Echo 20 Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock Support Library

Description: This is the user’s guide for the Sonnet Echo 20 Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock. This is revision G of this document.

You cannot connect a USB hub (or device with an internal USB hub, such as a keyboard with built-in USB port) to any of the Dock’s USB ports. The USB specification does not permit another level of cascaded hubs. You may connect a USB hub to any Thunderbolt port.

When a Mac is started with the dock already connected, the dock’s built-in HDMI port may go offline after the Mac wakes from sleep. If this occurs, the HDMI display may not be detected again until the dock is power cycled.

Workarounds / Recommendations to help prevent this issue:

• Connect the dock after the Mac has finished booting. Disconnect the dock before restarting the Mac or installing macOS system software updates.

• Use display sleep instead of computer sleep. For example, set a Hot Corner to put the display to sleep rather than allowing the Mac itself to enter sleep.

• Use a Thunderbolt-to-HDMI adapter instead of the dock’s built-in HDMI port. Connect the adapter to one of the dock’s Thunderbolt ports.

Why doesn't HDMI 2.1 work on my Mac with the Echo 20 Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock?

The Echo 20 Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock does support HDMI 2.1. However, this is currently only supported under Windows. Apple currently does not have support for HDMI 2.1 from third part chips like we use in the SuperDock. We are hoping this support is added in a future Mac OS update.

Why aren't my USB hubs working with your dock?

The USB specification has a limit on the number of hubs that can be cascaded.

The Echo 20 Dock has internal USB hubs which are used for its extra ports.

The Echo 20 will support 4-port USB hubs connected to any port.

USB Hubs with 5 or more ports have internal cascaded hubs and need to be connected to a Thunderbolt port to function.

To minimize power usage during sleep, power is removed from external devices. In macOS, this results in a storage device disconnect upon wake from sleep. The storage device will automatically remount, but the system reports a disconnect message. Because macOS flushes all caches before sleeping, this disconnect should never result in any loss of data. Another option is to not sleep the computer, but only the display. First, you need to go System Preferences -> Displays -> Advanced -> and then select Prevent automatic sleeping on power adapter when the display is off. Next, go to System Preferences -> Desktop & Dock -> Hot Corners… and set a corner to Put Display to Sleep.

Another option is to use software that can automatically eject hard drives when the computer goes to sleep and then remounts them when your computer wakes back up. One such application that we have used is Jettison, which you can find out more about here.

To our understanding, most of the problems/disconnects arise from Apple users, who leave the dock connected overnight and the host-computer goes to sleep. Upon awake, some devices may not reconnect automatically, and may require a physical disconnect/reconnect, but, will function normally after this.

We have isolated this to an interaction in macOS and how Thunderbolt communicates with select controllers used in our dock during sleep/power states. We are working with Apple on a solution, and hope a future macOS update will resolve these issues.

Regrettably, since the fix must come from Apple, we have no timeframe for when this may occur.

There are workarounds to these issues (as above, disconnect/reconnect, unplug prior to sleep or use jettison, sleep only the monitor which is different than sleeping the computer, etc.) but we sympathize with the difficulties, as this is frustrating to us as well!

If you do have problems, we will do what we can to try and support you as best as we can.

Let us know if any of this helps to clarify.

Thank you for your patience while we work through this.

European Union regulations require that devices of this type shall not exceed 100W power delivery. For this reason, docks no longer provide, and computers no longer request, precisely 100W power delivery from a USB-C charging device. Tolerances in devices, components, voltage regulators, impedences, cable type and length, etc. could push 100W nominal power over 100W, which would exceed the hard limit of the specification. The mean power requested by computers that need ~100W, and the mean power provided by docks is nominally 96W with a range of 92-100W over a range of conditions. 100W is the maximum power provided under the most demanding conditions.

Hello,

I am sorry that your dock is not working as expected. Unfortunately, it is not possible to connect to multiple displays connected to the dock with an M3 Apple computer. Apple has a support article here on this topic . You will see in the last section of the article there is a section titled "If Your Display Won't Connect." Here it states that "If your display is connected to a hub or dock and you can use it only to mirror your built-in display, connect your display to a port directly on your Mac. "

Thanks,

Audio Issues with Echo 20, white noise

If you instead use the RCA jack/ headphones (or use a 3.5mm to RCA adapter) do you hear the same issue occur? Or does the issue only occur on the RCA line, or with either audio setup?

