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TB15 Dock Linux Support
Today I received the new TB15 dock. I'm disappointed to find it doesn't work on Linux, unlike the WD15, with which some Linux users have had some success.
My experience thus far:
- XPS 15 9550. Windows edition wiped with only Ubuntu installed.
- Ubuntu 15.10, Kernel 4.3.3
- Connecting the dock *does* charge the computer (yay!) but when restarting, BIOS gives a warning saying it's only charging at 60W instead of the recommended 130W. I have the 230W power brick attached to the dock, so I'm not sure if that message is accurate.
- Unfortunately, other than charging, the dock doesn't seem to do anything. No USB replication, headphones, ethernet, or any of the monitor ports work. Indeed, nothing is seen by the system at all. I'm a bit surprised as I expected firmware level support for the dock, such that at least the USB ports would work within even BIOS screens.
- Other USB-C adapters I've had great luck with: VGA, DisplayPort, and Ethernet dongles all work flawlessly.
- The one function that does work is the power button on the top of the dock. Pushing this button prompts Ubuntu to Sleep/Restart/Shutdown, as though I'd pressed the power key on the laptop.
What has been others' experiences with this dock and Linux?
UPDATE (July 26, 2016): Multiple users (including myself) have confirmed that the TB15 dock is now *mostly* working in Linux, including display ports, USB, and ethernet (with caveats). The key change seems to be upgrading the BIOS using "Dell XPS 15 9550 A10 System BIOS". For more info see this comment: http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/os-applications/f/4613/p/19678284/20922879#20922879
theta_d
1 Message
2
June 15th, 2016 06:00
My company purchased 8 Dell Precision 5510s with and TB15 docks with the intention to run Linux on them. Please, any ETA. The dock doesn't even work smoothly on Windows 10 with all drivers and firmware. We always have to reboot after re-docking to get our USB keyboards and mice to work consistently again.
We're most likely going to abandon this and get MacBook Pros so we can actually get work done. Not a fan of paying money to be a hardware beta tester.
elvismdev
9 Posts
0
June 16th, 2016 06:00
Exact same thing here, we are so mad with so much time and money we spent into this and Dell doesn't even care to come with a solution ASAP how they should. We have a bunch of the new Dell XPS 13 developer edition wich ships with Ubuntu Linux, this laptops only has a 1 Thunderbolt 3 port to output video to an external monitor, leading to us to depend only on this docks the TB15 and WD15. We have tried already multiple of them and none of them works just normal as they should. Even under windows, the same well know issues comes up.
This thing already lands on the disrespectful...
j0d1
21 Posts
0
June 16th, 2016 18:00
Guys, let's be realistic for a moment and work with what we know:
* Drivers on Windows are not working properly months after the release.
* We have no ETA for the Linux drivers and we cannot follow the progress of the Linux drivers because the source code is closed.
* The TB15 is not available for purchase anymore.
* Customer service is telling that the TB15 is recalled (and good luck for a refund if you did not buy it directly from Dell) but there is no recall info on the website.
If you can, get a refund now and buy it later when it is actually working.
cloojure
76 Posts
0
June 16th, 2016 21:00
One possible workaround? I bought the D3100 last fall for my 2014 XPS 13 (9333) and installed the driver update from online. It worked with Ubuntu 15.04 (slight mouse flicker), but became near-perfect with Ubuntu 15.10.
There are more details on other threads (Oct-Nov 2015) here if you are interested.
aappddeevv
66 Posts
1
June 16th, 2016 21:00
I've not received any notice and have asked customer service and no one has said that its been recalled. I keep seeing that mentioned but cannot find any proof that a recall exists. I did see the WiGi dock, which looks cool. I wonder if that would work with the XPS 13 9350.
markrich-ps
5 Posts
0
June 27th, 2016 07:00
I have been speaking with this issue to Dell today.
No confirmation on the wireless dock being compatible but at the very least they have offered to take back the two TB15 docks I bought a few weeks ago at the start of April.
This would appear to be a big ***-up from the Dell people. Checking suitability for the dock and Ubuntu ought to have been high on the salesmans list and indeed a red flag for compatibility.
Not having the drivers out, closing the source code when others could have helped and keeping silent when the Linux community is about being open is poor show. I hope Dell do get better at this.
In the meantime, I need two docks. What to get next?
roan.util
16 Posts
0
June 30th, 2016 07:00
I tried a Plugable USB 3.0 type c dock and the display outputs were laggy. Drove me nuts so I returned it. Anything USB is going to use displaylink drivers which I think is a weakness.
