Unable to get USB 3.1 Gen 1/2 speeds out of MacBook 16 M2 Max?

Mac_SE wrote:

If I use an external thunderbolt hub with USB 3.1 Gen 2 port using the SAME CABLE and SAME DRIVE I get 10Gb/sec speeds.

That's obviously impossible because such a setup would require at least two cables.

The drive is advertised capable of 3.2 Gen 1 & 2. I don't have any USB 3.2 ports so everything connected via USB 3.1 or lower.

There is no difference between 3.2 and 3.1 ports.

The only thing I can think of is the drive is somehow incapable of USB 3.1 Gen 1 and only supports 3.1 Gen 1

Quite obviously, "3.1 Gen 1" and "3.1 Gen 1" are the same.

Maybe you should take a step back and describe some of the actual devices you are using? What are the name brands? What are the model numbers? Please be specific enough for someone to look up the device on their own.

Also, based on what you said about the Thunderbolt hub, it sounds like there isn't any problem at all. You're getting full speed with the hub? OK then. That should make sense. There are an awful lot of no-name, white-label USB devices out there. There's no guarantee that such devices will work. Apple is only going to test with major brands that consumers are likely to find at their local "big box" electronic store - or maybe even only 3rd party products sold by Apple. Absolutely no off-brand device manufacturers will test with Apple products. So if you get one that works, it's only by luck. It's been this way since the first Apple computers. They test with PCs and that's it.

However, a thunderbolt hub only does one thing - works as a hub. And they don't have Apple's market or margins. They might test with more devices and be more compatible. So use the hub.

Mac_SE wrote:

By "SAME CABLE" I OBVIOUSLY mean the cable going from the USB 3.1 port to the drive, not the Thunderbolt cable from the MacBook to the hub.

What happens when you use the Thunderbolt cable to connect the MacBook Pro to the USB drive?

I was assisting another user a few weeks ago where their external SSD would only work when connected to a hub and did not work when connected directly to the computer. I don't recall specific details now. More than likely it is a compatibility issue between the SSD and your M-series Mac as @etresoft mentioned. The hub is acting as a buffer which is slightly changing how the devices are working with one another.

Keep in mind not all SSDs are compatible with all devices. I know when the M-series Macs were first released in 2020, that some devices (not just SSDs) just would not work with the M-series Macs due to compatibility issues with the devices' chipsets while they worked perfectly with an Intel Mac (I personally encountered such a device & saw numerous posts on this forum...and some vendors actually noted such compatibility issues on their product pages).

ref:

https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MW5J3AM/A/thunderbolt-4-usb%E2%80%91c-pro-cable-18-m

PRO cables are more expensive because they have discrete signal Re-Drivers at each end, and allow longer lengths without typical losses. Some are actually fiber-optic inside.