Anker Laptop computer Docking Station, 13-in-1 USB-C Docking Station, Triple Show with 2 x 4K HDMI and 1 x DP, 85W Charging for Laptop computer, 10 Gbps USB-C and 5 Gbps USB-A Information, Ethernet, Audio, SD

Works Great with Windows and Ubuntu/Linux
I have had no issues running this with my work laptop HP Laptop running Windows 10 and my Dell Inspiron 17 running Ubuntu 20.10/Windows 10. Both laptops charge, and all ports seem to work well. In general, the worst part of the USB-C format is the confusing amount of different laptops that seem to implement it in different ways. Not this product’s fault; as I said, it works well with Dell and HP while my HP Laptop dock runs with both laptops, but under Ubuntu or Windows 10 on my Dell, it falls short. The HP Dock is a Thunderbolt dock, and my Dell is a Display port marked with a DP; the DP Port on my Dell does charge and allows all ports to work with this dock. I mention it because USB-C gets confusing, and mileage may vary depending on the laptop itself. My Hp is marked as Thunderbolt, and my Dell as Display Port, and this product runs wonderfully with both. I found I could get a 4k Display using the DP port on the back of the dock in Ubuntu, but I found it a little problem some and instead switched to using the two HDMI ports instead. Sometimes 4k would flicker, but that can be my older KVM Switch (1080P KVM). I don’t mind the two 1080p screens as the dock makes it so easy to switch computers. I wonder why the HDMI port only seems to pump out 1080P and the display port 4k from my experience. Still, my HP dock didn’t do 4k at all, so this dock outperformed it. I have even booted my Dell and HP Laptops with a live USB of MX Linux, and with no configuration, it worked. I just changed the display settings a bit.So to sum it up.1) Easy to use – NO Drivers to install!2) Works across Windows and Linux.3) Affordable and better than my work HP Thunderbolt dock.4) Works with USB-C marked PD or Thunderbolt.Finally, I would like to say the PD port can get confusing another port format for USB-C. At first, I thought it did not work as I plugged in USB-C devices, and it was not recognized. Then I upgraded to a new Samsung phone with USB-C PD charging support, and it charged and was recognized from the PD port on the dock. So the device has to support USB-C PD. As I said, USB-C is confusing. Now, what are you waiting for? Buy this best Dock on Amazon; it is excellent for Windows and, more importantly, great with Linux. If you have Thunderbolt, the big thing you get from a Thunderbolt dock is the quicker data transfer speeds, but you need to know your laptop supports it. For me, I don’t care about my work laptop having maximum data transfer speed. As I said, Thunderbolt does work with this also from what I can tell.1/26/2024 – I am updating this because I also wanted to note that this works great with the Surface Pro 7. The only exception is the built in wired network does not seem to get recognized, but I don’t care. I am using WIFI anyway. So Sound, video, and all other devices work perfectly.

Caution- with caveats!!
TLDR summary:Kudos to: Amazon Customer ServiceImportant Disclaimer: I’ve had prior good luck with Anker- I think they may have had a bad batch of these- I don’t necessarily believe that my experience negates all the positive reviews, but read on for my experience…I’ve purchased a couple different, less expensive USB-C hubs during my post-pandemic work from home (WFH) adventure. They’re set up to run 2 monitors, a USB-A webcam, a USB-A dongle-connected mouse & keyboard combo & then charge a couple USB-A and/or USB-C devices. Each of others I’ve purchased worked well… until they didn’t.At work (now that we have to go in couple/few days a week) they purchased another brand of docking station that seemed to work well, so after my last WFH hub stopped functioning, I started looking for a higher quality solution. I’ve had several Anker products in the past with which I was well pleased (e.g. chargers, a power bank, bluetooth car chargers/audio solutions for older cars without real “connectivity”). Given that good experience and high marks in the reviews, I ordered.I think Anker has a bad batch of these docking stations!! The first one I ordered, I hooked up immediately and it worked well EXCEPT for the USB-A ports; I could charge with them, but they transmitted no data to support my webcam or mouse/keyboard. I tried other USB-A accessories, same issue. I tried different computers, same issues. I tried many things, no dice. Like most manufacturers, their “product support” chat-bot was almost totally useless, but Amazon Customer Service was great!! After explaining the issue and all I’d done to test the problem- they agreed that it must be a bad unit and immediately opened me an order for another with directions on how to return the first. 2 days later, the second one showed up- SAME ISSUE!! I tried all the things again- including more computers and searched online for potential solutions- many of which involved settings and drivers and the like– the opposite of plug n’ play!!Today, the unit I order from another manufacturer (that matches the one I have at the office)- worked perfectly right out of the box… with both the work-issued laptop (that may have had some settings tweaked) AND my personal laptop (which had no changes whatsoever.)

