USB hub longevity?

General Questions
#1

How long are USB hubs supposed to last? I have one that I run my printer and mouse through, and both devices started acting squirrelly recently. Plugged them directly into my computer (Toshiba Win 7 laptop) and they work just fine.

The exact same thing happened about two years ago, and I replaced the then two-year old hub with the one I have now. And now, two years later, it seems to be happening again. Changing ports on the hub doesn’t seem to help.

General Question: anyone else experience two year lifespans on a basic USB hub? Should they last longer than that? Or is this all you can expect out of such a device?

Details: 7-port, powered, USB 2.0 hub, “Inland” brand. Don’t remember the brand of the previous one. Thanks for any help!!

#2

I have a pair of USB3 hubs, when they start acting squirrely I can just unplug them (USB & power supply), let them sit a few minutes, then plug them back in. This “reboots” their firmware and fixes the problem.

Have you tried that?

As for USB hub lifetime, there’s nothing inherent in them that would fail over time-- I believe it’s accurate to say they’re all solid-state with no moving parts. The power supply is a possible source of failure, so you might check if replacing that fixes your problem.

#3

USB hubs are very simple consumer grade electronics. Consumer parts are generally designed to last 5 to 7 years or so, but the extreme simplicity of a USB hub means that it will often last a lot longer than that.

Humidity can cause corrosion in the connectors which can shorten the lifespan. Heat also shortens the lifespan. Where is the hub located? Is it often sitting next to the computer’s hot exhaust vent?

I personally have never had a USB hub fail. I have 2, and I’m not sure how old they are, but it’s a lot older than 2 years. I’m guessing between 5 and 10 years for each of them, probably more towards the latter.

#4

Thanks for the suggestions. The reboot doesn’t help. But it is fairly close to the exhaust vent (as was the old one) so that theory holds water.

#5

they can last and they can die, especially no name brands.

the jacks do get intermittent. which is a good reason to use hubs because hubs are cheaper than computers or usb cards.

#6

I’ve had a couple of powered usb hubs fail over the hears. The one I use now, a Dynex, has lasted a couple of years. I need to get a USB 3 hub and I put a USB 3 card in my computer last year but it only has 3 ports.