Do you see the volume/speaker button in the Mac toolbar near the clock in the upper right-hand corner of the desktop? Make sure the device is not muted when the speakers/headphones are attached to the dock. Do the F10/F11/F12 buttons change anything?If you navigate to System Preferences > Sound, then click on the ‘+’ button, can you add-in any sound sources? If you navigate to ~(Macintosh HD) > Utilities Folder > Audio MIDI Setup … can you add or change any audio devices there? If you open Activity Monitor > Memory … do you see a ‘coreaudio’ or ‘coreaudiod’ process running? If so, try turning off your computer, then resetting your PRAM, and resetting your SMC if you are using an Intel Mac, or if you are on an M-series Mac: power off, then on again (reboot), and test again. If you do not see this process running, open Terminal and type:

sudo killall coreaudiod

Press return, enter your password you use to login, then check the sound again. If no sound, restart the computer and test again.If you still do not hear sound, open terminal again and type:

sudo launchctl start com.apple.audio.coreaudiod

This should re-launch the Apple sound component.

Do you see the blue and green LED’s on the front panel? Do these drop off after the issue occurs? Does restarting the dock/computer help or change results?

Symptoms like this can sometimes be caused by a faulty Thunderbolt 3 or wall-power cable.

Have you also tried testing new known-good Thunderbolt cables, as well as wall-power cables with this?

Additionally, we have seen similar symptoms occur with debris in the chassis or cable line. Thunderbolt cables are fragile, and even new units may accidentally have extra plastic or metal debris in the connector. We would also recommend removing the cables from the enclosure, cleaning the chassis, cable ports, and cable-plug-ends, with a can of compressed air, re-seating the cables, and testing this again with known-good cables. Also, if available, an application of contact cleaner like this here and using 91% isopropyl alcohol (or higher) and a q-tip on the cable-plug-ends and ports can also help with connectivity issues. Your Mac computer, or the audio peripherals, may require additional setup for best connection.- If using an Intel Mac, you can try using the Apple Startup Security Utility to set External Boot to "Allow booting from external media” and “No Security." If this is already set, you must set it to "Disallow booting from external media”, “Full security” then restart, then set to "Allow booting from external media”, “No Security”, and restart again.

If you are using an M-series Mac computer, security can be changed with these steps shown here. Make sure to disable FileVault, and similar encryption programs, and any anti-virus programs you may have, at least temporarily, to test. Also, does the audio device you are using have (or require) a firmware/software update for optimized usage? Is there additional software required or recommended for use of these? We have seen that some connected peripherals may need additional updates to function well, or, macOS security can prevent these from working. Has this been tested with separate powered speakers, or, non-powered speakers? Have you tried to reset your PRAM and reset SMC (for Intel, or restarts for M-series)?In the Preferences > Sound panel, have you tried to remove other items? Or, if you create other sound items like an aggregate sound entry for the dock, or another entry altogether, do issues persist? If you try pushing sound to/from other applications like Audacity here, do you still experience problems? Also, does changing or disabling any of the other settings listed here like disabling firewall, analytics, or enabling/disabling iLok or similar have any effect? Similarly, does changing any settings listed here help? Is this being use with additional or multiple audio devices (Mixer, amplifier, etc.)?If so, it is possible this might be a ground-loop issue, or, if you are using powered speakers, they may be rectifying non-audio data through their own amplifier into false voltages at audible frequencies or cutoffs.

Or, if this consistently drops off after a certain amount of time, there may be a 'time-out' instance where an application is not seeing new I/O, so it disables a channel. You can check if other sound output devices (speakers, powered or not), or additional devices plugged into the dock reproduce the issue.

Or, this can be tested with a quick click or change in the setup to verify if this 'extends' the time until drop off, or not. We have seen some audio output devices might have a powered amp or similar in the speakers which can mistakenly push out data-as-audio. If available, have you tried using a separate power line (power strip, line conditioner, wall-outlet) for the powered speakers' and another separate power outlet for the Dock? Often, isolating power pull can eliminate interference on the same line. What kind of cables are being used? Again if available, you can try using different cables to see if a 'balanced input cable' may help. Other customers have reported that using balanced cables/lines has helped to resolve similar issue. Regarding grounding, and/or if available, have you tried using a ground-loop-isolator like this one shown here? This can also help with unusual sounds. Again, if available, have you tried using ferrite clamps like these shown here? These can help reduce interference. Does your setup/device have a pre-amp or similar device built-in possibly providing phantom power? If so, have you tried disabling it, or again, trying different plugs/connections (unbalanced RCA Phono, balanced XLR, or balanced 1/4” plugs if available)?Lastly, if available, has this dock been tested with an Optical Thunderbolt 3 cable? It is possible that the power delivery of the Dock may be creating perceived sound, whereas an Optical Thunderbolt 3 cable will not transfer power, and may reduce or eliminate unwanted changes to the dock. We understand that you may not be able to pursue/verify all of these, but let us know if any of this helps, or if issues persist even with fixes. If none of this works, please try resetting the NVRAM by following the steps from Apple here.