Dell Latitude 5480/7480 troubles with docks WD15 and D6000

Hi, 

Thanks for getting in touch regarding this issue. I'm fairly certain this issue can be resolved by changing the USB configuration settings in the BIOS. 

Power on the system and repeatedly tap on the F2 key in quick succession
Expand "System Configuration"
Click on USB Configuration
Ensure "Enable USB Boot Support" and "Enable External USB Port" are ticked.
Click Apply and then exit.

If you could try that and let me know how you get on that would be much appreciated.

Alan

Go into the BIOS and enable these two options.  The name of the option will depend on whether your systems have the Thunderbolt option, but even if the option says "Thunderbolt", it affects both Thunderbolt and regular USB-C connections:

USB Type-C or Thunderbolt 3 Boot support
USB Type-C or Thunderbolt 3 (and PCIe behind TBT) Pre-boot

That should USB devices at least attached to the WD15 to work during pre-boot, although be aware that having those options enabled can lead to this issue if you ever switch to BitLocker.

For the D6000 dock, if you're attaching it via USB-C, then the above fix should work for that dock as well.  If you're connecting it via USB-A, i.e. "regular USB", then the external keyboard should already be working.

Thanks for the detailed suggestion but I can't seem to check the Thunderbolt options. They are grayed out in BIOS. Any suggestions why this might be?

In all cases we are using the Type-C with both types of docking stations. I know that the D6000 supports almost all of it's features through USB 3.0 Type-A but we are rarely using that feature (mainly with laptops without type-c). 

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@DamyanGatevwrote:

Thanks for the detailed suggestion but I can't seem to check the Thunderbolt options. They are grayed out in BIOS. Any suggestions why this might be?

In all cases we are using the Type-C with both types of docking stations. I know that the D6000 supports almost all of it's features through USB 3.0 Type-A but we are rarely using that feature (mainly with laptops without type-c). 

 

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Hi, 

The reason that Thunderbolt is greyed out is because neither the docks or the systems are Thunderbolt capable. Did you try enabling the USB settings as per my post?

Alan

One other somewhat related point to be aware of since you're using HDD passwords.  As of this writing, Dell systems do not support using HDD passwords on NVMe SSDs.  Since you're using them with SSDs, you are presumably using the much slower SATA-based SSDs.  If you ever decide to upgrade your spec to use NVMe SSDs for significantly better performance, then you will not be able to use the passwords you're using today.  So if you haven't already, you may want to start testing something like BitLocker.  Incidentally, you may want to consider switching anyway, since it offers a number of advantages over HDD passwords, particularly in recovery scenarios.  For example, if you were using BitLocker and the laptop died, you could connect its SSD via an external enclosure, which is convenient.  With an HDD password, you would instead have to install that SSD internally in some other laptop to access the data, since external enclosures don't support prompting for an HDD password to unlock the drive.  Additionally, an HDD password means there's only one password to unlock the drive, so if the end user changes it and then forgets it or leaves the company and doesn't tell you the password, then you can't recover the data.  With BitLocker, you can have multiple "protectors" to ensure that your IT department can always unlock drives regardless of the password/PIN the user may have set.  In fact using Group Policy you can even force the BitLocker Recovery Key to be backed up to Active Directory before encryption is enabled.

Sorry, I forgot to answer your suggestion. I checked on 3 laptops and on all of them the options were checked by default. 

I would recommend updating the BIOS to the latest revision and the follow the steps outlined in this Docking station article - http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/sln308303/dell-usb-c-and-thunderbolt-docks-wd15-tb16-d6000-bios-settings-and-driver-installation-for-troubleshooting?lang=en

Please be advised that if you use Bitlocker on your system, you disable it before updating to the latest BIOS. More info can be found here - http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln153694/updating-the-bios-on-dell-systems-with-bitlocker-enabled?lang=en

Alan

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@Dell-Alan D wrote:

I would recommend updating the BIOS to the latest revision and the follow the steps outlined in this Docking station article - http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/sln308303/dell-usb-c-and-thunderbolt-docks-wd15-tb16-d6000-bios-settings-and-driver-installation-for-troubleshooting?lang=en

Please be advised that if you use Bitlocker on your system, you disable it before updating to the latest BIOS. More info can be found here - http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln153694/updating-the-bios-on-dell-systems-with-bitlocker-enabled?lang=en

Alan

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You should suspend BitLocker before updating the BIOS (unless you want to enter the Recovery Key afterward).  Disabling BitLocker means completely decrypting the drive, which is time-consuming and unnecessary.

I can't understand why this is failing to resolve the issue as BIOS updates have been released to address the issue and it should be as simple as enabling a few BIOS USB settings. Can you help me out with some additional details please - 

You have mentioned that you have WD15 and D6000 docks. Looking at the previous article I sent it does say for the D6000 dock 

Navigate to Dell Type-C Dock Configuration and select Always Allow Dell Docks.

What I've tried so far:

Disabling/enabling the USB support and External USB support and also the  Always Allow Dell Docks. 

Updated both the laptop and the dock's firmware and BIOS versions. 

I just tried disabling the D6000 Always Allow Dell Docks but it didn't fix anything.

What I've noticed is that when I turn the laptop on, It doesn't deliver power to the keyboard (I've tried using wired Logitech K120). I've tried plugging the keyboard directly through the laptop (not connected to the dock) and also plugging it in the docking station while the laptop is plugged in also.  The power to the keyboard starts only during the windows loading screen or when I go to BIOS.

Thanks for the update, I'm going to raise this with engineering to see what they say as that should work on both docks. It could be a few days before I can provide an update.

Alan

Hi @DamyanGatev, 

It may be possible to enable USB functionality pre OS by checking the Thunderbolt settings in the BIOS and setting the Security Level to User Authorisation it should work.

Within the BIOS, navigate to "System Configuration"
Click on Thunderbolt Adapter Configuration
Set "Security level - User Authorization"
Click Apply and then Exit

As enabling this may introduce security risks for the company, the system is working as designed with no pre-OS usb functionality via docking stations.

Alan

Unfortunately, the Thunderbolt options are grayed out.  

As those options are greyed out I can see no way of changing them. The system is functioning as designed.

Alan