Personally, I think it's a waiting game for decent thunderbolt 3 docks to hit. I hope Dell starts to sell the TB15 again (but improved). The only universal thunderbolt dock I know if is Startech. I can't find any reviews for it and they specifically say it's Windows only. Plugable has thunderbolt 3 docks hitting later this year.
I'd gladly try a TB15 on my XPS 13 running Ubuntu if I could buy it from Dell or Amazon instead of eBay.
elvismdev
9 Posts
0
June 30th, 2016 09:00
I can confirm you the StarTech TB32DP2 Thunderbolt 3 to Dual DisplayPort Adapter works perfect with my Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition which I upgraded myself to Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. I'm using the StarTech adapter to output to two monitors Dell U2715H and it just works out of the box perfectly, I would even say that it works way better than the TB15 from Dell.
With this last one Dell dock, regardless that the USB, Audio and Network interfaces doesn't work, just the DisplayPort video output, sometimes if the laptop goes into sleep mode, when I tried to bring it back by moving the mouse or typing in the KB it will never come back and just hangs there in black screen giving no more option to hard turn it off and start it again. With the StarTech adapter it just works as expected, no hanging or system freezing at all when the computer goes idle.
Dell should learn from this StarTech Thunderbolt 3 Adapter for their next TB15! If any...
greyltc
15 Posts
0
July 5th, 2016 05:00
Hallelujah!
Over the past day or two Dell has posted two very relevant updates. One for the USB 3 controller in the TB15 dock and one for the BIOS for my laptop (9550). Check your Dell support driver update site for these (TB15 driver download updates are hidden for some reason when visiting the TB15 support website under Linux).
After updating both (I did this by booting into Windows), I'm happy to report that as of 10 min ago, my TB15 is very nearly 100% functional under Linux (tested with kernel version 4.7.0-rc5): Ethernet, 2x monitors (via display port & hdmi), usb 2.0, usb 3.0 and charging are all confirmed working. 3x external displays, mini-display port, thunderbolt passthrough, VGA connector and dock audio are untested.
The only thing that I've noticed that's not working is booting my laptop with the TB15 plugged in. When I try that, all USB related things are broken (as before these recent updates). So my workaround is to boot into my Linux desktop environment, *then* plug the dock into my laptop and voilà, everything works!
:D
aappddeevv
66 Posts
0
July 5th, 2016 07:00
There appears to a bios and a few other updates posted since July 1st for the xps 9350.
I applied the updates and I'll give my fedora 24, 4.7rc5 some tests.
roan.util
16 Posts
0
July 5th, 2016 07:00
Congratulations! Is it eating up CPU or causing the fan to run loud like people have previously reported?
lkraav
1 Rookie
1 Rookie
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34 Posts
0
July 5th, 2016 07:00
PS 4.7rc6 was just tagged.
aappddeevv
66 Posts
0
July 5th, 2016 07:00
I'll try rc6 as well. I just ride the updated f24 system but did not have luck with Linux recognizing the mouse and other devices plugged into the dock. As a side note, I found that the 4.7rc5 (actually from rc3) where the i915 drivers were updated cause me to freeze (whole kernel not just the graphics driver freezing although I think it's graphics driver related) more frequently under wayland than before.
greyltc
15 Posts
0
July 5th, 2016 10:00
I don't think the fact that my TB15 is working now has so much to do with my kernel version. I've been using that kernel for at least a week without the dock working. I just specified my kernel version for completeness. The reason my dock is working today is very likely some combination of the recent USB chipset update and the BIOS update. Your focus should be on getting those into your laptops.
j0d1
21 Posts
0
July 5th, 2016 10:00
I installed all the latest drivers on Windows and tested Audio / Ethernet / Power / USB ports / HDMI ports. So far, it's working well on Windows.
On Linux, I installed the latest kernel (4.7.0-rc6):
* Linux boots with the dock plugged in
* Keyboard, mouse or any USB device are not detected but the devices receive power
* Ethernet is not working
* HDMI is detected and I can output data to my external monitor but the connection is reset every 5 seconds (not usable eh). I'm using X11 1.18.3 but I don't think X11 is the issue because my external monitor is working perfectly when plugged directly in the HDMI port of the laptop.
* Audio is not detected
* I tried to unplug/replug the dock after the boot (I see messages in dmesg indicator that bridges and stuff are detected), only plug the dock after the boot, etc. but nothing works.
So far, still a costly power brick.