IOGEAR UH-275 USB Hub Incompatible with PowerBook

I use my PowerBook at work so I can use OS X and Office 2004 to create documents. To transfer material between the PowerBook and my office’s Dell PC, I use an Emprex ZU-40 “MicroStorage 4.0GB” microdrive. It utilizes a USB interface as does my mouse and now my iPod Video. Since my PowerBook (a newer 12 inch model running a 1.5 GHz G4) only has two USB 2.0 ports, when I want to run a mouse, the Emprex drive, and the iPod, I obviously have a problem. So, last weekend, I went hunting for a small USB hub, one that would support USB 2.0 and was small enough to easily use with my PowerBook. I chose an IOGEAR UH-275 4 port USB 2.0 mini-hub, not only because of its stylish looks but because IOGEAR equipment usually works pretty well, especially with a Mac.

In this case, I made a mistake. I pulled it out for the first time and hooked it up to one of my PowerBook’s USB 2.0 ports. I then hooked up my mouse and the Emprex microdrive to the hub. The PowerBook saw the mouse, but the Emprex drive showed no activity at all. The PowerBook simply did not see it. I also hooked up my video iPod to the hub, and it was likewise ignored. Removing the hub, I hooked up the Emprex drive directly to the USB 2.0 port the hub had been connected to, and the drive worked normally.

I then hooked up the hub to the front USB port to my Dell PC and hooked up the Emprex drive to the hub, and it worked normally.

Surfing over to the IOGEAR website, I checked the Support section for any articles on this problem but found none. I also checked for USB drivers, but there were none for OS 10.4. In short, there was nothing at the IOGEAR website to help me defeat this problem. This is especially disturbing because the company’s packaging says the hub works with OS X and the website touts that the hub is compatible with the Mac Mini. I don’t have a Mac Mini available to test that, but I am obviously skeptical.

I left the Emprex drive hooked into the hub and left it in the PowerBook while I did some more troubleshooting. While I made no progress on getting the drive recognized, System Profiler showed that the Mac was recognizing the hub. Also, the hub was hot at the port where the drive had been plugged in, so the drive was obviously trying to pull power through the hub’s port. (NOTE: Other users have also noted how hot this hub gets at the far end, which was where I had my Emprex drive plugged in. Beware. There could be a real hazard there!) That made me wonder whether the voltage in the PowerBook’s USB ports was simply not enough to power the drive or the iPod. The hub does have a power port on it for an “optional” AC power adapter, one that is not readily found in the stores, I bet. (I hate it when USB manufacturers do that. If the hub is going to need an external adapter, INCLUDE it!)

When I got home, I hooked the hub up to my Rev B G5 iMac, plugged my Exmprex microdisk into that, and it worked. I’m more convinced than ever that the problem has to do with voltage levels on the PowerBook’s USB ports being too low to support the microdisk’s or the iPod’s operation.

I have seen comments from other users that the hub was working with their PowerBooks, so maybe the problem is just isolated to certain models. Still, if you’re using a Mac and want to run this hub with your PowerBook or iBook, whether you can or not appears to be a bit of a crapshoot.