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

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I have had similar issues with every Dell USB-C dock I've used, and so does everyone I know at work who tries to use one. Just yesterday, while working from home, my cat jumped up on my desk and brushed against the USB-C connection to my Precision 5440. The power indicator blinked momentarily; both my external monitors went dark for a few seconds. When the monitors lit up again, I had lost my keyboard and mouse (both connected to USB A ports on the dock) as well as my wired Ethernet connection. I moved the USB-C cable from the 1st Thunderbolt port to the second; now my mouse, keyboard, and Ethernet connection were functional, but one of the monitors went dark. The only way to restore normal operation was to cycle power on the laptop. And forget about being able to unplug the dock at home and transport the laptop to work while it's on battery power, then plugging in the dock at work. Doesn't work; power cycle required, and at that point I'm treated to 90 seconds of the Dell logo. What a mess.

I have a $60 dock from Best Buy that works far more consistently than any Dell dock I've ever used.

The only solution we have found thus far to stopping the network disconnects is to bypass the dock completely and plug ethernet directly into the dock.  That immediately "fixes" the problem for us, so clearly this is a driver/dock issue.  Dell has no solutions here and judging by the amount of time this issue has been present I don't expect one any time soon.

Edit:  We are running the WD19TB with Precision 3560's, 3550's, 3540's, and 3530's, all of which are affected.

The dropped and reconnecting ethernet issue for our Dell computers and Dell docking stations appears to be with the Realtek USB GbE Family Controller.  The 2021 version of the driver (10.48.914.2021) kept a constant ethernet connection, however, the updated 2022 version (1153.6.418.2022) causes the ethernet to constantly drop in and out between ethernet and WiFi.

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@BenCunn wrote:

The dropped and reconnecting ethernet issue for our Dell computers and Dell docking stations appears to be with the Realtek USB GbE Family Controller.  The 2021 version of the driver (10.48.914.2021) kept a constant ethernet connection, however, the updated 2022 version (1153.6.418.2022) causes the ethernet to constantly drop in and out between ethernet and WiFi.

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The older ethernet driver from https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=4x2v8 appears to fix the constant ethernet dropping/switching issues for us.

Wish The older driver worked for me.    I'm on my third replacement WD19TB from Dell and they all drop out within 10 minutes.  Tried Dock with Two different Latitude models the 7300 and 5320.  I have an older DS1000 Dock and it works perfect with both machines (no drops).  The Difference is the older dock is USB C not Thunderbolt.  When my WD19TB drops ethernet it takes out my entire wired network.

I guess this dock just won't work as intended.  Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks  

James in Central Texas

This issue is plaguing my environment. I've tried rolling back drivers, updating drivers, rolling back BIOS, updating BIOS, etc.. the only "fix" is plugging the ethernet cable directly into the laptop. 

At this point, Dell is ignoring the problem. Please fix this issue that is affecting so many clients. 

I just ordered a replacement WD19S (WD19 is no longer available) because of this issue. Ethernet drops out, light on one of the two USB cables goes out, etc. 

Also having this issue where Ethernet connection suddenly falls down while being connected to WD19. It forces me to restart the laptop for it to work again. Tried all solutions suggested by other users and nothing worked.

This can be done in Windows 11 as well.

I've just asked some of our DELL go to guys this question : 

What exactly does these three settings do?

Energy-Efficient Ethernet

Idle Power Saving

Green Ethernet

on my Adapter : Realtek USB GbE Family Controller for my WD19S.

Did you tried the older driver ?

When is Dell going to fix this? I have tried suggestions here and nothing changed
Currently testing 04 Jul 2022 firmware and 23 May 2022 NIC driver. Sadly, didn't find a changelog.

We have spend well over $100k in the last 2 years upgrading to Dell laptops with the WD19TB (and now WD19TBS) dock. This issue has absolutely killed us lately. It doesn't matter what we change on the driver settings, we still get random disconnects. We were able to deploy an old driver (Realtek - 12/16/2019 - v10.37.1216.2019) to every single computer pretty easily to resolve this problem, but computers keep updating to the new driver via Windows or Dell Command Update and the problem becomes a whack-a-mole issue essentially every day.

Dell needs to do something about this, dangit.