XPS 13 9300, BIOS 1.0.10, USB Type-C to DP adapters no longer work

Fix it for me, and while I am grateful for the fix I can't say I am happy with the overall experience with the support team and returns of dell, I am staying away from the company from now on.

Yeah I guess I am the lucky one here, still too bad I am a big fan of the XPS series and I really like the design of this laptop, My other XPS 13 9370 works perfectly with the same setup.

I got the developer edition and have Arch Linux setup, customized and everything.

For anyone that's interested, the dmesg when I connect the monitor via Caldigit TS3 plus via hdmi/usb-c is:

i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] *ERROR* Link Training  Unsuccessful

@marrk42  I realize you mentioned that the TS3+ works as expected with another XPS 13 model, but just in case it's a weird interoperability issue between the TS3+ and the XPS 13 9300, have you updated the firmware of the TS3+?  This article mentions some fixes related to USB-C displays connected to the downstream port.  Not sure USB-C adapters would qualify, but it may be worth looking into.  However, it appears they only provide a firmware updater application for macOS.  Any chance you have at least temporary access to a Mac with a Thunderbolt port?

Lucky you, having still window to return. I'd do the same  

I'm having similar issues as you have with the docking station (+ one monitor through miniDP works only once every 3,4,5 or more reconnect of whole docking station). 
I was thinking about purchasing caldigit tb3 dock too, (I would be closing to spend on docks, hubs, adapters and whatnot, close to what I paid for laptop itself (that's sick :/)). Glad I read your message. 

@BlipBloop  Thunderbolt controller firmware updates are issued as separate packages.  They are not part of BIOS updates.  (EDIT: Well at any rate, that's how it's been with previous Dell systems.  I'm not sure about the XPS 13 9300 since I don't see any TB3 controller firmware updates listed on support.dell.com.  I suppose one possible explanation is that it hasn't received an update yet.  Or maybe Dell started packaging them into BIOS updates now?  But TB3 firmware updates are definitely separate on older systems, such as past XPS 13 and 15 models, and the Latitude 7480 I'm using right now.)

@jphughan nice find, I don't have a Mac at the moment. Will definitely ask around today or maybe run a macOS VM via KVM and try to pass-thru the docking station to the guest... 

I can't believe I am doing this lol

Do yourself a favor and return the machine to Dell for a refund while you still can instead of doing work which Dell should've had their paid employees doing for the past 2+ months

@marrk42  Last time I checked, getting macOS running in a VM at all required jumping through quite a few hoops, but even at that point I'm not aware of Thunderbolt virtualization to allow passing through an entire Thunderbolt dock as opposed to individual devices like maybe its Ethernet interface.  But even if that was a thing now, I personally would think very carefully about attempting a firmware update that way.  You might end up with a bricked dock, which seems like kind of a big risk especially if it's not even guaranteed that this firmware update will fix the issue.  But yes, it is a bit inconvenient that CalDigit only seems to offer Mac versions of its firmware updates.  I guess that shows you their predominant user base.

@jphughan you're right, just realized that after bringing up the VM... KVM doesn't have Thunderbolt support at all.

Knowing that there is a potential solution and not trying it out will trigger my OCD, so I am going down the Hackintosh rabbit hole now. 

@jphughan Doing Hackintosh is too much work, so I installed the TS3 firmware installer in my mac VM, Dig thru its installation directory and found the firmware blob.

Then I install the firmware into TS3 with fwupdtool from my arch Linux host and it actually worked without bricking it lol.

