Newer monitors do come with a USB-C port that you can use to hook up your laptop or desktop. But when I bought my 27-inch HP X27q QHD monitor in 2020, I couldn’t find anything that offered USB-C as a connection option and fit into my budget. I had a Windows laptop at the time, so it wasn’t an issue. However, as soon as I bought my current 13-inch M1 MacBook Air, I suddenly ran into a problem.
I couldn’t plug into my monitor since the MacBook only has two USB-C ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack. I was stuck. I needed to find a way to connect my USB-C-only MacBook to my monitor, especially after my Windows laptop died. That’s when I came across Vilcome’s $15 USB-C adapter that saved the day.
Why the lack of USB-C on a monitor is such a pain
USB-C has become indispensable
USB-C is such a convenient port because it can literally do it all: transfer data, charge your device, connect to external monitors, and even act as a headphone jack replacement with USB-C audio. But in order to enjoy these unique USB-C features, all your gadgets need to have the port. Thankfully, many of the latest gadgets include USB-C ports.
But while this is good, it’s a problem when you still have older devices around that are in active use but don’t have the port. My monitor, for example, doesn’t have one. As such, the only way I could connect my laptop to it was to use the available DisplayPort or HDMI ports. If you’ve bought your laptop recently, I bet you’ve noticed how these ports are increasingly becoming rare in laptops as companies try to reduce the footprint of their devices by trimming available ports and taking other drastic measures.
Without a USB-C port on my monitor, I couldn’t directly connect to my MacBook in what should’ve been a simple “plug in and go” moment. I needed a USB-C-to-HDMI or USB-C-to-DisplayPort adapter, which shouldn’t have been the case if the monitor had a USB-C port.
The $15 fix I found
Don’t underestimate minor upgrades
Finding solutions to your tech problems is as easy as 123, thanks to the internet. For my case, there were several routes I could take, but I ruled out some solutions in an instant. I wasn’t about to drop at least $200 on a fancy docking station to connect my laptop to my monitor or upgrade my functional monitor to get USB-C. With those two options out of the question, the last resort was to get a USB-C adapter to fix my connectivity issue.
Despite ruling out getting a docking station and upgrading my monitor, I still had two options to choose from. I could get a single USB-C to HDMI adapter or a USB-C hub. I ruled out the former because it was limiting. As I acknowledged, I might want to improve my work-from-home setup in the future with more devices like a mouse or even a touchpad, and having more ports at my disposal would come in handy.
With my eyes set on finding a USB-C hub, I went to Amazon to find a suitable option. Out of the dozens of options available, I settled for Vilcome’s USB-C adapter as the perfect solution for me because it was dirt cheap (under $20) and, most importantly, came with plenty of ports. It has eight ports, including three USB-A 3.0 ports, an Ethernet port, power delivery, an HDMI port, an SD card slot, and a TF card reader. Of course, my choice didn’t boil down to price and ports alone—there are various points to consider when buying a USB-C laptop hub.
Setting it up took seconds
It was plug-and-play
Setting up the adapter was as easy as cake. After all, it’s a USB adapter, just with more ports available. With the monitor powered on, I connected the Vilcome adapter to my laptop, ran an HDMI cable from the adapter to my monitor, and within seconds, everything lit up perfectly.
No driver downloads, no compatibility pop-ups, no trial-and-error switching between ports. I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting much. It’s small, lightweight, and doesn’t look particularly fancy, but it worked like a charm.
Even better, the adapter’s extra USB-A ports meant I could plug in my external keyboard directly, instead of using the second USB-C port on my laptop, freeing up my laptop’s limited ports. I also used the extra USB-C power delivery port for charging, so my laptop stayed powered while running everything else—all through this cheap USB-C hub.
Don’t be quick to upgrade
If you face compatibility issues with your gadgets, don’t be quick to consider an upgrade. While your functional old tech might not work seamlessly with newer gadgets, it doesn’t mean you should look for newer compatible options. I could’ve done the same with my monitor by buying newer options that have USB-C ports, but I decided not to.
The monitor upgrade option would’ve set me back by at least $250, which I didn’t have lying around to splurge on another monitor. Even if I had the money, it didn’t make sense when I could fix the compatibility issue with a simple $15 gadget.