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Is it possible to drive a monitor from a hub? If the hub was Thunderbolt 3 compatible and I used a USB-C to HDMI adapter, from the hub to the monitor, would this work? The monitor in question is a Full HD (1080p@60Hz) monitor - nothing crazy.

I ask this question as I'm currently looking at a USB-C to 3 HDMI adapter however the price is pretty high - and I'm looking for a workaround. It seems that individual USB-C to HDMI cables are a lot cheaper.

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  • There's no such thing as a "Thunderbolt Hub." What you're looking for is a Thunderbolt Dock. Since you have a Thunderbolt port, it's not efficient or effective to go from USB to HDMI. Just go from DisplayPort to HDMI. What kind of monitor do you have?
    – Allan
    Commented Jan 10, 2019 at 22:16
  • @Allan: I have three iiyama G-Master Black Hawk G2730HSU-B1 monitors. I was hoping to essentially buy three USB-C to HDMI adapters, plug them into the dock/hub then into the monitors. I'd then be able to plug the one dock/hub into one Thunderbolt 3 USB-C slot on the side of the device (MacBook Pro 15" Touch Bar).
    – Josh Murray
    Commented Jan 11, 2019 at 0:10
  • If you go that route, then your CPU will drive the monitors, not the GPU (if you have one). See this post for a better solution
    – Allan
    Commented Jan 11, 2019 at 0:13
  • @Allan: Thank you for that link - very helpful.
    – Josh Murray
    Commented Jan 11, 2019 at 9:16
  • @Allan " There's no such thing as a "Thunderbolt Hub." " There is now. Other World Computing is offering them. I suspect this may be a solution for those that run into this problem or a similar problem in the future but I do not know for sure. Here's a link, but there's no knowing how long it will be a valid link: eshop.macsales.com/shop/owc-thunderbolt-hub
    – MacGuffin
    Commented Jun 17, 2021 at 7:25

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This is can work, however, it depends on your personal equipment. Both my motherboard's onboard video and my Geforce RTX 2080 Ti have the ability to do what you are asking.

For example, the "Anker USB C Hub" has the HDMI port built in, as well as USB and an Ethernet port.

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Is it possible to drive a monitor from a hub?

Yes. Thunderbolt hub options were slim to none for a long time, I'm seeing them come to market now though. Here's an example, not an endorsement: https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/owc-thunderbolt-hub

The problem with a Thunder bolt hub is that until USB4 the operation of a USB-C hub was not defined. Someone could make a Thunderbolt-only hub with USB-C ports but then face all kinds of support problems as people try to use them with their USB-only devices. With the USB4 spec they filled in the parts on how a USB-C hub works and so manufacturers are confident that they can produce USB compliant hubs.

The product description leaves out what kind of displays can be connected. It may require Thunderbolt displays or allow DisplayPort. If DisplayPort works then common inexpensive USB-C/DP to HDMI (or VGA, or whatever) should work also. If only Thunderbolt is allowed then HDMI (or whatever) can be used with a Thunderbolt GPU, also common but not so inexpensive.

I know this is a couple years old but I post anyway given that there's a new development.

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