The simple answer is NO. The USB-C Dock is universally compatible with many laptops/computers on the market and is not only limited to the latest laptops with USB-C (USB Type-C) Connector. Any computer that has USB-C (USB Type-C), Thunderbolt 3 (Type-C), or regular USB Type-A port will be able to benefit from the USB-C Dock. However, only computers like Apple MacBook 2015, 2016, MacBook Pro 2016, Google ChromeBook Pixel 2015, or Dell XPS 13 can take advantage of video and charging functions. Below you can find the general supported features in different platforms:

Platform #1 (Type-C computer):

* Although both Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C computers use Type-C connectors, the Thunderbolt 3 runs on different protocols. The Dock is compatible with both Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C but the actual supported features may vary depending upon the design of the Type-C computer.

Although the USB-C protocol is not compatible with Thunderbolt™ 1 or 2, all Thunderbolt 1 & 2 computers are equipped with USB 3.0/2.0 ports which can be used with our USB-C Dock. You will need to purchase a Type-C to Type-A USB cable which is not included. See the platform #2 in the graph above.

USB-C is compatible with Thunderbolt™ 3 as it uses the same Type-C connector, so you can take full features of USB-C Dock including data, video and charging capabilities. See the platform #1 in the graph above.

If you are using Thunderbolt 3 Windows computer, please follow the steps below to ensure the best compatibility with USB-C Dock:

The USB-C Dock can support charging, data and video functions to Lumia 950/950XL phone. Other USB-C (Type-C) phones will need to support Video and Power Delivery through USB Alternate mode for full functionality of the USB-C Dock. Please consult your device support documents or contact the manufacturer to confirm compatibility with these technologies.

Yes, the USB-C Dock requires an external power source. A 90W power supply and Type-C charge cable are included.

USB-C is fully backwards compatible with previous versions of USB. You can purchase a high quality Type-C to Type-A USB cable and use that port for standard USB devices using a Type-A connector.

Yes, all the USB ports are USB 3.1 5Gb/s.

The USB-C Dock can charge laptops/notebooks up to 60W. However, the total power available to charge your computer will depend on your computer specifications as well as the USB devices that are plugged into the dock. When Windows laptop charging is down to 15W, the front LED indicator light will turn red. If your Windows computer requires more than 15W to operate, it may not be enough power to sustain the battery and we recommend plugging in your OEM charging cable. This might happen when connecting to a Thunderbolt 3 Windows laptop workstation such as MSI WT72 or any other high-power mobile computer. All functionality including video and USB data are still supported.

If you are using a Thunderbolt 3 MacBook Pro, please ignore this color change. The MacBook Pro can be charged from 36W to 60W even if the LED is red.

Yes. You can use the included Type-C to Type-C cable to connect two Type-C based Macs and put one of them in target disk mode for file sharing. For example, you can use this cable to migrate data from one MacBook to another using the Setup Assistant or Migration Assistant application.

Yes you can. However Apple's USB-C charge cable is only USB 2.0 speed, this will limit all the USB ports on the Dock to USB 2.0, and no video support from this cable.

NO. You should always use CalDigit Type-C cable to connect your host machine and the dock. We are unable to support 3rd party cables which may suffer from poor signal quality.

The CalDigit USB-C Dock does not use Texas Instruments (TI) TPS65982 or TPS65983 Charging Chipset. While TI makes great products, there are a handful of other chipset manufacturers that have developed proven power delivery chipsets. As a Mac centric company, CalDigit works closely with Apple, Intel and many partners to ensure that all of our products such as the TS2, USB-C Dock, Tuff IP57, and future Thunderbolt 3 devices will maintain compatibility with all Macs. Rest assured that our USB-C Dock has been validated to be fully compatible with the 2015/2016 MacBook and 2016 MacBook Pro, as well as USB-C / Thunderbolt 3 Windows computers.

No. You are unable to use Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter to connect the USB-C Dock to non-Thunderbolt 3 computers because USB-C Dock is not Thunderbolt device. It is a USB-C device.

If you have Thunderbolt 1 or Thunderbolt 2 computers, you are still able to use the USB-C Dock via a Type-C to Type-A USB cable. See #2 and Platform #2 above for the USB Type-A computer setup.

No. You are unable to use Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter to connect a Thunderbolt 1 or 2 device to the USB-C Dock. The downstream Type-C device port on the USB-C Dock is only for USB Data device. No Thunderbolt 3 and Video output capabilities.

