U4919DW, two PC, share mouse and keyboard, #2

Question

I have U4919DW which has a built-in KVM switch which has only one usb-c port and two HDMI ports.
I have two laptops: Dell (Personal) and Thinkpad (Work) in Dell Display Manager
Keyboard: a wired keyboard with USB port
Mouse: a Logitech MX Anywhere 3 mouse which allows me to use via either wireless or bluetooth.

Current problem:
can share this monitor with two laptops by installing Dell Display Manager, but can't share a keyboard and a mouse.
Theoretically this monitor allows to share a keyboard and a mouse between two laptops, but actually not ! I've tried different setups, but nothing works.

Setup1 (current setup):
laptop1: connect with usb-c cable between usb-c port in laptop and usb-c port in monitor
laptop2: connect with HDMI cable between HDMI port in laptop and HDMI port in monitor
keyboard: connect to monitor's usb port
mouse: connect to monitor's usb port
two laptops: both Windows 10 OS
==> In this setup, only laptop1 can recognize keyboard in "Windows > Blutooth and other device setting"

Setup2 (swap the cables between two laptops):

laptop1: connect with HDMI cable between HDMI port in laptop and HDMI port in monitor
laptop2: connect with usb-c cable between usb-c port in laptop and usb-c port in monitor
==> In this setup, only laptop2 can recognize keyboard in "Windows > Blutooth and other device setting"

Issue: only the laptop which connected with usb-c cable can recognize the keyboard and mouse !!!

Current Status:
Can share this monitor between two laptops, BUT can't share a keyboard and a mouse
I've tried to connect the keyboard and mouse to different usb ports in monitors, but nothing works as expected
I attached the input manger screen shot of Dell Display manager ( in this setup, work(Thinkpad) is connected via usb-c -usb-c cable and personal (dell) is connected via HDMI-HMDI cable.

Please help me how to make it work

jphughan · Accepted Answer

@Evan5055 A USB-C connection is capable of carrying video, USB data, and power all over a single cable. An HDMI cable only carries video. So if your Laptop 2 is connected to the display ONLY via HDMI, then there's no USB data path between the display and system, and therefore USB peripherals plugged into the display will not be visible to that system. You need to add a USB cable connection between Laptop 2 and one of the USB upstream interfaces on the display. And then you can use DDM or the display's setup menu to link the HDMI input and the upstream USB interface you're using with that system, so that any time you switch the display to HDMI, the display will also activate the USB interface used by that system rather than you having to switch video inputs and USB data interfaces separately every time you want to switch PCs.

As indicated above, this is all covered pretty well in the display's User Guide. Dell's documentation is typically pretty solid, so it's a useful resource to consult before resorting to asking the Internet and then waiting for an answer that will hopefully be correct.

swamped207 · Answer

Your DDM screenshot shows you've connected your "laptop2" to the HDMI1 and USB1 ports on the U49, but your description only mentions an HDMI cable. You have to also connect your "laptop2" to the USB1 upstream port on the U49 using the USB 3.0 upstream cable that came with the monitor. Just connecting HDMI alone won't do it.

DELL-Chris M · Answer

Open the online U4919DW User's Guide. Pages 69 and 70 =

Evan5055 · Answer

Thanks a lot. I needed two different cables for laptop2, which I didn't know.
I didn't understand the image of dell instruction 3. on page 69.
When I saw this instruction, it looked strange to me and now I finally got it.
Now everything's working as expected.

Monitors

U4919DW, two PC, share mouse and keyboard, #2

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