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Takes both M.2 protocols, and sits open instead of sealed

FREEGENE ACASIS AC-M04, open M.2 dock for NVMe and SATA, 10 Gbps stated, aluminium

The only M.2 housing in this hub that reads both protocols and the only one that is not a sealed box: an open dock a drive drops into, which is how it stays cool and how it stops being portable.

ACASIS aluminium open M.2 docking station with a drive slot on the top

FREEGENE ACASIS AC-M04, open M.2 dock for NVMe and SATA, 10 Gbps stated, aluminium

The only M.2 housing in this hub that reads both protocols and the only one that is not a sealed box: an open dock a drive drops into, which is how it stays cool and how it stops being portable.

Supported drive protocols
M.2 PCIe NVMe in M-key and B+M key, and M.2 SATA — stated in the title and in the fifth bullet, which names it as an NVMe adapter and an M.2 SATA adapter in the same line. It is the only listing on this shelf that accepts both
Supported drive lengths
2230, 2242, 2260 and 2280 — all four named in the fifth bullet, which gives a ceiling of 8 TB
Interface standard
USB 3.2 with a Type-C connection — stated in the first bullet
Stated link rate
Up to 10 Gbps — stated in the title and in the first bullet, which gives backing up a high-definition film in seconds as the case for it. No condition on the cable or the host port is published
Connector type
Type-C — stated in the first bullet as a USB 3.2 Type-C connection
Case material
Aluminium — stated in the second bullet, which credits it with excellent heat dissipation and says it outperforms plastic alternatives for reliability and cooling
Thermal arrangement
An open horizontal layout — stated in the third bullet, which describes a toaster-like design whose open form improves air circulation and promotes heat dissipation, working with the aluminium construction. No thermal pad and no heatsink is named
Tool-free assembly
Tool-free and driver-free — stated in the third and fourth bullets, which describe a drive being pushed in and pulled out of the slot without tools
Cables supplied
Not published on the listing — no lead is named in any of the six bullets
Amazon reference
B084ZKLQR8 (same reference on 3 Amazon marketplaces)
EAN
0705338038977
  • Reads both M.2 protocols, so a drawer of mixed drives needs one device rather than two
  • The open format lets a drive be swapped in seconds without opening anything
  • An open dock is not a portable enclosure, and the drive sits exposed in it

Best for: A desk where M.2 drives are read, imaged and swapped often, rather than a drive that has to be carried anywhere.

≈ $26 / 28 €
Check price on Amazon

Specifications

Supported drive protocols
M.2 PCIe NVMe in M-key and B+M key, and M.2 SATA — stated in the title and in the fifth bullet, which names it as an NVMe adapter and an M.2 SATA adapter in the same line. It is the only listing on this shelf that accepts both
Supported drive lengths
2230, 2242, 2260 and 2280 — all four named in the fifth bullet, which gives a ceiling of 8 TB
Interface standard
USB 3.2 with a Type-C connection — stated in the first bullet
Stated link rate
Up to 10 Gbps — stated in the title and in the first bullet, which gives backing up a high-definition film in seconds as the case for it. No condition on the cable or the host port is published
Connector type
Type-C — stated in the first bullet as a USB 3.2 Type-C connection
Case material
Aluminium — stated in the second bullet, which credits it with excellent heat dissipation and says it outperforms plastic alternatives for reliability and cooling
Thermal arrangement
An open horizontal layout — stated in the third bullet, which describes a toaster-like design whose open form improves air circulation and promotes heat dissipation, working with the aluminium construction. No thermal pad and no heatsink is named
Tool-free assembly
Tool-free and driver-free — stated in the third and fourth bullets, which describe a drive being pushed in and pulled out of the slot without tools
Cables supplied
Not published on the listing — no lead is named in any of the six bullets
Amazon reference
B084ZKLQR8 (same reference on 3 Amazon marketplaces)
EAN
0705338038977

On the listing

An M.2 NVMe and SATA docking station with a USB 3.2 Type-C connection, stated to reach up to 10 Gbps; an aluminium construction credited with excellent heat dissipation and with outperforming plastic alternatives; a toaster-like design whose open horizontal layout is said to improve air circulation and make drives easy to insert and remove; a tool-free and driver-free arrangement; support for all common M.2 PCIe NVMe M-key and B+M-key SSDs in 2230, 2242, 2260 and 2280 and for M.2 SATA drives, up to 8 TB; and compatibility with Windows, Linux and macOS 10.3 or later. The title sells the product as an ACASIS AC-M04, and the brand recorded against the listing is FREEGENE.

