r/CalDigit

Posting in case anyone's been here before and hopefully knows a solution.

I ran a firmware update on my CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Pro Dock and it hasn't been detected since. I followed the exact steps in their update video and website description exactly. Using it for over a year without issue.

Symptoms:

• Still charges my MacBook normally, so the PD side is alive
• Doesn't appear in System Information under Thunderbolt or USB
• Nothing downstream works e.g. no displays, no Ethernet, no USB
• Same on a different Mac, and with three different Thunderbolt cables including the CalDigit one

Console shows the Mac's host controller seeing a cable and cycling the port, but no downstream switch ever enumerates. Looks to me like the Thunderbolt controller isn't booting while the PD controller is unaffected.

Tried already: full power drain with the PSU out of the wall for a few HOURS, reconnecting power before the host, Option-clicking the CalDigit utility for a force re-flash (it can't see the dock at all), multiple hosts and cables.

Has anyone brought one of these back from this? Is there a DFU-style mode?

After months of troubleshooting my CalDigit TS5 Plus, I’m convinced that most of its random problems are caused by the dock getting too warm.

My setup:

• 16-inch MacBook Pro M5 Max
• Apollo x8
• Samsung T7 4TB ×2, T7 1TB and T5 1TB
• MIDI Keyboard
• Samsung U32R59x connected through DisplayPort
• Original CalDigit cable
• Dock positioned vertically

The display would randomly go black for about a second, the Apollo would disconnect and reconnect, and Cubase would lose audio. Sometimes SSDs and MIDI devices would disconnect too. At its worst, I had to reboot everything, and I also experienced kernel panics.

I installed the firmware updates, including the beta PD firmware PDF608, and tried every suggested troubleshooting step. Nothing fixed it permanently.

Then I put a USB fan next to the dock and the problems stopped.

The fan is too noisy to use in a recording studio, so that was never a real solution. Recently, I started running the air conditioning much colder. Since then, I haven’t had a single issue with the TS5 Plus.

When I turn the AC down and the room gets warmer, the problems start again. When I cool the room down, they stop. I’ve tested this repeatedly and the result is always the same. At this point, I’m certain the temperature of the dock is the cause.

I should not have to keep my studio freezing cold or place a noisy fan next to an expensive dock just to make it work properly. It should remain stable at a normal room temperature with devices connected to its available ports.

So, CalDigit, when are you going to admit that the TS5 Plus has a temperature problem? People are being told to check their cables, reinstall software, update firmware and blame macOS, while the dock simply becomes unstable when it gets too warm.

Can this be fixed through firmware, perhaps by changing its power or thermal management, or are you going to release a revised version with better cooling?

I finally know what causes the problems, but keeping the air conditioning at an unnecessarily low temperature is not a permanent solution. CalDigit needs to address this.

Running a MBP and TS3+. I have a Ugreen 2.5gb usb C ethernet adaptor. When plugged into the mac directly I get 2gb/2gb on a speed test (that's what my fiber will run), and when plugged into the front USBc port of the TS3 I get 400 down and 1100 up, where prior to it being on a 2.5 gb switch I'd get 980/980, so my overall speed actually decreased.

I have a Samsung G95C plugged in to the port on the back, so I think I'm out of thunderbolt(?) ports. Curious what you'd recommend so I don't have to plug in this dongle every time on my mac. Thanks!

The new Blackmagic Ultrastudio Express 3G (both Monitor and Recorder) are not working via the Caldigit TS4. They work fine when connected directly to the Macbook Pro. The old Ultrastudio Monitor 3G works perfectly via the TS4.

Here is my configuration:

- Macbook Pro 16" M1 Pro 16GB, 1TB ssd (MacOS 26.5.2);

- CalDigit TS4 (Firmware 45.1, PD 4708);

- Blackmagic Ultrastudio Express Monitor 3G;

- Blackmagic Ultrastudio Express Recorder 3G;

- Blackmagic Ultrastudio Monitor 3G (Thunderbolt 3 as reference for my tests).

- CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 cable between MacBook and TS4;

- OWC Thunderbolt 5 cables to the Ultrastudios;

- Deskop Video v16.3

Here is what I tested:

All the i/o boxes work fine when connected directly to the Macbook. I tried all of the TB cables I mentioned and they all work.

The new Express Monitor and Recorder do not. Before updating the firmware the white light of the device I connected turned on and after a while it turned off again. In the app Desktop Video Setup by Blackmagic none of the devices show up. After the firmware updates (both Firmware and PD of the TS4) that light stays on longer before turning off. Still no device detected. 

I tested all the downstream TB ports of the TS4.

I don't know if it is something power related (the output of the TS4 is 15W, I don't know how much the new ultrastudios absorb).

Can you guys help me?

Thanks

I have a Macbook Air, M2 2023 and a Caldigit TS3+ dock. It works well and I use the DP output into my DP input on my monitor.

I'd like to use a KVM to switch between my home and work macbooks, so I bought a UGreen KVM that has a USB-C input I'd use for my work mac ("PC1") and an HDMI + USB input ("PC2") I'd use for my home mac which I'd plug in to the DP and USB connections on my TS3+.

At the same time as ordering the KVM I ordered a UGreen Active DP to HDMI cable to go from the TS3+ to the KVM. The cable does not work - I tested it both going into the KVM and also direct into the monitor's (known good) HDMI input.

Caldigit say that the DP->HDMI cables must be active and UGreen are clear that this is an active cable so is there some other reason that it wouldn't work?