Mastodawn

Wolf Aug 12, 2025

At home I have lots of devices connected to my "desktop" (which is really just my laptop, which I carry between work and home every commute day): monitors, desktop speakers, backup drives, an #OpalC1, a fancy podcast mic, each of the two halves of my #KinesisAdvantage360Pro keyboard. The thing that connects to all these devices is my @CalDigit #TS4 #ThunderboltDock. When CalDigit first started talking about the #TS5 and TS5+ (#TS5Plus), obviously, I wanted one ... probably the plus. My laptop has Thunderbolt 5. It can use the TS5. But none of my devices are Thunderbolt 5, and I don't need faster Ethernet, because I'm on WiFi. So it just didn't make sense.

There's a USB-A port on the front of the TS4 (there's a zillion ports on all three of the devices I've mentioned). I use this A port to charge wireless things. I have a cable, A on one end, and then any of Lightning, C, or USB-micro (maybe? Whatever plugs into old Kindles) on the other. I was trying to charge my headphones (@Shokz #OpenRunPro2). The LED wouldn't come on. I'll spare you all the different combinations of devices, cables, and chargers that I tested, but the result was that the front USB-A port of my (only) two year old TS4 had gone bad. I had bought it from Amazon. The manufacturer's warranty had expired. Amazon's warranty had expired. But! I had purchased the three year Asurion insurance. I filled out the web page, told them what was wrong, they agreed that satisfied the terms and sent me a shipping label. They promised the full purchase price returned as an Amazon gift card 24 to 48hours after receiving the defective device.

Great, I thought, that almost pays for the TS5+. Except I'm kinda dead in the water without a dock, it will take time for the TS4 to make it to wherever it's going, and neither Amazon nor CalDigit has the TS5 or TS5+ in stock.

Still Sunday night, I added a CamelCamelCamel watch on the TS5+ for just slightly above its retail price. Monday morning, CamelCamelCamel sent me email saying Amazon had one. InstaBuy ... actually on my way to the UPS Store to send off the old. TS5+ arrived that evening, and so did the Amazon refund.

Of course I bought the insurance on the TS5+.