Can it be used only with the pc usb? or always need to be connected to the electrical outlet?

It depends on what type of USB port your laptop has (this dictates the maximum power transmission capacity) and how much demand you're placing on the device. If it's a bunch of small things like BT dongles and small flash USB/SD drives, it may power them all. If you use an external HDD or SSD (some are built to be that from the start, the rest can be converted to one via a USB enclosure), especially the 3.5 inch varieties which standard desktop towers use, you are far more likely to have power shortages. For example, my SSD/HDDs will beep when attached to a hub and cannot be loaded by the PC, if I use two at a time and I don't attach some sort of external power source (or I don't use one high enough). Also, bear in mind each USB port in a hub has a maximum power transmission rate. Thus, if you use a device that consumes far less power than the listed combined max rate/power jack intake for the hub, but consumes more than what an individual port of that hub can provide, it will not work properly. This shouldn't be a concern unless you use a very high-power or high-end device. For reference, an external 2.5-inch USB external hard drive uses 0.5 amperes (also listed as 500 mAh). The standard 2.0 USB A-type ports supply at least 0.5 A.

This product is described as a splitter where I've seen other defined as a hub. Is there a difference?

The Marketing department that wrote this copy/description is applying what the know about video to USB. This is a Hub. It has nothing to do with splitting a signal (as a video signal analogy would suggest) The tech folks at Atolla should have caught this error in the description - since it confuses people.

Does it work if the power adapter is not plugged into the wall?

Sort of is the correct answer. For one or two usb lol items it should. But you can’t split that much or use the charging port with being plugged in. This goes for all these, including HDMI. If it doesn’t use power it will never work as intended.

Why is my Daughter complaining that her phone stops charging overnight

Ensure you use the included power adapter and plug this into a power outlet. Next, make sure your daughter's phone charger is plugged into the charging port at the bottom/only port with no light or button. Or alternatively, purchase a "USB power adapter" which does not need to be plugged into a computer to function. Good luck!

Data Transfer Rate	5 Gigabits Per Second
Number of Ports	7
Cable Length	100 Centimeters
Operating System	Mac
Compatible Devices	Smartphones, Mouse, Tablets, Keyboards, Laptops, Printers
Total Usb Ports	7
Hardware Connectivity	USB
Additional Features	Play, Plug, Powered
Item Dimensions L x W x H	6.3"L x 1.77"W x 0.91"H
Color	black

Powered USB Hub 3.0, Atolla 7-Port USB Data Hub Splitter with One Smart Charging Port and Individual On/Off Switches and 5V/4A Power Adapter USB Extension for MacBook, Mac Pro/Mini and More.

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