TB15 Dock Linux Support

Ugh, that happened to me too, three times.

The first time, they had to replace the motherboard.

The second time, they had to replace the motherboard.

The third time, I was really not ready to wait.  I figured maybe the BIOS had corrupted itself.  I pulled the coin cell and let it sit for a minute.  It booted into BIOS, though my settings were (obviously) gone.  All is now well.

Sounds easy?  You need to open it up, remove the fans and remove the heat sink just to get at the coin cell.  You'll probably want some thermal compound handy before you reassemble (as you will likely find, as I did, that there *is no thermal compound on the CPU or GPU*).

Good luck,

Ouch my XPS 9350 just died on me. Bought it in April. Have an open ticket to get the repair person out to fix it. Most likely motherboard as it no longer reaches post and the power shuts itself off.  Had just found a bunch of i915 patches for skylake that should help with buffer underruns which freeze my machine with multiple monitor configs...can't test them now :-)

I would hate to have Dell do a truck roll if that's all it is even though I bought the on-site service. Let me think about it. I hate to remove stuff.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. If I get the guts to do this, I'll let you know the outcome.

They had me open up the back for the remote diagnostic step so the cats out of the bag re: opening it up.

Well...I just looked up the service PDF and the coin battery is right there on top near the big battery for the 9350. I took it out and waited a few minutes but no luck when restarting. Perhaps in the 9350 you just have to remove the back.

Well, seems like it's not all software issues. My dock stopped working last week. Spoke with Dell today and they are giving me a refund.

They did say that they will start production on them again in a month or two once they get the issues sorted out.

Well, seems like it's not all software issues. My dock stopped working last week. Spoke with Dell today and they are giving me a refund. They did say that they will start production on them again in a month or two once they get the issues sorted out.

This precisely my thoughts, this is not only a Software issue but a Hardware issue and compatibility with other systems as well. Hope Dell do a full reproduction of this. Is a must and we are all struck on this black box! 

It's become very clear that our TB15s are faulty hardware which need to be replaced. Do a search via twitter.com for "@dellcares TB15" and you'll see what the official support channel is saying about our docks.

We know that since at least one Dell employee has responded to this thread that they're reading it. To the Dell employees:

How should we go about getting replacements for the faulty hardware you've sold us here?

And how about some sort compensation for the time we've wasted trying to get it to work?

It's become very clear that our TB15s are faulty hardware which need to be replaced. How should we go about getting replacements for the faulty hardware you've sold us here? And how about some sort compensation for the time we've wasted trying to get it to work?

It is clear that the TB15 wasn't (perhaps isn't still, which is why they are not selling them) ready. But everyone in this thread so far has noted you can call Dell support and return the dock (even after the 30 day window).

You won't get any other kind of compensation though. Warranties cover the cost of the product. The only thing to do is return the dock, then vote with your wallet if you want to try something else.

The dock keeps incrementally improving in features and stability. I bought mine on day 1 of its release. Very little worked correctly and I opened this thread. Since then, after lots of firmware updates for both my 9550 and the dock, it's working almost entirely except for intermittent kernel panics, and those seem to be related to the DisplayPort/HDMI and for now can be worked around (I just use a second cable for the monitor currently).

Linux and cutting-edge hardware rarely overlap. Dell made a faux-pas by releasing the dock too early and (marketing) claiming Linux was supported at the time. That faux-pas is why you can return them. Having gone from "pretty much nothing works" back in March to "almost everything works" now is indication enough for me that Dell (especially team Sputnik) is doing everything they can to turn this around.

I actually bought mine from Amazon and Dell was really helpful. They assured me that Amazon being a Dell partner that I would get the return approved and to contact them if I encountered any resistance.

I don't hold all this against Dell. Yea, the TB15 wasn't ready and that has caused a headache for some people. But, if you go look at the page for Startech's thunderbolt 3 dock, you'll see "WINDOWS ONLY". At least Dell is trying to support Linux and even has reps that have commented here.

I almost feel bad for buying a refurb instead of a Developer Edition. I appreciate the Linux support.

