Dell Vostro 5481 + WD15 130W dock + P2217

The WD15 130W dock can definitely run those two displays.  Those display have DisplayPort, HDMI, and VGA inputs, and the WD15 has Mini-DisplayPort, HDMI, and VGA outputs.  For best results, avoid using VGA, in which case connect one display using a Mini-DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable and the other with a regular HDMI cable.

In terms of charging, the product page for the Vostro 5481 says that the USB-C port supports DP (DisplayPort, aka video output) and Power Delivery.  The latter is a bit ambiguous.  USB Power Delivery allows more than the standard USB power levels to be exchanged between devices, but that can be negotiated in either direction, and there are some laptops that support providing USB PD power levels to attached devices, but do not support receiving USB PD power levels from attached devices to charge themselves.  The Owner's Manual for the Vostro 5481 doesn't really clarify this either.  But basically, if the system supports being charged over USB-C, then the WD15 130W will charge it.  If it doesn't support charging over USB-C, then no device will be able to charge it that way.

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@orsib78 wrote:
Hello. Thank you for the quick reply. Can I reach someone at Dell to clarify the PD capability before I will spend my money? Since I am not yet a customer I could not find the way to reach technical support yet. Maybe I am dumb, but I tried in many ways already...

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You probably can, but I'm not sure I'd count on their answers.  Even answers from Dell's tech support reps aren't always reliable when it comes to technical details of specific models -- especially when Dell's own documentation that they might refer to doesn't speak to this -- and the sales reps have even less technical concept training.  I've personally gotten incorrect answers from Dell reps on technical questions on multiple occasions, and there are several other cases here where others have reported the same experience, and even posts directly from Dell employees in this forum that have proven to be incorrect.  Your best bet is probably to search for reviews or user reports about the Vostro 5481 where this was specifically tested.  I found this link after about 10 seconds of Googling that says that one of the new features of the Vostro 5481 and 5581 is "USB Type-C for charging", and Notebookcheck is known as a very reliable source (and especially known for extremely detailed reviews), so that's something.  You might find something even more concrete with a bit more search time.

Thank you. I think I will give it a try and if it doesn’t work... anyway I will close this thread with the results.

I am back and I have some good news. Finally I bought WD15 with the 180W adapter. There was no big difference between them considering the price so I went for the bigger one as it might be more futureproof. The good news is that WD15 (at least the 180W version) is charging Vostro 5481 through USB-C. I really like that when you plug it in, it remembers to the previous monitor configuration. For eg. when my laptop is on dock I'd like to use my two P2217 and I'd like to disable the screen of the laptop (the lid is cloded anyway). So it is working, even the lid is open, it disables the laptop display and enables the two P2217 as I left the last time (extended display, which one is the primary). There were two problems although. I can't make the NIC MAC passtrhough work. So I end up cloning the onboard NIC Mac address to the dock USB NIC using windows Device Properties. Not so elegant but it is working. Maybe I missed something in the BIOS this is why it isn't working. But this is a small problem which can be easily fixed. The bigger problem is that when the Vostro's power is off, sometimes it does not recognise that the dock itself properly. The USB-C connector has a white led which indicates that the connection is perfectly made with the laptop. So if you plug the dock to the Vostro in and the led on the dock USB-C connector is off, then you can be sure it is not charging properly and you can't turn on the laptop with the closed lid using the power button on the dock. So you need to disconnect and reconnect again (sometimes three times) until the LED on the USB-C connector of the dock is indicating that the connection is perfectly made. I don't know if it is a hardware issue or can be resolved with a BIOS/Firmware update later, but it is not working as seamlessly as it is expected. BTW. both my Vostro and the dock has the latest available BIOS/Firmware.

hi
i bought this week for my company a Vostro 5581 + Dock WD15 + 2xDell E2418HN screen
i plug the dock on my two screens, that works fine
i plug the network, that works fine too
the WD15 is charging Vostro 5481 through USB-C perfectly
before we bought Latitude 5590 now we can buy vostro for 300$ cheaper
great !

Hi!

I have a Vostro 5481 as well (with the MX130 nvdia card), and  I would like a setup like yours: 2external monitors + the laptop screen (3 screens total).

I was thinking purchasing a docking station, but a DELL tech support told me that since the Vostro 5481 USB-C port does not have thunderbold capabilities, this setup would not work. Another one said it would be no problem...

Strangely enough, I would be more confident with a return of experience than what they say

So : has anybody been able to run a Vostro 5481 with 3 screens simultaneously (2 external + laptop buildin)? On Linux?

What docking station did you use?

Thanks for your answers!

Patrick

I can give it a try tomorrow with Linux Mint and let you know.

Hello,

As you can see it is working perfectly with my config using Linux Mint 19.2 Tina 64bit Cinnamon Live USB installer.

The config is Dell Vostro 5481 + WD15 130W dock + 2xP2217

Regards,

Balazs

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JmGNG8Vz77T3DsTv7 

How do you make it work?

I have dell vostro 5481 but no matter what I try it most often does not even work with one monitor. I am thinking about selling it cheaper than i bought  

I have xubuntu 18 and windows 10

Hello.

I did nothing special. It just works. Also with windows 10. The laptop has the latest BIOS and the dock has the latest firmware and it is working out of the box. I am using the HDMI and DP ports of the dock. If it doesn’t work for you with the same devices and same conditions that may mean that some of them are faulty. Mine is also not perfect as I have to plug it in the dock twice every time to make it work as I mentioned in the topic starter but then it is working perfectly.

Thanks a lot for giving it a try!

I will buy a WD15 then.

Really appreciate it!

Best regards!

Patrick

You’re welcome. In return you should check if you will experience the same behaviour as I described in the topic starter.

thanks for your helpful contributions to this topic