It is possible that you can run into one of the following technical issues when connecting the USB-C Dock to 2016 MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt 3:

A. External monitors do not work.
B. MacBook Pro's keyboard and trackpad locked up for about 2 minutes after connecting a DisplayPort or HDMI monitor
C. MacBook Pro can not wake from sleep mode.
D. MacBook Pro can not recover from closed clamshell mode.
E. External USB devices are ejected randomly from the USB-C Dock.
F. Apple SuperDrive does not work.
G. Ethernet does not work even with the driver installed.

Please try one of the following solutions:

a). Power cycle the USB-C Dock by disconnecting and reconnecting the AC adapter.
b). Power cycle your MacBook Pro.
d). Reset NVRAM on your MacBook Pro. NVRAM resetting procedures.
e). Update to the latest version of macOS (For example: macOS 10.12.3).
f). Only use the USB-C cable provided by CalDigit to connect to the USB-C Dock to MacBook Pro.
g). If you have an external display connected to the USB-C Dock, always connect the Dock to MacBook Pro first before any other external video devices. (For example, USB-C video adapters, Thunderbolt 3 Docks).
h). Reinstall OS X and restore core system files and drivers without deleting any personal data. macOS Recovery Installation.

NO, you should always use the highest quality USB-C cable that shipped with CalDigit USB-C dock. This cable can delivery up to 60W of power while maintain optimum signal quality for USB data and video. Other 3rd party Type-C cables have been found to have quality issues and insufficient current to deliver power.

YES.

YES.

YES.

YES. Both front USB and back USB-C ports can also offer stand-alone and fast charging to power up the tablet or smartphone.

No.

Yes, the USB-C Dock can charge the new 2016 MacBook Pro. The USB-C Dock includes a 90W power supply and will allocate 60W of power to the host computer for charging. 30W of the remaining power is allocated to the USB-C Dock itself. CalDigit has implemented dynamic power switching which will alter the amount of power sent to the host computer when extra devices are added to the USB ports of the USB-C Dock. In that case, the power supplied to the host computer will decrease to 36W, as the extra power needs to be allocated to the other ports. If USB devices are connected to the two rear USB-A ports, the power supplied to the USB-C Dock will stay at 60W. If a USB device is plugged into the front USB-A port, the power supplied to the computer will drop to 36W. 36W is still an ample amount of power to charge the 2016 MacBook Pro, but we recommend removing any USB devices from the front USB port for users who need faster charging. Alternatively, you can use an Apple charger instead.

Please eject all USB devices from the OS and power cycle the dock. If you notice slow transfer speeds, even without any other displays connected to the dock, please restart your computer. Some computers like the MacBook 2015 are known to have USB-C port problems that can be resolved by a restart.

The USB-C Dock shipped with a default firmware setting that can support up to 4K @ 30Hz. If you have updated your USB-C Dock to the 4K @ 60Hz firmware, please note that the video signal is sharing the total bandwidth from the USB-C port. When you connect to a single 4K @ 60Hz or more than dual 1080P monitors (for example dual 2K @ 30Hz, dual 2K @ 60Hz, dual 4K @ 30Hz), you should reduce the video resolutions and plug in USB devices to the dock first.

Yes, the Apple SuperDrive is supported by the two USB Type-A ports on the back of the dock. A software driver is required.
https://archive.caldigit.com/support/USB-C-Dock-mac.zip
The front USB port does not support the SuperDrive.

Yes. If both your host machine and the USB device can support UASP, you will be able to reach speeds up to 430MB/s through the USB-C Dock.

Please power cycle the dock. If it still does not work, you may need to restart your computer.

YES.

There are two USB-C ports on the back. One is to the Computer(host machine) and the other can be used for devices. While the USB-C host port can provide power delivery, video signal, and USB data path, the USB-C device port can only support USB data path and up to 15W power. The device port does not support video. If you plug in Apple's USB-C multiport adapter, it will not work. Alternatively, you can use the DisplayPort and HDMI ports on USB-C dock to connect your monitor. If you have a VGA monitor, you can find a quality adapter to convert from DisplayPort to VGA.

YES. One of the USB-C ports on the back is for USB devices. You can connect your iPhone or iPad to that USB-C port by using Apple's USB-C to lightning cable. It can charge your iPhone and transfer data. It can also support stand-alone fast charging.

Yes, you can connect two monitors at the same time. The video capability may vary based on the GPU, software driver, maximum display resolution and video interface cables.