This is for the “Anker Docking Station, PowerExpand 13-in-1 USB-C Dock, 85W Charging for Laptop”** Update March 9th, 2023 **So pretty much everything in the original review stands, but there is one issue that I touched on originally about the display refresh rate and resolution that I can clarify now.To get the resolution how you want it, you need to set the monitors to the same refresh rate first, then once the resolution is set and applied, change the refresh rate. That being said, I’m not sure if the refresh rate actually changes or if it just says it does.** End of update **So I just got this about an hour ago, and everything just worked! Both in Ubuntu 22.04 and Windows 10.Here’s my setup. Everything is plugged into the dock and only the single USB-C dock cable is plugged into the laptop.Laptop: Dell XPS 13 93701TB SanDisk USB-C SSD (for booting into Ubuntu)2x Monitors + laptop monitor (One monitor is Ultra Wide 2560×1080 144Hz, other is 1080p 60Hz)- Note: I’m using one DP port and one HDMI portWireless keyboard/mouseSpeakersEthernet connection for InternetFirst of all, I was using a Dell TB16 dock before this but I had multiple issues with it. Long story short, I don’t recommend the Dell docks, especially if you use Linux.** Long story about Dell TB16 Dock **Using the Dell dock, my monitor would randomly go out, and the network only connected at 100mbps, the soundcard is super quiet (even at max volume), it’s always on and can get noisy when it heats up (it has a fan), the cable is built into the unit (non-replaceable) and is only about a foot and a half long (coming out of the left side of the unit) and the unit itself is rather large. Also, I boot off a USB-C SSD drive for Linux (which allows me to plug the USB SSD into almost any computer and boot into my Ubuntu OS); For whatever reason, I could never get it to show up as a boot option when plugged into the dock, even with ThunderBolt boot support and pre-module stuff enabled.** End of the Long story about Dell TB16 Dock **Now the Anker dock on the other hand is about a 1/4 of the size of the Dell dock, connects @ 1GB with no problem, allows me to boot off my USB-C SSD, has a power button to turn it off when not in use, it’s silent, works without having to install any drivers on either Windows or Ubuntu, comes with a decently long USB-C cable (3 ft?) to plug into the computer (which can also be replaced and yes it charges my laptop too) and the sound volume is great.There is one oddity that happened, but I was able to fix it easily enough and it’s likely not a problem with the dock but a software issue in Ubuntu. When changing the resolution + refresh rate in Ubuntu, it didn’t properly scale the resolution (the resolution was right, but much of it was cut off or shrunk down as if the monitor itself didn’t change resolutions but the computer did), I had to change the resolution + refresh rate to something else, then to what I wanted to make it work. To be clear, it worked when I plugged it in initially, but changing it to my preference required multiple changes to set it in properly. Once set, it worked as normal.I highly recommend this dock!

I bought this in December of 2022 and it only lasted for 2 years (till about February of 2025). I own many Anker products, so I was surprised that I had an issue with this docking station. At the time this product was $349.00 before taxes, so I treated this like an investment and expected it to last. I am very disappointed after paying such a hefty price that it did not last longer. I followed all the Anker troubleshooting online and even called Anker Technical Support for further assistance but nothing would fix it. I confirmed that it was not an issue with a pesky cable as well. Anker warranty on this item is only 18 months, so my product was not covered. This experience has made me reconsider buying Anker products. It’s unfortunate. I’ve never had a bad experience with them before, but I can’t get over the fact that the longevity does not match the price. A product costing over $300 should last longer than this.