Zero4U appears to be defective...

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rmccomiskie
 
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Zero4U appears to be defective...

Post by rmccomiskie »

I purchased a Zero4U without pogo pins recently. I intend to use it with a small network router that has USB 2.0. I have not gotten to the point of using the hub with the router yet.

Order #2580138-9661755757
ORDER DATE June 1, 2021 @ 11:22 PM
Zero4U - 4-Port USB Hub without Pogo Pins - v1.3 PID: 4115

To test the hub, I first confirmed my USB-A to Mini-B cables by plugging a USB WiFi device into my HP Windows 10 laptop with each cable. The device properly initialized and appeared in the Device Manager.

I then tested the Zero4U by plugging it into the laptop. The power LED did not illuminate and the hub did not appear in the Windows Device Manager. To confirm the laptop behavior, I plugged a different USB hub into the same laptop port and it appeared in the Device Manager as a Generic USB Hub.

With the Zero4U plugged into the laptop port, I plugged the USB WiFi device into one of the USB ports. The activity LED for that port did nothing. Same behavior for all other hub ports. And nothing appeared in the Device Manager.

I confirmed 5.1V at the pogo pin pads and at the JST connector. I plugged a 5V supply into the JST connector with no change. The power LED remained unlit.

Is there some other test I can try?

See the attached photos.
USB WiFi device plugged into laptop. Blue power LED is lit.
USB WiFi device plugged into laptop. Blue power LED is lit.
1537.jpg (1002.32 KiB) Viewed 281 times
Zero4U hub plugged into laptop. Note that the power LED is not lit.
Zero4U hub plugged into laptop. Note that the power LED is not lit.
1538.jpg (957.55 KiB) Viewed 281 times
USB WiFi device plugged into Zero4U hub which is then plugged into the laptop. Note that none of the LEDs are lit.
USB WiFi device plugged into Zero4U hub which is then plugged into the laptop. Note that none of the LEDs are lit.
1539.jpg (1006.38 KiB) Viewed 281 times

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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Zero4U appears to be defective...

Post by mikeysklar »

It looks like you have the correct idea by using a known good mini USB cable and plugging it into the Zero4U hub. This one could be defective. The only concern I have with your test setup is that the USB WiFi device you are trying to use with the hub probably draws a signficant amount of current which might be an issue for the hub only being connected via USB and no outside power source to reach it's full ability. What happens when you plug a lower powered USB device into the Zero4U (keyboard / mouse/ storage key / etc).

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rmccomiskie
 
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Re: Zero4U appears to be defective...

Post by rmccomiskie »

Hi Mike.

When I plug in another USB device (sdcard in usb adapter), I still see no power or port lights. This is really puzzling. I've never seen any activity from this hub regardless of the power source, self or bus power. Not even a flicker on the power LED. As I said, I measure 5V at the power test points and at the external power connector. What shall I do next?

Bob.

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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Zero4U appears to be defective...

Post by mikeysklar »

The way you have things connected through the mini USB the hub should be able to provide 500mA in bus power mode.
If you use a USB - mini USB cable to connect this USB hub to other models of Raspberry Pi, and you don’t connect power supply to the USB hub, then it is will work in bus-power mode, and it will draw power from the USB bus.
Looking through the manual I don't see anything that needs to be configured for bus mode to work. Have you tried different USB that are feeding into the Zero4U Mini USB cable? Chaining off powered hubs or different computers?

If you have a Pi Zero you could connect the hub to it just to see if it powers up.

We can swap it out if the above is not helping.

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rmccomiskie
 
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Re: Zero4U appears to be defective...

Post by rmccomiskie »

I plugged a different USB hub into my laptop. It was immediately recognized and appears in the Device Manager as a Generic USB Hub. Pull that out and plug in the Zero4U. Nothing happens. It doesn't show up in the Device Manager.

I used a USB 2GB memory stick to test. Plug that stick directly into the laptop port and it's immediately recognized and its power LED is lit. Windows Explorer pops up showing the contents. Pull out the stick, plug the Zero4U into the laptop and then plug the stick into the Zero4U. The stick is not recognized by Windows but the stick LED is lit. So, it seems that power is being passed through but not data. I have not seen negotiation activity on anything plugged into the Zero4U.

At this point I've already spent way too much time on this one. What shall I do to request a replacement?

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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Zero4U appears to be defective...

Post by mikeysklar »

Thank you for the additional confirmations.

Please send a note to [email protected] requesting a replacement for your Zero4U. You will need to include an invoice# and link to this forum thread to show we have discussed the issue.

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