mbeat
So disappointing – Bought this air purifier from Dick Smith to use in my son's bedroom, who has a dust allergy. The unit worked well for about 3 months. They advertised… Read more
the filter lasting for 6-9 months, but after only 3 the machine started beeping to indicate replacement was needed. Dick Smith does not carry replacement filters, and the manufacturer did not respond to enquiries about where to purchase. The only stockist I can find is in New Zealand. So I paid almost $200 for a unit that lasted 3 months and is now useless.
Great product, though check supplied power adaptor – I bought the 13-port version after purchasing one of mBeat's 7-port versions which has worked superbly. The functionality of the 13-port version is… Read more
similarly very good - the side/top layout is great - I have all my regular USB plugs inserted in the 7 side sockets (eg, webcam, mouse and keyboard, gaming mouse, printer, external backup drive), and the 6 top ones I use for data sticks, card readers, camera downloads, phone syncing and other devices used on a more ad hoc basis. The individual on/off switches work fine, and great for switching off permanently connected devices when not in use. The individual lights are handy too for confirm power status, and the blue light emitted is not distractingly bright. You might need to mount at an angle or vertically as the lights are a bit hard to see when it's flat on the table away from you.
The downside for me is that the wIth the 3Amp AC Adaptor plugged in and powered, the PC refuses to switch on. I was able to use the double-ended USB connection that comes with the mBeat unit to the PC (ie, using 2 sockets on the PC) to get around this issue. There was isn't much info in the documentation about this "Y" configuration, but it seems to work fine, and I normally have up to 10 devices actively in use at any one time.
The above situation may be a problem with my PC power supply or some other factor. The capability of the mBeat unit is so good, I'd still recommend it, even if you run into the same problem that I did, and so far, the unit has been working flawlessly (without the adaptor) for 2 months now. A flawless performance with regard to the AC adaptor would score this 5 stars. I've had other powered hubs in the past that have not triggered a PC shutdown, so I suspect there is a current imbalance in the overall circuitry. I have alerted the retailer and waiting for a response.
Improvements - the 6 USB sockets on top of the unit, if left unused, will catch a bit of dust over time which could affect connections over time. A few cents worth of plastic "dummy" plugs to use as caps would be icing on the cake.
Best thing I have brought – Great and useful for charging a few things at a time great for people with kids who have iPads not big at all don't take up much room dont get hot when going for hrs can be glued down if needed
Don't waste your money – There are several problems with these docks and Mbeats service. I bought two of these for work and home so I could move between easily. I use two… Read more
external monitors at each site plus the laptops screen. these monitors are all HD except one 3k monitor at home. I bought these on the basis that they were "thunderbolt compatible" and would support two external monitors up to a 4K monitor plus a HD monitor plus ethernet and USB connections. Right from the start they never supported an extenal 3K monitor let alone a 4k one if you have the lid open on your laptop. I think their application diagram and notes are misleading here, but the returns person did not agree and disallowed a return, so I persisted and had to plug the external 3k monitor directly into the laptop's display port to get it to work. Moving on I have now replaced that laptop with a new HP studio G9, which only has thunderbolt ports and 1 USB-A, so I had to buy Thunderbolt to display port adapter despite the dock having an unused display port. Additionally, I've had ongoing network connectivity problems, at both sites, intermittent, and impossible to track down despite multiple professional IT experts trying to sort it out. I replaced my router and cabling with new ones, finally resorted to ignoring the Ethernet port on the dock, and connecting via WiFi. Problem solved. So It's networking is also dodgy. Other computers plugged into the router have no problems. These docks do not live up to expectations and based on the protracted and ultimately pointless interaction with their returns department, I would not buy this dock, or any other Mbeats product, again.
