Latitude 5490 and DisplayLink D3100 - Display not working

Question

Hi all, I have recently got a new 5490 and a D3100 dock to go with it. I have two monitors that I wish to connect via the docking station. They are slightly older and do not have HDMI ports so I have connected to the dock with two DVI-HDMI cables. However, when I do this, the monitors are not detected by the laptop and no display happens. I have tried using the same cables to connect the monitors directly to the laptop one at a time, and this works fine. The dock is also working in some way, as my USB keyboard is plugged into the dock, which is plugged into the laptop and this works fine. I have ensured all the drivers and so on are fully updated and the DisplayLink software as well. So the issue is only with the display as plugged into the dock. The only issue I can think of is that perhaps DVI-HDMI cables would not function correctly with the D3100? Does anyone know if this is the case, or of any potential solutions?

jphughan · Answer

DVI to HDMI cables tend to work reliably since DVI and HDMI are electrically identical up to 1920x1200 resolution, but I remember reading posts saying that HDMI to DVI cables didn't work with the XPS 15 9570's HDMI output, so I guess that's a possibility.

However, if you've just recently purchased the D3100, you may really want to rethink that choice in dock model. First, that dock doesn't charge the system, and there are other docks that plug into the 5490's USB-C port that can facilitate that. And second, DisplayLink really isn't an ideal choice when you have the option to use a dock that taps into the native GPU output available on the USB-C port. Take a look at the post I wrote in this thread (the post marked as the answer) for my write-up of DisplayLink. The D6000 dock I mentioned there would at least be able to charge that system, but it too uses DisplayLink. The Latitude 5490 doesn't have Thunderbolt 3, so you couldn't use the TB16 dock, but you could use the WD15. That would charge your system and use native GPU outputs. So unless you actually need more than dual 1080p external displays (or you need to use that dock with other systems that don't have USB-C), you might want to consider returning the D3100 in favor of a WD15.

DB Mofo · Answer

mine was working great. I have a Dell Lattitude 5490 and a D3100 then the other day it all of a sudden stopped working, None of the HDMI ports are working on the Docking station. When I use the HDMI port on the Laptop but then plugin the VGA cable with the docking station using the Display port, the 1 monitor cannot display the right resolution. I am using 3 Dell monitors. All updates have been done, re-installed ect. Something is up