Apple iPad iOS 4.2 Breaks USB/SD Connection Kits and Other Devices

Posted on 24. Nov, 2010 by in Using

Apple’s iPad iOS 4.2 update this week has broken functionality with iPad Connection Kits and other USB-based devices, including ours.

Things that worked with iOS 3.2 may fail with the message “Cannot Use Device – The connected USB device requires too much power” on 4.2. The root cause appears to be that Apple lowered the allowed power draw of a USB device attached to the iPad’s connector from 100 mA to 20 mA (USB 2.0 spec is 500mA, so the previous limit already cut off many devices). Here is a little more background from a different affected device.

While some functionality of the our Connection Kit was unaffected (it will still work with compatible USB devices, if connected through a powered USB hub), even the SD interface is now over the new 20 mA limit.

We don’t know when/if Apple will fix this problem, and we never want to leave customers customers waiting for fixes like this. So we’ve halted all sales of this product. And fortunately we’ve got a direct channel to each of our customers through Amazon, so we’ve contacted each of them to offer refunds. Any customer we missed can always contact us by emailing their Amazon order # to support@plugable.com. Our apologies to affected customers – we will move quickly to get you fixed up.

DisplayLink and nVidia Driver Compatibility Update

Posted on 15. Nov, 2010 by in Windows

[updated 12/3 - DisplayLink has released driver version 5.5 M1 (Dec 3, 2010) which appears to resolve all these outstanding nVidia issues. See details ... ]

nVidia’s latest Win7/Vista drivers (October 18, 2010 and later) conflict with existing DisplayLink drivers (version 5.5 Sept 29th and earlier), causing video playback and some 3D applications to not function. These problems apply to all DisplayLink-based USB graphics products, including ours.

DisplayLink is working to fix the conflicts. They’re trying to roll out updated drivers as quickly as possible, but have some work to do yet.

On Nov 15 they made available a maintenance release of the older DisplayLink driver version 5.4, called “5.4 M1″, which resolves some of the conflict, but not enough to make the solution workable.

Our recommended solution for now is to use the latest DisplayLink drivers, and stay on or move back to nVidia drivers version 258 or earlier. For Windows 7 and Vista 32-bit, you can find the nVidia drivers here. For 64-bit, find them here. These drivers do not have any of these these 3D & video playback conflicts.

Our apologies to users affected by these conflicting drivers. We hope this information helps. Feel free to email support@plugable.com or visit http://plugable.com/support/ and post a question if you have any remaining problems. Again, thank you!

[updated 11/23]

Plugable’s New 10-Port USB 2.0 Hub

Posted on 01. Nov, 2010 by in Windows

A lot of USB hubs end up looking like a porcupine on your desk – wires going in all directions.

So we’re excited to launch a hub with a lots of expandability (10 ports), but with a simple and clean design.

  • Full USB 2.0/1.1 performance and compatibility. No compromises. Works on all platforms with no drivers (i.e. it’s a standard USB 2.0 hub)
  • Cascaded Terminus Technology chipsets – the best designed, lowest power, most reliable USB 2.0 hub controller out there right now
  • The 10 ports (plus upstream port to PC and AC power) are all on just two sides of the hub, minimizing cable clutter
  • Two of the ports swivel to a vertical position – so if you want a flash drive or antenna to stick up, that works. If you want everything to lay flat so you can stack on the hub, no problem
  • A blue LED bar down the center of the device signals power. 2.5A AC adapter included

The customer feedback from this hub design has been surprising us – you wouldn’t think in 2010 that a USB 2.0 hub could get people excited. But buyers have written with disproportionately positive feedback like “Easy to use and a really helpful device” and “Exactly what I was looking for”.

With many laptops only having 2 or 3 USB ports, the easy expandability of a hub like this is a nice win.

Check out more pics and details on the Amazon product page

Plugable USB 2.0 10 Port Hub (with Power Adapter) Product Details $26.95
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