Unsolved
117 Posts
2
5044
XPS 13 9300 - Thunderbolt 3 issues?
Hi there,
I do not currently own an XPS 13 9300 (I have ordered but it will only be delivered to me next week..!) but I have come across a couple of threads on the Dell reddit forum where Thunderbolt 3 on eGPUs and monitors does not seem to work properly on the 9300 at the current moment:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/fb3k1j/dell_xps_13_9300_i71065g7_1tb_gb_thunderbolt_3/ -- TB3 not working on eGPU, as well as LG 34W95K TB3 monitor (unless the laptop is separately powered up through the other TB3 port by the supplied charger)
https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/fbkzzd/my_xps_9300_story_so_far_spoilers_it_needs_a_new/ -- eGPU not working on the TB3 port
https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/fd9o2z/dell_xps_9300_external_monitor_issue/ -- LG 34W95K TB3 monitor not working (unless the laptop is separately powered up through the other TB3 port by the supplied charger)
Based on the above reports (which seem consistent and suggest a firmware issue), it seems as though the XPS 13 has some issues powering up certain TB3 devices at the current moment.
Can Dell kindly look into this and see if this is solvable with an BIOS update? Thank you.
DELL-Cares
Moderator
Moderator
•
25.1K Posts
0
March 5th, 2020 12:00
We tried reaching you on a private message but did not receive a response. Please feel free to reply to the private message whenever you are available.
speedstep
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
•
47K Posts
0
March 5th, 2020 13:00
Thunderbolt security would need to be set to NONE.
Secure Boot would need to be set to OFF.
GV-RX580IXEB-8GD works fine on my Dell.
https://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-Gaming-Graphic-Card-GV-RX580IXEB-8GD/dp/B07CCK527Y
describee
117 Posts
0
March 5th, 2020 17:00
Thanks! Just to clarify--you are using XPS 13 9300 as well?
May I check -- do you need to wire separately another power cable to the laptop? Or it can power up just fine through the eGPU's power brick?
jovaseq
20 Posts
0
March 6th, 2020 12:00
I have the exact same problem. My monitor LG34wk95u wouldn't connect unless I plug in the charger. That is a shame for a laptop like this.
describee
117 Posts
0
March 6th, 2020 15:00
@jovaseq that was what I was worried about! Have you contacted dell about this? Just curious.
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
•
17K Posts
0
March 6th, 2020 19:00
My monitor LG34wk95u wouldn't connect unless I plug in the charger.
---------------
And how is that a problem when the monitor is anchored to the desk anyway?
Sounds like the little XPS-13 just wants some power.
describee
117 Posts
0
March 6th, 2020 19:00
Well it's a waste of a perfectly good port, for one. And the monitor is supposed to power the laptop in the first place with PD pass through.
jovaseq
20 Posts
0
March 6th, 2020 20:00
To be honest, no. But I wanted to check with other users first. I am thinking of returning it back...
jovaseq
20 Posts
0
March 6th, 2020 20:00
What do you mean "how is it anchored on my desk"?
Why should the laptop with a 45w charger would need more power when it gets already 85w from the dock or the monitor? What is the use then of tb3 ports?
kennethrc
9 Posts
0
March 19th, 2020 10:00
>> Based on the above reports (which seem consistent and suggest a firmware issue), it seems as though the XPS 13 has some issues powering up certain TB3 devices at the current moment.
Huh ... it appears I owe Monoprice.com an apology ...!
describee
117 Posts
0
March 19th, 2020 16:00
Which dock you got and what issue you experience?
jovaseq
20 Posts
0
April 3rd, 2020 12:00
@describee Dell told me that this is how the laptop works. It needs power in order to run smoothly.
jphughan
4 Operator
4 Operator
•
14K Posts
0
May 28th, 2020 12:00
Just for the record, speedstep's advice above that running an eGPU requires you to disable all Thunderbolt Security and disable UEFI Secure Boot is completely false. It's also terrible advice in general, because both of those changes create major security risks for a system, while doing absolutely nothing helpful for this situation. Peripherals that support Thunderbolt 3 are required to support at least the SL1 "User Authorization" security level, which is the default setting for Thunderbolt 3 ports on systems that do not support Kernel DMA Protection. And UEFI Secure Boot has absolutely nothing to do with Thunderbolt 3 at all. The sole purpose of Secure Boot is to validate that the bootloader file of the OS you're loading has a trusted and intact digital signature. After the OS starts booting, it makes absolutely no difference to the operation of the system.
I wrote about different Thunderbolt security levels here, including why you should absolutely not disable all Thunderbolt security except maybe for testing. Disabling UEFI Secure Boot would remove a useful anti-rootkit protection mechanism. When Secure Boot is disabled, malware can compromise your bootloader, which means it could potentially load in a way that will make itself invisible to anything running inside the OS that loads on top of it, including AV scanners. When Secure Boot is enabled, if this happened, your system would throw a Secure Boot integrity check failure warning and refuse to boot. Obviously that's inconvenient, but for most people it would be better than running with malware and not realizing it. And if Secure Boot is EVER the reason for a problem, you will know because the system will throw an error at boot specifically saying that it's not booting because of a failed Secure Boot integrity check. And again, Secure Boot has absolutely nothing to do with eGPUs or Thunderbolt 3 in general.
I don't understand why speedstep continues to give such bad advice....