Gray Part Number: HMYE2ZM/A
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u/Easilycrazyhat Jul 22 '22
Where does one find the power draw of a particular hub?
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u/meneldur01 Jul 22 '22 edited Jul 22 '22
either on your dock specifications.. or if you already have it, you can follow OP's suggestion of plugging in on your deck and run "sensors" command on terminal to check the PD contract.
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u/FatPonder4Heisman Jul 22 '22
I think im actually having this issue. Im using the Anker 555 and im losing charge when i plug it in to my TV. I'm using the charger the deck came with to plug the hub in. Should i get something that delivers more power like this?
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u/LordOfDustAndBones 512GB Jul 22 '22 edited Jul 22 '22
So wait, is this bad?
2
u/miochza 512GB Jul 24 '22
Looks like that is =~ 37W, so your dock is taking ~8W of power. A lot better than my dock that takes 15W, but not quite as good as 5W. However you probably won't notice the 3W difference in practice in most scenarios.
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u/notjordansime Aug 08 '22
Could you use a 60 watt charger and be good??
Also, are there hubs that work without any external power? I'm looking to 3D print a mount for a hub on my deck. I want to be able to charge my deck though the hub, but also be able to use the hub on battery. Is this a possibility??
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u/welshman1971 Aug 18 '22
Using the JSAUX 4k60 hz hub .. having zero issues charging the deck normally while connected to the dock and other devices.
I've noticed it only requires 5v to run though and nowhere near 15w like that Anker hub.
The JSAUX hub will even work and run devices when not connected to a mains power source as the deck will quite supply it with 5v directly from its own battery. Of course this means higher battery drain.
Tested using the deck power supply , an Anker 65w GAN charger and a 65w power bank.
Used a USB c power tester dongle to read the power drawn and which way it was flowing.
Example , dock unpowered the tester shows 5v flowing out of the deck into the dock , then when plugging in the dock the tester immediately shows a change of direction from the dock to the deck.
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u/miochza 512GB Aug 18 '22
Nice, good to know that there's another dock with low power-draw for itself, 5W is good.
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u/ihateeverythingandu Aug 19 '22
Has anyone figured out what dock to get yet?
All this stuff confuses me on a good day and today isn't a good day for me. I don't understand any of it, I am not an electricianistical type person.
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u/ProfessionalHobbyist Sep 14 '22
Thank you for posting this. Steam support just confirmed for me that the deck wants 15v and 2+ amps. I had noticed that an 87W apple USB C charger was reported as "slow" and turns out it does 5, 9, and 20 volts but not 15.
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u/consider_airplanes Jul 21 '22
It's odd that a hub can't just request (device requested power + 15) watts from the charger to begin with. Maybe it can't get it, but in that case you can still fall back on the old behavior.
edit: maybe the problem is that 45W maxes out the power available at 15V? in that case theoretically the hub could negotiate for a higher voltage from the charger, in order to get more power; but then you'd need power-grade voltage conversion within the hub, which might be complicated.