I have been using My Dell Precision 5510 with the TB15 for about a month now,  with the following setup:

1. Kernel 4.6.4
2. Ubuntu 16.4
3. Processor i5
4. Using the StarTech adaptor to get two dport monitors to work

Things that Work

1. Dual Monitors (through the StarTech adaptor)
2. Hot plugging
3. Microphone/Speaker Jacks
4. USB ports
5. USB-C On TB15 ports
6. TB15 power button

Things that aren't working

1. Direct support for multiple Display port monitors
2. High through put with the wired network.
3. Chrome doesn't seem to work correctly .  (I have reinstalled it, and the OS to confirm that I didn't do something) 
   1. Causes very high load on the system
   2. pictures don't load or come through scrambled
   3. This may be related to the Network adaptor
4. Wireless is flakey sometimes the PC needs to be rebooted to find the network before connecting
5. nVidia card is not accessible only the intel graphics (I think this is a kernel issue)

Things that are annoying

1. Sometimes you have to plug and then unplug ->replug the system to get the external keyboard attached to the dock to work.
2. Full minute wait before the dock responds to the newly plugged in system.  

If anyone has a fix for the Chrome problem I would greatly appreciate it as this one thing makes this product way more usable ( I am a web developer)

I'm also experiencing kernel error which causes the ethernet connection to drop :(

The only choice I have is to unplug USB-C dock connection, wait a bit until I see kernel message saying it's releasing resource then plug again. And like Greyltc mentioned cannot make it work at 1000mb/s cause it's failing all the time. I now have a 100Mb/s switch which helps reduce the number of failures but I can still get 1-5 per day...

