1TB External Hard Drive, USB C Multiport Hub HDD 7-in-1, USB 3.0, SD/TF Card Reader, Docking Station, Multi-Function HDD for Windows, Mac, Android, TV, Phone, Laptop, Desktop, PC by YOTUO

The “owner’s manual” is a small card with a diagram showing the device and two cables on one side, and text with nine numbered points on the other. The manual says what to do if the device won’t read, but doing those things didn’t help. It also says to make another connection if using USB 3.0, but it doesn’t say how or show a diagram. The 9th point is the email address for questions, which I used. I will update this review based on the answer. Meanwhile I will be looking for a different product to replace this one, just in case.

No reply from seller after 2 days. I bought this, first, to copy 9 years of files from my old XPS that won’t support Windows 11 and then to a new laptop, and second to give me more USB ports because the new laptop has only two. My issue was that my old laptop can’t even see this product. Today I tried it on my new laptop and it seems to work, so I raised this review from 1 star to 2, and decided to keep it, although I will have to buy another external hard drive to copy from the old laptop to the new. If I had it to do over again knowing what I know now, would I still buy it? Since I need to buy an external hard drive anyway, plus a hub, I would not buy this.

Another update: Seller did reply by email with guidance on connection sequence that I haven’t had time to try yet, raised the possibility of a bad cable, and offered return or replacement through Amazon. Meanwhile based on advice I looked on seller’s website for a driver, but there isn’t one, and it says it’s not needed because it should be plug and play (in my case it’s plug and pray). Then I tried it on my new laptop and it worked, so I plan to keep it and use a different approach to copy data from the old laptop to the new. Because the seller did reply, although not promptly, and the device works on the new laptop, I changed 2 stars to 3, a grade of C, acceptable but only marginally.

Final update, I hope. After receiving a separate Amazon order, with a different seller, for a cable, the device worked fine on my old laptop, in fact, better than my old Toshiba external hard drive that has problems. The seller correctly diagnosed the problem, then came through with a total refund, not just the offered partial refund. I would have been happy with the ten bucks I paid for the new cable, but I got the device for free, and also got a refund for the protection plan that I bought with it. While I wish the seller had been a bit more prompt, I have to give extra points for going above and beyond. Seller earned 5 stars, or a grade of A. And yes, if I had it to do over again knowing what I know now, I would definitely buy it.

Works well, especially with price point

An external hard drive and a docking station?! This is definitely a very good buy for me. The setup instructions could be better, but it really isn’t a complicated device to setup. I bought this because I realized that I am storing files over over the place, in various cloud storage locations, thumb drives, in various drives on the computer. It was at a point where everytime I went to save something, I was saving it in five locations. As my Surface Pro was on its last leg (for many years, it served me very well, by the way), I decided to setup my new Surface Laptop with an external hard drive. I also use one cloud storage location. Of course, it really isn’t possible to have too many ports.

This external hard drive works great. I was able to store all of my files and pictures. I don’t have to worry about losing anything. There are enough usb ports where I can plug in other devices.