USB 3.0 XHCI Host Controllers

USB 3.0 is still a new technology, and different chipset manufacturers (who develop the controllers that USB devices plug into on your computer) have implemented the "standard" in varying ways. This has lead to compatibility issues with many USB devices, including ours. We have performed testing on a number of different USB 3.0 chipsets and have made adjustments to our hardware to optimize our compatibility with these chipsets. On the flipside, the USB 3.0 chipset manufacturers continue to fix their own compatibility issues through driver updates. There are still cases, however, where incompatibilities exist.

Below are some known cases where manual updates of the USB chipset driver are necessary to properly work with our hardware.

NEC/Renesas: NEC/Renesas USB 3.0 controllers must upgrade to the latest driver and firmware versions, available at http://www.station-drivers.com/index.php/downloads/Drivers/Renesas-Nec/USB-3.0/ . Make sure to match the chipset number you have to the firmware/driver version you are downloading. You can check this using device manager, under the "Universal Serial Bus Controllers" section. You will see an "Renesas Electronics USB 3.0 Host Controller" or a "Renesas Electronics USB 3.0 Root Hub".

Via Labs: The Via Labs VL800 USB 3.0 XHCI Host Controller requires the latest drivers, downloadable from via at http://via-labs.com/en/support/downloads.jsp\#hostdriver  . Older versions of this driver are known to have problems.

Texas Instruments: May 2014: Texas Instruments 7330 and 7340 XHCI USB 3.0 chipsets are not yet supported. There are various issues with the TI driver and libusbx that do not allow it to work consistently. TI and the libusbx development teams are currently working on this and we expect driver fixes and new libraries to be available sometime in the future, at which point the APDM hardware should work properly when connected to TI USB 3.0 XHCI host controllers.

Determining What Chip set You Have in Windows:

1. Open device manager and find the "Universal Serial Bus Controllers" section. Expand this tree
2. Find an entry indicating that it is a host controller. Select the item, right+click on it, and choose "Properties".
3. In the dialog that is opened, note the device type and manufacturer.
4. In the "Driver" tab, note the date of the installed driver.
5. Repeat this process for all host controllers.

If you encounter a chipset and driver combination that does not work with our hardware, please let us know the following to help us address this issue:

1. The make and model of your computer
2. The USB 3.0 chipset manufacturer
3. The version of the USB 3.0 chipset driver you have installed

Workarounds:

1. If you PC has USB 2.0 ports, you can plug the Docks and Access point into this plug instead of the USB 3.0 port.  You can see the difference between the two port types: https://www.google.com/search?site=&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=2144&bih=979&q=usb+2.0+3.0+port&oq=usb+2.0+3.0+port
2. Many times, by using a USB 2.0 hub in between the USB 3.0 port and the Dock or Accesspoint, you can avoid the various USB 3.0 issues. If doing this, it is recommended that you use a USB hub that has an external power supply.