Can I charge my laptop through a USB hub?

Yes, if the hub supports USB Power Delivery passthrough. Look for hubs advertising 60W-100W PD passthrough. This lets you use one cable from laptop to hub for both data and power.

Do USB hubs slow down data transfer?

All connected devices share the hub's total bandwidth. A USB 3.0 hub shares 5Gbps across all ports. For maximum speed on external drives, connect them directly to your laptop or use a Thunderbolt hub with 40Gbps bandwidth.

Best 10-Port USB Hubs 2026