WD19 docking stations - network dropout, USB dropout across multiple models

I just wanted to post an update here. This is still happening to us and i can still recreate the issue. 

First my setup: Latitude 7400 2-in-1 On a WD19 (Single Connector) dock.

Dell thought this issue was fixed with the following patches. 

• Build 1903 - KB4522355 - https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB4522355
• Build 1809 - KB4520062 - https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB4520062

But i tried Windows 10 1909 and it has the issue as well. 

I also tried Disabling thunderbolt security (as someone suggested) and the network is still dropping). 

will go down the list of suggestions on this forum and see if maybe one of them fixes the issue. but i am doubtful. 

I have reopened the case with Dell to see if we can get this fixed soon.

I am running a Precision 5440 on a WD19 station.. I have many times network dropout and if I look for the network board on the device list it is disappeared. Sometimes it is enough to unplug/plug the Thunderbolt, sometimes it is needed to power off/on the WD19 station, other times I need to reboot. I tried all the tricks that have been suggested but nothing solved definitely the problem.

Can someone from Dell Support chime in on the status of this issue with the Engineering team? We have several 7280 and 7480 systems that experienced network drops on the eth port for the WD19s when they systems is locked and the displays are off. In my experiencing ONLY restarting the systems gets it back and working once this happens. I plan to try some of the work around in this thread but we can not realistically change these settings on all the systems that are experiencing the issue. We need a better fix for the issue then a long list of configuration changes to try that might resolve the issue in some cases. These feels much more like a bug with the dock itself similar to the issues that plagued the WD15 when it was rolled out.

I've been quiet for a few weeks.  For several days, I had no issue with my dock (WD19TB) with a Latitude 5490 with network dropping.  Went to my office yesterday where I have a WD15.  Never had a problem there.

Today, my dock went absolutely nuts with the network port dropping over and over.  I got fed up and moved the cable back to the laptop and I could still hear the dock NIC dropping from the computer and losing connection (PC to dock NIC connection dropping).  No NIC settings will fix that.  Tried changing power management on it to no avail.

Sadly, the moderator who was in this thread is no longer responsive within this thread.  I had installed Dell's tool that auto-updates drivers, firmware, etc.  Nothing new has come along.

Very disappointed in the support provided.  I guess I'll just have to use the ethernet port on the laptop instead of the dock and hope that some day they get it fixed.  It's only been what... 4 months?  Normally I'm pretty patient, but 4 months is ridiculous.

Still no update on this issue then? I have multiple 5300 / WD19 130W experiencing network dropouts.

Very disappointed in this docking station so far, we had to RMA one due to a dead fan (180W).

We are experiencing this issue with one of our user's on an XPS13 laptop. Tried contacting Dell and they sent us a new WD19 dock which fixed the issue for about a week and now the problems have come back exactly the same as before. Everything works apart from the USB devices plugged into the dock and the Ethernet cable plugged into the dock. They both work if we plug them into the built in USB ports on the laptop but that isn't a solution as it defeats the whole point of the dock and we might as well not use them if that is the solution. We had these same issues on the TB16 docks and other laptops (Precision 7530 and XPS15 for example) but we hoped these new docks would resolve the issue but unfortunately, it appears to be no different.

Any update from Dell would be greatly appreciated as this has been going on for far too long and the amount of docks we are churning through nowadays is becoming a bit of a joke (especially considering how much they cost)

Thanks,

Lewis

Thought it would be worth posting this just in case it helps in anyway...

When the laptop was working with the WD19 dock, I went into device manager and found a thunderbolt connectivity driver (this is obviously expected). When the dock stopped working, I went into device manager again and noticed that this driver had disappeared almost as if the laptop wasn't connected to the WD19 dock. This makes no sense as both displays were working and the white indicator light on the physical thunderbolt cable was also on (this light only comes on when the cable is connected successfully to the laptop with power).

We have contacted our account manager regarding this issue so I will post again on here if we get any further.

Thanks,

Lewis

Came across this thread following research into a number of our users experiencing similar network drop out issues.  We are having issues with Latitude 5400 laptops using WD19 docks.  

The problem occurs similar as mentioned only when the machine is locked and left for a short period of time, but the laptop is not going to sleep.  Once the laptop is locked, and the users returns after a short period of time, they are receiving message prompts that their network connection has dropped.

I cannot replicate this 100% myself with a freshly imaging Latitude 5400 and WD19 dock, but are seeing repeated pattern with simular Latitude 5400 using WD19's.  

Interestingly during the period of time that the user is away from the machine, I am seeing entries in the event log indicating that the Wifi has been enabled then disabled briefly, but the laptop has remained connected to the dock the whole time

This is seen by event ID 7011 (RADIO ON) , then event id 7012 (RADIO OFF) within 3seconds of each other.

I have now set as suggested to turn OFF any power management related to the PCI Express Link State power management and will see if this makes any difference.

I would be interested to know of any progress on update with this issue

thanks

Andrew

Update: we have had luck with disabling green Ethernet (on the Realtek NIC) as suggested by another user in this forum. Now i am trying to find a way to deploy that with GPO, Reg, script or anything. any suggestions? 

We shouldn't have to deviate from the default driver settings but Dell has offered no real fixes so i think we may have to do this ourselves. 

Same issue here. Disabling green internet and other options in ethernet adapter doesn't help.

However, here is what I was able to figure out:

1. The issue occurred on laptops without Thunderbolt support (e.g. Latitude 7490). You get there Ethernet for about 1 minute after boot and then the device is gone

2. Laptops with Thunderbolt support has less problems with this (e.g. Latitude 5300 2-in-1). 

But I still to me it's the issue with TB19 firmware. BTW, the same is with TB16 docks.

WD15 docks have no problem, so I do assume it's related to Thunderbolt controller in the dock

So I've had a few days to monitor and test some of the suggested changes.  I have two particular users with Latitude 5400's (non thunderbolt) and WD19 docks, which is really causing operational issues.  So far I have replaced one of the laptop's and tested disabling PCI Express link status in power management, but still seeing this WIFI ON, WIFI OFF when the user(s) walk away from their machine for a short period - briefly breaking any network connection and crashing documents.

Today I have set the Green Ethernet option on the Realtek USB to disabled, so will monitor today how that goes.

We have a large number of Latitude 5400's and WD19's deployed, in which this specific issue seems isolated or our other users are not so vocal to raise the issue.  I cannot find a common factor for the users/devices I am seeing the problem with, compared with other similar Latitude 5400's/WD19s deployed

Thunderbolt Dock: WD19TB
Lap Thunderbolt Adapter Configuration > Check the following items:

Thunderbolt
Enable Thunderbolt Boot Support
Enable Thunderbolt (and PCIe behind TBT) Pre-boot Modules
No Security

I also made sure my drivers/firmware were up-to-date.

Cheers,
Todd

Hello there,
right now i have this problem only with WD19 and not with the Thunderbolt Model WD19TB

Same issue here with four WD19TB used with Vostro 7590s.