Both protocols, in one slot

Every other M.2 housing on this shelf takes one protocol and refuses the other. This one takes both.

The fifth bullet names M.2 PCIe NVMe in M-key and B+M-key, and then names M.2 SATA in the same line.

That closes the trap this whole family is built around. NVMe and SATA drives in the M.2 shape are almost indistinguishable, and the commonest disappointment in this hub is an enclosure that cannot read the drive somebody already owns. Here the drive goes in and either works or does not, without the purchase having been the gamble.

What the two protocols do not share is a rate. A SATA drive in this dock is a SATA drive: the ceiling is the one SATA sets, whatever figure the title carries.

Open, which is a choice rather than a shortcut

The third bullet calls it a toaster design, and that is exactly right — a slot in the top, a drive dropped in, nothing closed around it.

The cooling case is genuine. A bare M.2 drive in open air with an aluminium body under it has an easier time than the same drive sealed in a box the size of a chewing-gum packet, and there is no thermal pad to be missing because there is no gap to bridge.

The cost is everything the sealed enclosures on this shelf are for. There is no case around the drive, so this does not go in a bag, does not go in a pocket, and does not protect a drive from anything. It is a desk instrument for reading and imaging drives, and a poor choice for carrying one.

Eight terabytes, four lengths, and no cable

The fifth bullet is the strongest specification line on the page: four lengths named, both protocols named, 8 TB.

The gap is the lead. Six bullets and not one names a cable, on a device that connects by USB-C and quotes a rate that depends entirely on which cable is used. One listing on this shelf states that requirement explicitly; this one states neither the requirement nor the inclusion.

Two names on one product

The title sells an ACASIS AC-M04. The brand recorded against the listing is FREEGENE.

Both are reported here rather than one being chosen. It is a common enough arrangement — a seller and a manufacturer with different names — and it is worth knowing before searching for support, a manual or a firmware note, because the name on the box may not be the name that finds them.

Before ordering

Decide whether the drive travels: if it does, a sealed enclosure on this shelf is the right shape and this is not. Ask what cable arrives, since none is named. And expect SATA rates from a SATA drive, whatever the 10 Gbps refers to.

Availability

Priced from 28 € to 40 € across the German and Italian Amazon stores the day this page was checked.

It is stocked on the American Amazon store as well, in that country’s own currency. The range above leaves those out: it counts euro stores and no others.

The British, French and Spanish Amazon stores returned nothing at all, so the buy button there opens a search in that country rather than a page that would not load.

Every figure in this section is what Keepa held on the day this page was last updated. Stock and prices move without warning.

Prices quoted in this text were read on 10 September 2026. The live price is at the top of the page.

More nVMe enclosures

  • ICY BOX aluminium NVMe SSD enclosure with a write-protect switch and a USB-C socket

    ICY BOX IB-1807MT-C31, NVMe enclosure up to 2 TB, USB 3.2 Gen 2, write-protect switch, combined cable

    The only enclosure in this hub with a write-protect switch on the outside, and one of two that names the lead in the box — a combined cable covering both socket types.

