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Comment by Analemma_ | Hacker News Reader

I'm glad things are working great for the author, but for me USB-C is still a dumpster fire. When locked and plugged into its USB-C docking station, my MacBook Pro kernel panics multiple times per day. Since my current workplace has very strict rules about never leaving unattended computers unlocked, every trip to the bathroom is a 1-in-4 chance I'll have to watch my Mac reboot when I get back, unless I want to unplug it and lose all my window positions.

It's mind-boggling how the entire industry fucked this up so badly.

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There's something wrong with either your docking station or your laptop. Since december 2016, I've been docking a MacBook Pro and I've never had a kernel panic.

Unfortunately no: I've replaced both the laptop and the docking station, and the problem still occurs with a brand-new one of each. Something about macOS doesn't like this model of docking station.

I wonder what that dock does. Would be hugely interesting to see what it sends over the line. But now that I think of it, macOS shouldn't crash. Can you say which dock it is?

It appears to be this one: https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-thunderbolt-dock-120w-g2, or another model with the same design.

USB and displays have been hot-pluggable for decades. If there's a kernel panic then it's Apple's fault, not an entire industry.

I couldn’t get my 4k monitors (both LG, one 24” and one 27”) to work consistently until my company sprang for Apple’s $39 Thunderbolt 3 USB-C cables. Even Belkin’s are $29, but I swear don’t work as well. Some standard where you need a $40 cable to make it work right.

The cable that came with my Dell U3219Q has worked well for nearly a year. The monitor provides 90W of power to charge the MacBook Pro, so it effectively functions as a docking station with a single cable.

Part of the problem here is that you shouldn't actually need a 'docking station', just a USB-C hub with a bunch of full-feature USB-C ports on it (they can do practically anything, after all), but nobody's bothered to make one.

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