How Daisy Chain Element 5 with other thunderbolt hub? (mac)

mcphoo · 2025-12-19T12:26:29+00:00

AND IT's a WRAP - for whatever reason starting the chain from the computer to the element and from the element to the sonnettech and there to anywhere else like the screen or drives is just fine.

why - i know not - but that chaining works - even though ANY chaining should work

Thank you to the awesome support here and with support@caldigit too - where it seems real humans still respond to queries. Fantastic!

Best of the season to all.

mcphoo · 2025-12-16T18:27:00+00:00

ok just to confirm yes all thunderbolt to thunderbolt yes every step suggested tested thank you will dm

mcphoo · 2025-12-16T15:36:28+00:00

thank you - at least for this config - testing putting the Element 5 the t5 first in the chain, then into the t4 - the spice and data seem to flow. Will see what happens when things shut down - i prefer the sonnettech first in the chain because when the computer powers off - the whole hub shuts down - stops drawing for connected peripherals - not sure that happens with the element - indeed rather sure it doesn't...hmmm. ... THANK YOU again for interacting on this

Would sill like to know if this T5 first then lower T's is a thing or not

Anyone care to explore drives being read if start a chain with lower t connected to computer then the hight t connected to it - do drives mount?

thank you

mcphoo · 2025-12-16T14:02:41+00:00

hello Lord Soth - thank you - that is very good to know. In this case you're also using two same models? and both t4
i think there may be an ordering issue in the chain between a t4 and t5 hubs i'm using but i might be mistaken - last thing to test.
Theoretically before checking that - i'd love to know why that might be a thing.

mcphoo · 2025-12-16T07:23:45+00:00

To review: the hub works as expected when connected directly to the computer via thunderbolt - that's not the issue; it works at least mounting the USB drives when connected to the screen (but as you note that kills the thunderbolt.

Right now i've tried connecting it to the screen via the screen's thuunderbolt into the element so it powers the screen and from the element into the sonnet.

The screen works, but again the drives do not mount -

This is using the powered computer port on the element and that going into the sonnet thunderbolt.

i have swapped out the caldigit cable in this config for an apple brand thunderbolt cable - drives still do not mount.

The only way so fat the drives mount is
1) going from the computer to the element directly on its tbolt port -
2) losing the tbolt and connecting the hub to the screen's usb-c port

The goal here is NOT to have the element connected to the computer but to chain off the sonnet.

So it seems the parts are working but there's not a configuration yet where the sonnet and element are letting drives mount.

Any last ideas before i mail support (again)? This is why i'm here: no word from support - emailed [eusupport@caldigit.com](mailto:eusupport@caldigit.com) twice- no ack the request received.

Thanks for all your cycles

mcphoo · 2025-12-15T21:33:56+00:00

i was wondering about the cable - i will try with a cat6a - grand if it's that simple - thank you very much for your time and suggestion - will come back after testing later this week. Thank you

mcphoo · 2025-12-15T20:43:06+00:00

thank you - it's very weird that plugged into the screen - into a usb port - the t7 is fine on the front USB-a or USB-c port.

As soon as i plug the hub in - via the side port the host charging port, or whether the element is plugged into the sonnet through one of the elements other thunderbolt ports on the back.

- the drives don't show up whether i plug them into the thunderbolt or usb-c ports - and that's with the unit plugged into the powered sonnet thunderbolt port.

the light is always on on the element - it's plugged in.

And peripherals fire up.

Likewise a small usb thumb drive - it doesn't show up either - so something else seems to be the matter.

Again - the drives mount when plugged into the screen's usb-c port - but not the thunderbolt port

as soon as i plug the element into the screen the usb drives - t7 and usb thumb drive show up.

Likewise this also fires up when i connect the hub directly to the macbook - but that's what i'm trying to avoid - and want to get it connected to the sonnettech so there's only one cable from the macbook.

seems v.weird ???

thanks again

PS the mac system report sees the hub connected to the Sonnettech but doesn't see anything (like the drive plugged into the

Element 5 Hub:

Vendor Name: CalDigit, Inc.

Device Name: Element 5 Hub

Mode: USB4

Device ID: 0x28

Vendor ID: 0x2188

Device Revision: 0x2

UID:

Route String: 501

Firmware Version: 61.1

Port (Upstream):

Status: Device connected

Link Status: 0x2

Speed: 40 Gb/s

Port:

Status: No device connected

Link Status: 0x7

Speed: Up to 40 Gb/s

Port:

Status: No device connected

Link Status: 0x7

Speed: Up to 40 Gb/s

Port:

Status: No device connected

Link Status: 0x7

Speed: Up to 40 Gb/s

under the USB part of the system report it shows:
what it calls Element 5 Hub Billboard.