    Supported drive protocols
    NVMe SSDs — stated in the title and in the first bullet. M.2 SATA drives are neither named as supported nor named as excluded anywhere on the page
    Supported drive lengths
    Common sizes up to 2280 — stated in the first bullet, which gives the capacity ceiling as 2 TB. The individual lengths below 2280 are not listed
    Interface standard
    USB 3.2 Gen 2 — stated in the title and in the third bullet
    Stated link rate
    Up to 10 Gbit/s — stated in the third bullet, which gives copying large volumes of data as the case for it. No condition on the cable or the host port is published
    Connector type
    Type-C — the fourth bullet describes the supplied combined cable as Type-C to Type-C and Type-C to Type-A, which makes the socket on the enclosure a Type-C one
    Case material
    Aluminium — stated in the title. No wall thickness and no finish is published
    Thermal arrangement
    Not published on the listing — no thermal pad, no heatsink and no fin pattern is named in any of the five bullets. The aluminium in the title is the only thermal statement on the page, and it is a material rather than an arrangement
    Tool-free assembly
    Tool-free — the second bullet says the drive is installed without tools and without small screws, which it credits with saving the nerves
    Cables supplied
    A combined cable, Type-C to Type-C and Type-C to Type-A — stated in the fourth bullet, which says the right connection is always immediately to hand. It is one of two enclosures on this shelf to name its lead
    Amazon reference
    B0B4DQNVCX (same reference on 5 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4250078172925
    • A hardware write-protect switch, which nothing else in this hub offers
    • Both leads in one combined cable, so no adapter is needed for an older machine
    • Two terabytes, the lowest ceiling on this shelf against eight elsewhere

    Best for: A drive that has to be read from a machine without any risk of being written to — a disc image, an archive, evidence of any kind.

    ≈ £20 / 22 €
    Check price on Amazon
  • SABRENT NVMe SSD enclosure with an aluminium heatsink and a USB Type-C socket

    SABRENT NVMe-only enclosure, 2230 to 2280 up to 8 TB, USB 3.2 Gen 2, aluminium heatsink, Type-A adapter

    The enclosure that puts its own exclusion in the title — NVMe only, no SATA — and ships an adapter so that an older machine with no Type-C socket is not left out.

    Supported drive protocols
    M.2 PCIe NVMe only — stated in the title as no SATA, and again in the first bullet, which says M.2 SATA SSDs are not supported and asks the buyer to check the interface before use
    Supported drive lengths
    2230, 2242, 2260 and 2280 — all four listed in the first bullet, up to 8 TB. It is one of two enclosures on this shelf to state an 8 TB ceiling
    Interface standard
    USB 3.2 Gen 2 — stated in the title and in the second bullet
    Stated link rate
    10 Gbps — stated in the title and in the second bullet as a high data transfer rate over USB-C. No condition on the cable or the host port is published
    Connector type
    Type-C, with a Type-A adapter included for older systems — both stated in the title and in the second bullet
    Case material
    An aluminium heatsink combined with an ABS body — stated in the title and in the fourth bullet, which gives better heat dissipation, reliability and long service life as the reasons
    Thermal arrangement
    An aluminium heatsink — named in the title and in the fourth bullet. No thermal pad is named, which is the part that carries heat from the controller into the metal
    Tool-free assembly
    Tool-free — the third bullet describes installing or replacing the drive without screws, and calls it suited to travel and to portable upgrades
    Cables supplied
    A Type-A adapter is included, stated in the title and in the second bullet. No data cable is named anywhere on the listing, and the fifth bullet says no drivers and no external power supply are needed
    Amazon reference
    B0F933F1G8 (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    0840025274563
    • Puts the SATA exclusion in the title rather than in a bullet
    • A Type-A adapter in the box, so an older machine is not a second purchase
    • A heatsink is named and no thermal pad, which is what connects a drive to it

    Best for: An NVMe drive that has to work on two machines of different ages, one of them with no Type-C socket at all.

    ≈ £12 / 20 €
    Check price on Amazon
  • DIGITUS compact M.2 SATA SSD enclosure with a USB Type-C socket

    DIGITUS M.2 SATA B-key enclosure, 2230 to 2280, USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C, 101 × 32 × 10 mm

    The cheapest enclosure on this shelf and the only one that will not read an NVMe drive at all: a B-key M.2 SATA housing whose chipset is named and whose dimensions are printed to the millimetre.

