Cheap (and fake) usb hub from ebay.
So I needed USB hub for my robot. So I bought one from eBay. When it arrived I started to test it, because, well, i don't trust eBay. It worked well when connecting one device, but stopped working with multiple devices.
Fake USB hub taken apart
After testing it a bit i decided to take it apart. The insides looked a bit suspicious - there were no crystal and one pad for crystal was connected to ground. I decided not to waste more time on it.
No chip inside, only tracks.
But then! Kalle appeared and took the piece of glue away with reworking station. And all the fakeness was revealed. It didn't have any chip inside, only tracks. And USB husbs must always have some chip inside that deals with all the traffic. This one worked as a junction box - if you connected one thing then it worked, if several - they shorted each other out.
But whatever. I'm not unhappy, I got cool box and bunch of connectors for 1.8$, but all you, who need a real hub, don't buy it. I bought it from shop named gogo21shop.
Not all of these hubs are fake... I bought one that looks identical, but works perfectly. It also shows up in lsusb as a hub when connected, showing it has a proper chip in it. From the outside, it looks identical to yours. I got it from seller "huijuan0022", "itshotsale77" or "fang_nigg" - I bought three hubs at the same time, don't remember which one was from which seller, and I only have the title not the picture...
Hey Jaanus,
got ripped off too, same model, I haven't tried to remove the black glue but the PCB is void of any components so I guess it is like yours. Anyhow my issue was that it only managed USB 1.0 speeds. Got a refund from ebay reseller kenyan_peaberry. Then I bought another one, the ones that look like a little man with a green LED on their hear, same, USB 1.0 (tested both on linux & windows) when packaging said USB 2.0 480mbps... I have pics of packaging & PCBs if you want...
Now I'm waiting for a 3rd one, I took the precaution of informing the seller not to send & rather refund me directly if he aint sure its a proper USB 2.0 hub...
I suppose you get what you pay for. My issue is I need the smallest PCB possible for a hardware hack and known brands don't make really small unpowered hubs...
Anyway, cheers!
> I'm not unhappy, I got cool box and bunch of connectors for 1.8$
You should have gotten a filed a dispute to get a refund so that you got the parts for free. Call it punitive damages. đ