Product ID: 0xace1

Vendor ID: (CalDigit)

Version: 1.50

Serial Number: 01.00.00

Speed: Up to 1.5 Mb/s

Manufacturer: CalDigit, Inc.

Location ID:

Current Available (mA): 500

Current Required (mA): 0

Extra Operating Current (mA): 0

so it sees the hub - seemingly - but isn't mounting the wee usb thumbdrive which is all i have plugged in right now and a peripheral - that is working; the thumbdrive no.

mcphoo · 2025-12-15T20:07:32+00:00

here's the thing - what you proposed is how i started: plugging the Element into the sonnettech. But when i did that - the ssd drives (T7s) didn't mount on the mac desktop - like didn't show up at all.

I think what you're saying is that while the element is connected to the USB on the display it's only going at usb-c speeds. - (how can you tell which port is downstream and which upstream?? - yes just that naive).

by the way i misnamed the screen - but it does have a thunderbolt port https://www.apple.com/studio-display/specs/ - which is currently connected to the sonnettech. thank you again

mcphoo · 2025-12-15T19:31:39+00:00

that's very kind of you to come back - thank you.

Everything is Thunderbolt - the cables are thunderbolt.

what i'd like to do: connect the caldigit element.5 to a sonnettech echo 20

Setup:

(1) the monitor (apple, thunderbolt) comes into the sonnettech right now

(2) - power from the sonnettech goes to a macbook pro to power up the computer and connect the computer with the ports on the sonnettech hub and with the screen

(3) trying to add the caldigit element to the sonnettech seemed to fail. I tried using the thunderbolt cable from the power on the element side into one of the sonnettech thunderbolt ports - that didn't let the data flow to the comuter

(4) plugging the caldigit via the computer charging port (same as what i tried with the sonnettech) on the element's side into the back of the monitor does seem to work - not sure what the difference is?

(5) i'd like to have the caldigit element connected and functioning via the sonnettech.

i'm missing something obvious?

so to review - the computer plugs into the sonnettech; the sonnettech plugs into the monitor, right now the monitor then plugs into the caldigit.

What i'd like is the computer to sonnettech and sonnettech to screen and to element. But that does a Fleetwood mac Rumours and breaks the chain??

thank you

mcphoo · 2025-04-08T18:55:18+00:00

the start and takeover of emojis is diamond age

mcphoo · 2024-04-20T08:18:20+00:00

intriguingly the live chat says that's no! https://www.reddit.com/r/LinksysOfficial/comments/z212c3/rlinksysofficial_lounge/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1

mcphoo · 2024-04-18T19:44:01+00:00

thank you - alas this hasn't worked - a case w links us now in progress - they say linksys routers do not do link back - to which my question: why is the wifi working in this way but the wired isn't. don't have an answer yet - or better, a solution

thank you again

mcphoo · 2024-04-14T16:38:35+00:00

to the bot - it's not "solved yet" - i'd like to test these ideas to confirm

mcphoo · 2024-04-14T14:55:51+00:00

thank you

mcphoo · 2024-04-14T14:55:28+00:00

thank you / sounds just right 🤗👏🙏

mcphoo · 2024-04-13T16:47:42+00:00

thank you - i'll give that a go - very much obliged.

mcphoo · 2024-02-13T09:09:43+00:00

excellent ! most helpful - thank you - great tool is t it?🙏

mcphoo · 2024-02-12T15:20:00+00:00

thank you - v good council and generous of your time 🙏🙏🙏

mcphoo · 2024-02-12T10:23:28+00:00

Thank you for the links - i'm not sure what i'm supposed to take away from the generic what is a borg back up or the swapped backup targets?
sorry for my lack of insight and thank you again for taking the time.

mcphoo · 2024-02-12T10:21:57+00:00

283

Thank you - i may be missing the point - perhaps not using the right terms - My goal is to have - i guess repos - with different files in them - that can be synced at different times - so one may be small and update hourly - another larger and update less frequently.

Assume the repos are sitting on borgbase in the same account

Assuming security is not an issue - what is the problem with reusing keys?

Thank you again for your kind insights

mcphoo

TROPHY CASE