    Supported drive protocols
    M.2 SATA in the B-key format only — stated in the title and in the second bullet. No NVMe drive will work in it, and the key notch of an M.2 SATA drive and an NVMe drive look much the same, which is why the title says B-Key and why this line says it first
    Supported drive lengths
    2230, 2242, 2260 and 2280 — all four listed in the second bullet, with a capacity of up to 8 TB given in the third
    Interface standard
    USB 3.1 Gen2 — stated in the title and in the first bullet, which adds backward compatibility with USB 3.0, 2.0 and 1.1
    Stated link rate
    6 Gbps — the first bullet says the USB 3.1 Gen2 interface supports transfer rates of up to 6 Gbps. Six gigabits per second is the rate of the SATA III standard rather than of a USB 3.1 Gen2 port, and the listing prints the two figures against each other without reconciling them
    Connector type
    Type-C — stated in the title. The socket on the enclosure is what is described; the cable in the box is not published on the listing
    Case material
    Not published on the listing — no metal and no plastic is named. The fourth bullet gives the dimensions as 101 × 32 × 10 mm and calls the enclosure a suitable companion for travel, the office or university
    Thermal arrangement
    Not published on the listing — no thermal pad, no heatsink and no fin pattern is named. The third bullet credits the JMS576B chipset with reliable and efficient performance and says nothing about heat
    Tool-free assembly
    Tool-free — the second bullet says the M.2 module is inserted without tools, which it gives as the reason the installation is easier
    Cables supplied
    Not published on the listing — no lead is named in any bullet. The fourth says the power comes over USB with no separate mains adapter, which describes the supply rather than the cable
    Amazon reference
    B0DC6S54ZR (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4016032497554
    • The only enclosure here for M.2 SATA drives, which the other five will not read at all
    • Names its chipset, the JMS576B, which two of the six listings here never do
    • A 6 Gbps figure quoted against a USB 3.1 Gen2 interface, and the two are not the same thing

    Best for: An M.2 SATA drive pulled out of an old laptop, which none of the other enclosures on this shelf will read.

    ≈ 8 €
    Check price on Amazon

Others worth having spare

  • CSL 10 m Cat 7 patch cable with a cotton-braided jacket and moulded RJ45 boots

    CSL-Computer 10 m Cat 7 cord, cotton-braided jacket, S/FTP PIMF, copper inner conductors

    The one cord on this shelf wrapped in a cotton braid instead of a moulded jacket, screened to S/FTP with per-pair foil, and carrying the maker’s own second brand name in every bullet while the title carries the first.

    Category
    Cat 7 — stated in the title and the first bullet, with a transmission figure of up to 10 Gbit/s. The fifth bullet claims downward compatibility with Cat 5, Cat 5e, Cat 6 and Cat 6a. No operating frequency is printed
    Conductor material
    Copper — stated in the third bullet as high-grade copper inner conductors. No purity figure is given
    Conductor construction
    Not published on the listing — the third bullet names pairs twisted together with several pair screens inside one overall screen, and never says whether a conductor is one wire or many
    Shielding code
    S/FTP with PIMF — stated in the title, and described in the third bullet as a double-screened cable with several pair screens inside a common screen
    Length
    10 m — stated in the title and repeated in the first bullet as ten metres
    Sheath material
    Cotton braid — stated in the title and in the first bullet, which calls it a jacket of braided cotton. It is the only textile sheath on this shelf
    Boot type
    A strain-relief boot with a latch guard — stated in the fourth bullet, which names kink protection, a guard over the retaining tab for strain relief, and a protected latch lever
    Connector plating
    Not published on the listing — the fourth bullet describes the plugs entirely in mechanical terms, and no plating of any kind is named on the contacts
    Amazon reference
    B07WG8TNDL (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4061474030210
    • The shielding is written as a code and explained layer by layer
    • A textile jacket is named as the sheath, where four cords here name nothing at all
    • The title and the bullets carry two different brand names for the same cord

    Best for: A visible run across a desk or a floor where the cord will be seen, and where a braid looks like something other than a cable.

    ≈ £14 / 17 €
    Check price on Amazon
  • DDMALL flat white 10 m Cat 8 patch cable with shielded snagless RJ45 plugs

    DDMALL 10 m flat Cat 8 cord, 2000 MHz stated, 50-micron gold plating

    The only Cat 8 cord here and the only one to put a thickness against its gold plating, sold flat for the same reason the cheap cords on this shelf are — and quoting a bandwidth figure that nothing in a home network asks for.

