Following user feedback, JSAUX has revealed moving forward the M.2 SSD docking station (model name HB0604) will include a 65-watt charger.
Prior to this, the M.2 1TB SSD docking station originally came with three items: The dock itself and the M.2 SSD drive, and a thermal pad. Not a charger in sight. The reason being, the Steam Deck itself comes with a 45-watt charger, which is more than enough to power most docks. Most.
As JSAUX points out, while the HB0604 works in most cases, the company’s R&D department discovered the majority of the input charge goes directly to the Deck rather than splitting the input equally to the parts that need it.
“Our R&D department found that this is due to the current distribution mechanism inside Valve’s handheld console,” says JSAUX.
“A large part of [the] power will be [at first] distributed to charge itself, and the little [is left] to power other accessories. And the rest of the power is not enough to drive the SSD hard disk.”
With the other JSAUX docks, this isn’t so much of an issue. But when you throw a 1TB or 2TB SSD into the mix, it’s possible the Deck is taking all the power, which in turn could lead to performance issues when booting games from the SSD.
The 65-watt charger should, in theory, provide enough power to the Deck and leave an ample amount free to power the SSD.
What to Do if You Purchased the M.2 Dock Recently
If you previously purchased the M.2 docking station (the one without the 65-watt charger), JSAUX says it’s more than happy to make good.
Previous owners will be contacted via email with the choice of either JSAUX sending out a 65-watt charger or a partial refund of $20. If you are an owner and haven’t been contacted, feel free to hit up the JSAUX customer care email at: support@jsaux.com
New Price Info
Because of the need to add a more powerful charger, JSAUX notes the price of the dock needed to be revised. The new prices are as follows:
- M.2 Docking Station with 65-watt Charger (no SSD): $129.99
- M.2 Docking Station with 65-watt Charger – 1TB M.2 SSD: $199.99
- M.2 Docking Station with 65-watt Charger – 2TB M.2 SSD: $269.99
Analysis
If a company makes a mistake, they should fix it, and that’s what JSAUX has done. Mistakes happen. Sure, it can be annoying for some users, but given how many companies we’ve seen purposely mislead consumers recently, JSAUX admitting the problem and doing what it can to fix it is a breath of fresh air.
Plus when it comes to Steam Deck docks, JSAUX is currently the leading manufacturer as far as we’re concerned. We’ve used both the JSAUX 7-in-1 and the aforementioned M.2 docking station and they’re high-quality products. Setting up a Steam Deck on a TV isn’t quite as straightforward as it should be (FSR makes everything run a lot smoother), but that’s more a comment on the Deck itself. As far as the JSAUX docks are concerned, they’re as plug-and-play as they can be.
As mentioned, we’ve got an M.2 docking station on-hand, and we’ve requested a new charger, so we’ll be sure to let you know what we make of it once we’ve finished our testing.