So now that I can confirm with the latest firmware installed on TS3 the issue persists. What a day.

fwupdmgr get-devices infos on TS3 in case anyone is interested:

pre update:

├─TS3 Plus:
│ Device ID: 6c98f2a2a63129f1bf19e4309e44b94426c43308
│ Current version: 35.00
│ Vendor: CalDigit, Inc. (TBT:0x003D)
│ GUIDs: 22a019cc-64d4-592b-a5ea-259176b330cd
│ 7c778112-7403-5f54-aef8-2f4f4f50ce2f
│ 4b455155-82b1-5d27-8093-70163de758c2
│ Device Flags: • Updatable
│                       • Requires AC power
│                       • Device stages updates

post update:

├─TS3 Plus:
│ Device ID: 6c98f2a2a63129f1bf19e4309e44b94426c43308
│ Current version: 44.00
│ Vendor: CalDigit, Inc. (TBT:0x003D)
│ GUIDs: 22a019cc-64d4-592b-a5ea-259176b330cd
│ 7c778112-7403-5f54-aef8-2f4f4f50ce2f
│ 4b455155-82b1-5d27-8093-70163de758c2
│ Device Flags: • Updatable
│                       • Requires AC power
│                       • Device stages updates

Hi,

I went through and read this whole thread because I couldn't connect to a tv with a USB-C to HDMI cable. Contacted dell and the rep said I would need to buy a dell dock (the D6000) because "Since the XPS 9300 is high end it needs a high end connection to be able to output to an external source"--quoting the rep. there. 

Does anyone know if getting this dock will make it so that I can actually output to my tv with an HDMI cord? Thank you so much for your help. 

@marrk42  I commend you for your hackery there.  I'm just disappointed to hear that it wasn't rewarded.  Sorry!

@jphughan Well, now I feel stupid because I went ahead and bought the dock over the phone, but I made sure to ask about the return policy on it so that I can return it when I get it. Would you recommend me cancelling it now and just buying a cheaper dock on amazon? If so, what product would you recommend? (I just want to watch star wars on a big tv at my college dorm, so this is kind of frustrating. Also, I don't know how to check what bios I am on on my XPS 13 9300, anyway you could walk me through doing that as well so that I can check if I have the right bios?) Thank you literally so much. 

@Tpholloway I would definitely cancel that dock order.  If you want a dock, then get a better dock.  If you quite understandably don't want to deal with a full dock just to connect to your TV as needed, then don't get a dock at all.  In terms of dock options, the Dell WD19 and Dell WD19TB would be obvious choices.  If you want to go third party, CalDigit has two docks called the TS3+ and USB-C Pro Dock that are both reliable.  Or if you want to split the difference between a full dock and a simple cable, you can consider portable "mini-dock" adapters.  On that front, I just bought this adapter.  There are a variety of these types of adapters on the market depending on what connectors you want and what you're willing to spend, but I picked that one because it includes everything I need and also includes support for the latest and/or greatest iterations of each underlying technology.  Specifically, it includes:

• USB-C power passthrough for power sources up to 100W, whereas some only support up to 60W inputs. (Note however that this adapter will "skim" 15W from the source to run itself, so if you want to keep supplying the XPS 13's full 45W to it, you'll want a USB-C power source that can supply 60W or more.  Those aren't difficult to find.  Or you can just plug the XPS 13's adapter directly into a different port and use this adapter without external power, which works, except that you might not be able to use high-powered USB peripherals through it, such as USB-powered hard drives.)
• USB-C data port that supports up to USB 3.x Gen 2 (10 Gbps).  Most adapters only support 5 Gbps or don't have a USB-C data port at all.
• USB-A "regular USB" ports that also support 10 Gbps rather than the much more common 5 Gbps.
• HDMI output that supports HDMI 2.0b output for up to 4K 60 Hz HDR (when paired with a system that supports DisplayPort 1.4 over USB-C, which the XPS 13 9300 does).  Most adapters today only support up to 4K 30 Hz because they only support DisplayPort 1.2 over USB-C input from the system.
• Ethernet
• SD and MicroSD

But again, if all you REALLY want is a way to connect your XPS 13 to a TV, a USB-C to HDMI adapter or cable should absolutely work.  If you want futureproofing, an adapter or cable that supports HDMI 2.0b to support up to 4K 60 Hz with HDR would be good.  This adapter meets that criteria, and it's of course cheaper than the "mini-dock" I linked earlier.  I haven't tested that adapter with the XPS 13 9300 specifically, but StarTech is a well known brand among IT pros and general tech enthusiasts because they have a reputation for making consistently quality products.