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Dell XPS 13 9350 Connecting external monitor via thunderbolt port
I bought a Dell XPS 13 9350 in December and I wanted to connect it to an external monitor via the thunderbolt port. I bought an type c to hdmi adapter off amazon and it connects. (Actually bought 2 and the problem persists). But occasionally both my screen and laptop will turn black then back on again. This causes my video that i'm playing to either freeze/crash (netflix/youtube) which is SUPER annoying. It goes from occasional to quite often. It's really random.
My drivers are up to date, cable is new and the monitor is new from boxing day.
Any help is appreciated :)
cayossarian
7 Posts
2
October 25th, 2016 15:00
Interesting note about the wifi card. I don't want to pay for the card for a brand new laptop. :-( It's easy enough but I don't have possesion and I don't think my mother is up to it.
To confirm the details here...
I updated all the drivers and bios to 1.4.4 on a new XPS13 after failing to get the Dell WD15 docking station to work with resulting HDMI screen flickering and USB 3.0 devices intermittently failling (on the docking station).
I started to suspect USB-C problems as the USB 3.0 on the host computer worked well and HDMI and USB 3.0 were iratic on the docking stations.
The Dell tech reverted the Windows10 instance to its factory default and as he worked for four hours manipulating drivers all to no avail.
With one industry standard dock supporting DisplayLink, the Windows device manager for the Plugable DisplayLink display can be seen loading and unloading, seemingly happy then failing. DisplayLink is included in Windows10 now.
The USB-C docking adapters I tried were:
Reports suggest some problems have been rectified by either adjusting the wifi power to 75% which did not work for me - or completely replacing the card with an alternative brand as mentioned above). It appears there may indeed be a subcomponent (like wifi) that interfers with the USB-C components, causing any USB-C driver to fail.
FOLLOW UP - Further testing revealed an HDMI interface compatibility issue that may have cascaded to the USB-C docking station causing the dock to cycle. If true, the root cause would be the HDMI compatibility.
I tested three different Windows10 HDMI monitor configurations that all were known to worked on a mac.
LG Widescreen monitor. Works as advertised. No cycling behavior.
HANNspree HF257. Cycled/flickered.
ViewSonic VP201b (required HDMI/DVI adapter). No Signal
The last two monitors are older but still work on a mac so it seems there is some HDMI compatibility issue.
Buyer beware. For the consumer that is not willing to pull out the wifi card themselves, the computer may not work with your monitor and if you are not willing to buy another monitor, you will need to return the computer within the 30 day period or you will be in a support system that either is unable or unwilling to provide a remedy.
ieee488
4 Operator
4 Operator
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11.1K Posts
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January 20th, 2016 07:00
There are several posts on this forum about this issue.
SEARCH.
bobcat0217
3 Posts
0
February 4th, 2016 04:00
I have the same problem with the XPS13 9350 using a usb-c to hdmi cable. External monitor turns on and off randomly which becomes more pronounced when I close the lid (sleep on close lid is OFF). Funnily enough I tried a longer HDMI cable with Ethernet and I was getting no image at all. I have all the latest bios and drivers installed. Nothing on forums to suggest a fix.
zzzman64
2 Posts
0
April 11th, 2016 15:00
I have the same problem with the xps 13 9350 using a usb-c cable to dmi and it will turn off every minute and come back on. I also got a usb-c cable to vga, it will also turn off on this cable, but only once every hour to hour and a half.
hamnguyen
3 Posts
0
October 25th, 2016 16:00
I got the AC8260 as well. Installed it and let it settle in. It did fix the problem. I'm able to watch youtube/netflix or anything really on my monitor without any screen flickering. Thanks! I appreciate the help! And I agree, wifi strength and BT have improved significantly!
cayossarian
7 Posts
0
November 9th, 2016 13:00
I talked to the Dell "advanced" support after they replace the OS to no avail and he said Dell was aware they have docking problems and stated that sending out a new computer would not necessarily fix the USB-C/HDMI problem (because they have not owned the problem with a verifiable fix).
My 86 year old mother is stuck with one of these lemons. Calling Dell support numerous times was useless. Dell missed three followup calls and then continued their wall of silence and circular finger pointing between support and sales.
Sounds like Samsung only their computers don't blow up they just sit silently not working. Bad on you Mr/Mrs consumer!
plivy
27 Posts
0
April 10th, 2017 13:00
Thought I would post an update to my earlier suggestion about the wifi card. Turns out, it didn't work for me. Tech support is going to send someone out to replace the motherboard (!) I don't expect it will work either.
plivy
27 Posts
0
April 16th, 2017 10:00
As I suspected, replacing the logic board didn't work. They also replaced my wifi card, although they replaced it with the exact model I had already installed myself