[ +0.324113] ------------[ cut here ]------------
[ +0.000021] WARNING: CPU: 7 PID: 3696 at /build/linux-5vkMGy/linux-4.4.0/ubuntu/i915/intel_pm.c:3671 skl_update_other_pipe_wm+0x16c/0x180 [i915_bpo]()
[ +0.000001] WARN_ON(!wm_changed)
[ +0.000001] Modules linked in:
[ +0.000002] xt_nat xt_tcpudp veth rfcomm ipt_MASQUERADE nf_nat_masquerade_ipv4 xfrm_user xfrm_algo iptable_nat nf_conntrack_ipv4 nf_defrag_ipv4 nf_nat_ipv4 xt_addrtype iptable_filter ip_tables xt_conntrack x_tables nf_nat nf_conntrack br_netfilter bridge stp llc aufs pci_stub vboxpci(OE) vboxnetadp(OE) vboxnetflt(OE) bbswitch(OE) vboxdrv(OE) bnep snd_hda_codec_hdmi dell_led snd_hda_codec_realtek snd_hda_codec_generic nvidia_uvm(POE) nvidia_modeset(POE) hid_multitouch binfmt_misc nls_iso8859_1 i2c_designware_platform i2c_designware_core mxm_wmi dell_wmi snd_usb_audio snd_usbmidi_lib cdc_ether usbnet r8152 mii dell_laptop dcdbas nvidia(POE) snd_hda_intel snd_hda_codec brcmfmac btusb brcmutil snd_hda_core btrtl intel_rapl cfg80211 x86_pkg_temp_thermal intel_powerclamp snd_hwdep coretemp crct10dif_pclmul
[ +0.000031] crc32_pclmul uvcvideo aesni_intel rtsx_pci_ms videobuf2_vmalloc videobuf2_memops videobuf2_v4l2 aes_x86_64 videobuf2_core lrw memstick snd_pcm v4l2_common gf128mul glue_helper videodev ablk_helper cryptd snd_seq_midi media snd_seq_midi_event snd_rawmidi joydev snd_seq input_leds snd_seq_device snd_timer serio_raw snd soundcore processor_thermal_device intel_soc_dts_iosf mei_me shpchp idma64 virt_dma mei intel_lpss_pci int3403_thermal hci_uart btbcm btqca btintel bluetooth dell_smo8800 wmi intel_lpss_acpi intel_lpss int3402_thermal int340x_thermal_zone intel_hid int3400_thermal sparse_keymap acpi_thermal_rel acpi_pad acpi_als mac_hid kfifo_buf industrialio kvm_intel kvm irqbypass parport_pc ppdev lp parport autofs4 raid10 raid456 async_raid6_recov async_memcpy async_pq async_xor async_tx
[ +0.000031] wacom usbhid xor raid6_pq libcrc32c raid1 raid0 multipath linear rtsx_pci_sdmmc i915_bpo psmouse intel_ips i2c_algo_bit drm_kms_helper syscopyarea sysfillrect sysimgblt fb_sys_fops nvme rtsx_pci ahci drm libahci i2c_hid hid pinctrl_sunrisepoint video pinctrl_intel fjes
[ +0.000044] CPU: 7 PID: 3696 Comm: Xorg Tainted: P W OE 4.4.0-34-generic #53-Ubuntu
[ +0.000001] Hardware name: Dell Inc. XPS 15 9550/0N7TVV, BIOS 01.02.10 06/30/2016
[ +0.000002] 0000000000000286 00000000a7ca68bb ffff8804a5d87948 ffffffff813f11b3
[ +0.000011] ffff8804a5d87990 ffffffffc028f8f0 ffff8804a5d87980 ffffffff81081102
[ +0.000004] ffff8804a422d000 ffff8804a2d4a148 ffff8804a422e000 ffff8804aae72b78
[ +0.000004] Call Trace:
[ +0.000006] [ ] dump_stack+0x63/0x90
[ +0.000005] [ ] warn_slowpath_common+0x82/0xc0
[ +0.000004] [ ] warn_slowpath_fmt+0x5c/0x80
[ +0.000020] [ ] skl_update_other_pipe_wm+0x16c/0x180 [i915_bpo]
[ +0.000025] [ ] skl_update_wm+0x185/0x610 [i915_bpo]
[ +0.000032] [ ] ? intel_ddi_enable_transcoder_func+0x17f/0x260 [i915_bpo]
[ +0.000022] [ ] intel_update_watermarks+0x1e/0x30 [i915_bpo]
[ +0.000025] [ ] haswell_crtc_enable+0x761/0x8e0 [i915_bpo]
[ +0.000026] [ ] intel_atomic_commit+0x5d6/0x14a0 [i915_bpo]
[ +0.000024] [ ] ? drm_atomic_check_only+0x18e/0x590 [drm]
[ +0.000017] [ ] drm_atomic_commit+0x37/0x60 [drm]
[ +0.000010] [ ] drm_atomic_helper_connector_dpms+0xed/0x1a0 [drm_kms_helper]
[ +0.000018] [ ] drm_mode_obj_set_property_ioctl+0x25c/0x270 [drm]
[ +0.000017] [ ] drm_mode_connector_property_set_ioctl+0x3f/0x60 [drm]
[ +0.000013] [ ] drm_ioctl+0x152/0x540 [drm]
[ +0.000013] [ ] ? drm_mode_obj_set_property_ioctl+0x270/0x270 [drm]
[ +0.000004] [ ] ? __fpu__restore_sig+0xa1/0x480
[ +0.000004] [ ] do_vfs_ioctl+0x29f/0x490
[ +0.000005] [ ] ? fpu__restore_sig+0x4d/0x60
[ +0.000002] [ ] SyS_ioctl+0x79/0x90
[ +0.000004] [ ] entry_SYSCALL_64_fastpath+0x16/0x71
[ +0.000003] ---[ end trace 201d45acd23626aa ]---
[Aug24 17:08] xhci_hcd 0000:0e:00.0: ERROR Transfer event TRB DMA ptr not part of current TD ep_index 2 comp_code 13
[ +0.000004] xhci_hcd 0000:0e:00.0: Looking for event-dma 00000000266ca010 trb-start 00000000266c9fe0 trb-end 00000000266c9fe0 seg-start 00000000266c9000 seg-end 00000000266c9ff0
[ +0.000328] xhci_hcd 0000:0e:00.0: ERROR Transfer event TRB DMA ptr not part of current TD ep_index 2 comp_code 13
[ +0.000002] xhci_hcd 0000:0e:00.0: Looking for event-dma 00000000266ca020 trb-start 00000000266c9fe0 trb-end 00000000266c9fe0 seg-start 00000000266c9000 seg-end 00000000266c9ff0
[ +0.000401] xhci_hcd 0000:0e:00.0: ERROR Transfer event TRB DMA ptr not part of current TD ep_index 2 comp_code 13
[ +0.000003] xhci_hcd 0000:0e:00.0: Looking for event-dma 00000000266ca030 trb-start 00000000266c9fe0 trb-end 00000000266c9fe0 seg-start 00000000266c9000 seg-end 00000000266c9ff0
[ +0.000226] xhci_hcd 0000:0e:00.0: ERROR Transfer event TRB DMA ptr not part of current TD ep_index 2 comp_code 13
[ +0.000002] xhci_hcd 0000:0e:00.0: Looking for event-dma 00000000266ca040 trb-start 00000000266c9fe0 trb-end 00000000266c9fe0 seg-start 00000000266c9000 seg-end 00000000266c9ff0
[ +0.000408] xhci_hcd 0000:0e:00.0: ERROR Transfer event TRB DMA ptr not part of current TD ep_index 2 comp_code 13
[ +0.000002] xhci_hcd 0000:0e:00.0: Looking for event-dma 00000000266ca050 trb-start 00000000266c9fe0 trb-end 00000000266c9fe0 seg-start 00000000266c9000 seg-end 00000000266c9ff0
[ +0.000268] xhci_hcd 0000:0e:00.0: ERROR Transfer event TRB DMA ptr not part of current TD ep_index 2 comp_code 13
[ +0.000002] xhci_hcd 0000:0e:00.0: Looking for event-dma 00000000266ca060 trb-start 00000000266c9fe0 trb-end 00000000266c9fe0 seg-start 00000000266c9000 seg-end 00000000266c9ff0
[ +0.000338] xhci_hcd 0000:0e:00.0: ERROR Transfer event TRB DMA ptr not part of current TD ep_index 2 comp_code 13
[ +0.000001] xhci_hcd 0000:0e:00.0: Looking for event-dma 00000000266ca070 trb-start 00000000266c9fe0 trb-end 00000000266c9fe0 seg-start 00000000266c9000 seg-end 00000000266c9ff0
[ +0.000311] xhci_hcd 0000:0e:00.0: ERROR Transfer event TRB DMA ptr not part of current TD ep_index 2 comp_code 13
[ +0.000002] xhci_hcd 0000:0e:00.0: Looking for event-dma 00000000266ca080 trb-start 00000000266c9fe0 trb-end 00000000266c9fe0 seg-start 00000000266c9000 seg-end 00000000266c9ff0
[ +12.248193] r8152 4-1.2:1.0 enx847beb14c9fd: Tx timeout
[ +0.025304] r8152 4-1.2:1.0 enx847beb14c9fd: Tx status -2
[ +0.000509] r8152 4-1.2:1.0 enx847beb14c9fd: Tx status -2
[ +0.000567] r8152 4-1.2:1.0 enx847beb14c9fd: Tx status -2
[ +0.000471] r8152 4-1.2:1.0 enx847beb14c9fd: Tx status -2
[ +2.587120] usb 4-1.2: reset SuperSpeed USB device number 3 using xhci_hcd
[Aug24 17:09] r8152 4-1.2:1.0 enx847beb14c9fd: Tx timeout
[ +0.025073] r8152 4-1.2:1.0 enx847beb14c9fd: Tx status -2
[ +0.000467] r8152 4-1.2:1.0 enx847beb14c9fd: Tx status -2
[ +0.000456] r8152 4-1.2:1.0 enx847beb14c9fd: Tx status -2
[ +0.000489] r8152 4-1.2:1.0 enx847beb14c9fd: Tx status -2
[ +2.559493] usb 4-1.2: reset SuperSpeed USB device number 3 using xhci_hcd