    Category
    Cat 8 — stated in the title and the first bullet, with a bandwidth of up to 2000 MHz and a data transfer figure of up to 40 Gbps. It is the only cord on this shelf above Cat 7
    Conductor material
    100 per cent bare pure copper — stated in the third bullet as a highly conductive core, and again in the fourth as four pairs of pure thick copper wires
    Conductor construction
    Not published on the listing — the fourth bullet counts four pairs of copper wires and describes them as thick, which is a section rather than a construction. Neither solid nor stranded appears on the page
    Shielding code
    STP — stated in the fourth bullet, with shielded RJ45 plugs at both ends and crosstalk, noise and interference named as what the screen is there for. No letter code separates the overall screen from the per-pair one
    Length
    10 m — stated in the title, in a flat ribbon profile the second bullet describes as sitting flatter on a floor or a desk
    Sheath material
    Not published on the listing — the second bullet calls the cord flexible, thin and durable, and names no material for the jacket
    Boot type
    Snagless — stated in the fourth bullet, which names hook-free RJ45 plugs and credits them with durability and a secure connection
    Connector plating
    50-micron gold plating — stated in the third bullet on the RJ45 plugs. It is the only plating thickness published on this shelf
    Amazon reference
    B08G4K6KHC (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    0677222570125
    • The only cord here to publish a plating thickness rather than the bare word gold
    • Names its conductor as pure copper twice, in two different bullets
    • The 40 Gbps and 2000 MHz figures describe the class, not anything a household link produces

    Best for: A run that has to lie flat and stay flat, bought by someone who wants copper named and does not mind paying for a category the ports will never use.

    ≈ $14 / £9 / 16 €
    Check price on Amazon
  • HB-DIGITAL orange 10 m Cat 7 installation cable with an unterminated end

    HB-DIGITAL 10 m Cat 7 installation cable, AWG23/1 solid, S/FTP, LSZH, Eca

    Not a patch cord at all but a length of installation cable, and the only listing on this shelf that publishes a conductor gauge — AWG23/1, a solid core, in a halogen-reduced sheath with a fire class printed beside it.

    Category
    Cat 7 — stated in the title and the first bullet, with an operating frequency of up to 600 MHz and support for 10 Gbit/s Ethernet. PoE compatibility is named separately, to IEEE 802.3af and 802.3at
    Conductor material
    A copper mix — stated in the first bullet, which names the conductors as a copper compound rather than as pure copper. It is the only listing on this shelf to describe the metal as a mixture, and no proportion is given
    Conductor construction
    Solid — stated as AWG23/1 in the first bullet, where the figure after the stroke is the conductor count per core. It is the only conductor construction published on this shelf
    Shielding code
    S/FTP — stated in the first bullet as an overall screen with foil around each pair
    Length
    10 m — stated in the title. The cable is sold as a simplex run rather than as a made-up cord
    Sheath material
    LSZH — stated in the fourth bullet as a halogen-reduced outer sheath with reduced smoke and gas emission in a fire, and given a construction-products class of Eca
    Boot type
    Not published on the listing — there are no plugs on this cable and therefore no boots. The fifth bullet names what the ends are meant to meet instead: punch-down terminals, keystone modules, patch panels and network outlets
    Connector plating
    Not published on the listing — nothing is fitted to either end. Whatever plating the link ends up with comes from the modules or plugs an installer terminates it into
    Amazon reference
    B0G5YNNQKT (same reference on 5 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4063328066871
    • The only listing on this shelf that publishes a conductor gauge, and it publishes the construction with it
    • Names a sheath material and a fire class, which nothing else here does
    • It is not a patch cord: nothing is fitted to either end, and the buyer supplies the termination

    Best for: A fixed run being pulled through a wall or a trunking and terminated into keystone modules or a panel at both ends.

    ≈ 13 €
    Check price on Amazon

All nVMe enclosures