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3 Posts
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5731
May 15th, 2019 06:00
XPS 13 (9370) 3 external display issue
My boss has a an XPS 13 connected to a D6000 dock. Connected to the dock at 2x 22" Dell monitors connected via display port cables, and 1x Samsung TV connected via HDMI.
While the laptop is open it will try to display on 3 (laptop, 2 monitors) screens, in display settings it show 4 displays even with the TV turned off, the TV is not needed, if I close the lid however as I don't need it open on my desk due to space reasons, the system will blank out the 2x 22" dell monitors that I want to use and will Display on the TV and still act like the laptop is open and displaying there as well according to the display settings and only show 2 displays. When I open the laptop again it goes back to the 4 displays.
I've updated all the drivers and the firmware for the dock. I've swapped docks using the same configuration and get the same issue. Tried removing the video/thunderbolt devices from device manager and letting windows reinstall.
If I pull the HDMI cable for the TV from the dock, everything go back to working as normal. With no HDMI connected, I can close the laptop and it will display like normal on the 2 Dell monitors.
This has been working fine for weeks and unable to determine what had changed to cause this. Any help is appreciated.


jphughan
11 Legend
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May 15th, 2019 07:00
Here is my guess as to what's happening. The D6000's documentation indicates that when a DisplayLink driver isn't present, the HDMI port gets used in regular DisplayPort Alt Mode, i.e. the D6000 taps into the native GPU output wired to your system's USB-C port in order to drive the HDMI output. The fact that your TV is connected via that HDMI output and lights up when you close the lid, while your other displays (which require the DisplayLink driver) are no longer even detected doesn't seem like a coincidence. The question then is why the DisplayLink driver is shutting down or otherwise becoming unavailable when you close the lid, even as the GPU remains available to drive the HDMI display directly. My only guess as to what may have changed here is a driver or even a firmware update having been pushed via Dell Update or even Windows Update. I've read that some Dell systems are receiving BIOS updates through Windows Update these days, for example, and maybe the newer version of that driver/update introduced this behavior, intentionally or otherwise. You might want to post on the DisplayLink forums to gain access to an audience more knowledgeable about this specific technology. They might have a way to keep the driver running even with the lid closed, or might at least be able to confirm what's going on.
jwillards
3 Posts
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May 16th, 2019 09:00
So the solution for this was to download the displaylink driver from https://www.displaylink.com/downloads/windows and let it do the update to the currently installed driver.
robert p
6 Operator
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9.4K Posts
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May 15th, 2019 08:00
Hi jwillards,
Thanks for posting.
Apologies that your system is not performing as expected.
Here is information from the Dell knowledge base you may find helpful:
Dell Universal Dock D6000 supports up to 3 displays when connected to your PC using the Thunderbolt ™ 3 USB Type-C cable and up to 2 displays using the USB 3.0 cable.
How to Use and Troubleshoot Dell Universal Dock D6000
If you still require assistance and the system is under warranty, you may contact me privately. Be sure to include your personal information (name, address, telephone, email) and your computer's service tag number in your message. Thanks.
If there is no warranty, then you could contact our Out of Warranty team to get a quote for a paid service request.
jwillards
3 Posts
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May 16th, 2019 05:00
Thank you, gives me some ideas to try. Now I just have to get my hands on the laptop again.