The current MacBooks (USB-C version) and MacBook Pros (Thunderbolt 3 version) do not support multiple monitors in extended mode through MST hub. When you connect the USB-C Dock to two 4K monitors, you will have two mirrored 4K monitors extended from MacBook. In other words, the MacBook cannot support dual monitors in extended mode. It will only support one extended monitor and if two monitors are connected to the dock, both of the external monitors will mirror each other.

For example:

MacBook 2015 — CalDigit USB-C Dock — Extend —> First 4K monitor (DisplayPort) — Mirror —> Second 4K monitor (HDMI)

Thunderbolt 3 Windows computers: Some computers have more powerful GPUs and can support up to two 4K @ 30Hz monitors in extended mode through the dock.

For example:

HP Z1 G3 Thunderbolt 3 Workstation — CalDigit USB-C Dock — Extend —> First 4K monitor (DisplayPort) — Extend —> Second 4K monitor (HDMI)

Yes. The USB-C Dock has 4K @ 30Hz support by default for MacBook 2015 because GPUs and drivers can only support up to that resolution.

With the release of macOS Sierra, 10.12, the MacBook 2016 can now support 4K @ 60Hz. However, it will require most of the bandwidth from the MacBook's USB-C port to support such a high resolution. As a result, USB data speeds will reduce down to USB 2.0. To obtain the best user experience, the CalDigit USB-C Dock is set to 4K @ 30Hz and USB 3.0 speeds in the default firmware.

Most Thunderbolt 3 Windows computers can support 4K @ 60Hz. If you are using a Thunderbolt 3 Windows computer or MacBook 2016 (macOS 10.12 and above) and looking for 4K @ 60Hz support, you will need to contact: support@caldigit.com to obtain 4K @ 60Hz firmware. Please note that due to the total bandwidth limitations, with this special firmware, USB devices will maintain USB 2.0 speeds if there is no USB device plugged in while the Dock is starting up. This special firmware can support a 4K @ 60Hz, dual 4K @ 30Hz, or dual 2K @ 60Hz display configurations in extended mode.

Yes. The DisplayPort connector on the USB-C dock can be converted to HDMI, VGA, DVI, Mini DisplayPort, etc. through a high quality adapter or cable. For example, you can connect Non-Thunderbolt Apple LED Cinema Display (27" flat panel) to USB-C Dock via a Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort adapter.

No. The USB-C device port on the dock is designed for data transfer only. You should use HDMI or DisplayPort ports on the dock for monitors.

Please make sure you are using CalDigit's Type-C cable. Please follow the steps on Apple's support page and reset the NVRAM: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063

Dual external monitors connected to the USB-C Dock are supported on Mac OS when using a mirrored desktop. For users looking to have an extended desktop over the two external monitors, this is not possible as Mac OS does not support MST (Multi Stream Transport) for docks within the OS. An extended desktop is supported on Windows OS which implements MST.

No. Although CalDigit USB-C Dock is compatible with Thunderbolt 3 computers, it is not a Thunderbolt 3 device.

You are unable to use Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter to connect Thunderbolt Display to the USB-C Dock because the Type-C port on the USB-C Dock is only for USB data devices, not Thunderbolt devices.

You are unable to use Thunderbolt Display with the USB-C Dock via Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort adapter because the USB-C Dock is not a Thunderbolt 3 device and Thunderbolt Display does not work with mDP to DisplayPort adapter.

See Apple's support pages for more information:
About the compatibility of the Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter
About Thunderbolt ports and displays

YES. Although macOS does not support dual extended monitor through the USB-C Dock, the 2015/2016 MacBooks and 2016 MacBook Pros (Thunderbolt 3) do support it in Windows OS.

You will need to install a one-time only Ethernet driver.

Mac OS Driver: https://archive.caldigit.com/support/USB-C-Dock-mac.zip
Windows Driver: https://archive.caldigit.com/support/USB-C-Dock-win.zip

Make sure you install the Ethernet driver, check the status indicators on the Ethernet port, Ethernet cable, and power cycle the dock. If it still does not work, you may need to restart your computer.

YES.

No. Audio functions are plug-and-play and a software driver is not needed.

In Mac OS, you need to adjust your computer’s sound output settings. Open the Output pane of Sound preferences (choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Sound, then click Output). Choose "USB audio CODEC".



If you do not see the USB audio CODEC option, power cycle the dock and restart your computer.

YES. Both HDMI and DisplayPort ports on USB-C Dock can support audio output to external monitors as long as they provide audio output through the HDMI or DisplayPort interface.