@Community,

Glad to see your discussion. I was asked to come here and make a brief post on Dell's scope of support as it relates the various docking solutions by Dell.

Scope of support:

As some of you may already know or may have assumed by now; the Dell Wireless Dock (WLD15), the Dell Dock (WD15) and the Dell Thunderbolt Dock (TB15) were designed and tested by Dell for use with the Microsoft Windows environment only. Therefore, Dell only supports these docking solutions within the Windows environment at this time. (NOTE: The D3100 USB 3.0 Docking Station is Supported by Dell for the Ubuntu operating system.)

Contacting Support:

If you are experiencing issues with your TB15 in the Windows environment please contact Dell Technical Support and reference document: SLN301075 -  How to Use and Troubleshoot the Dell Dock (WD15) and the Dell Thunderbolt Dock (TB15). This document will help guide your case to next steps.

For the future in Ubuntu:

I can tell you Dell engineering is actively working with its Linux OS vendors on adding support for USB Type C docks. There are no ETAs at this time however. Testing so far has indicated that TB15 functions much better under kernel 4.7 while running the latest BIOS on XPS 9350 and XPS 9550.

Here are some recent BIOS updates related to TB15:

Precision 5510

XPS 9550

"Fixes & Enhancements

1.Improve system stability with PCIE NVMe Configuration

2.Update suspend/resume protections

3.Fixed Host System will become reboot during S4 Resume after loading BIOS default while connected to Dell Thunderbolt Dock (TB15)"

Please note that I will not be able to respond to questions or feedback regarding my post made here today as I have other obligations.

You can also contact DellCaresPro on Twitter if you need any assistance on this topic.

That's what I mean, I don't know the exact details about the drivers, but (as a developer) I know for a fact that releasing an installer that allows us to update the firmware from our linux machines should be easy. A days work at most...