XPS 13 9380, Problem with Dual Monitors

Thanks @jphughan 

Whilst I had a sneaky feeling the TB16 was throwing a wobbler, the issue is the same when connected via the USB-C port on the laptop.  

Ive got a ticket request open with Dell so fingers crossed I will try and help resolve it that way.  its a shame I'm having nothing but issues with this flavour of XPS.. I've had the previous couple of models and they've been great.  This one is nothing but problems.  They have suggested I run both monitors on dedicated ports which defeats the purpose really as im limited with ports.

@FaddyUK  it's been a while since I read the TB16's manual, but I seem to remember it saying that it does not support DisplayPort MST on its outputs, which would be needed for daisy-chaining.  Have you tried just connecting each display its own output on the dock?  The DisplayPort, Mini-DisplayPort, and HDMI outputs should also support QHD resolution (not sure if the U2715H will accept QHD specifically over HDMI, though).

That said, if it's happening even when connecting directly to the system, where daisy-chaining should be completely fine, my guess based on the fact that you've already updated everything is that this is an unresolved issue or possibly even an issue that was CREATED by a recent update.  I remember helping another person here recently who was trying to use a 5120x1440 display and was limited to 3840x1080, which shouldn't have been the case.  A bit of research surfaced a thread on the Intel forums where users were complaining that a driver update released a couple weeks earlier had created this problem, and rolling back to the older driver release resolved the problem.  Funnily enough, the older version was still the newest available from support.dell.com.  The newer driver that broke the display resolution had been pushed via Windows Update

In any case, my guess is that the graphics driver is responsible for this.  If you haven't already, go directly to support.dell.com, search your model name, go to Drivers and Downloads, and see what the latest graphics driver version available there is.  If it's newer than what you're running (sometimes Dell Update doesn't push updates the way it should), then update to the latest version available there.  If your system is on a newer version than Dell even offers, try uninstalling that and installing the latest version actually available from Dell.

@FaddyUK  I absolutely understand the desire to daisy chain when connected directly to the 9380 given its Spartan port layout.  And I'm not sure what's going on because like you, I have a dual QHD daisy-chain setup working perfectly on multiple other systems as well.  Hopefully the driver investigation yields something.  But if not, I'm not sure what else to suggest based on what you've already tried, though I will post back if anything springs to mind.

So here are all my scenarios ive tried... 

XPS 2 x USB-Cs to individual monitors - screen flickers

XPS  USB-Cs to monitor 1 , tb16 to monitor 2 screen flickers

XPS  USBC to Monitor 1 daisy chained to monitor 2 screen flickers

XPS  TB16 USBC-C to monitor 1 daisy chained to monitor 2 screen flickers.

This is getting very tedious with Dell Support..

I am going round in circles being asked to upgrade drivers, try different cables, try different connectivity methods, asking for version numbers then starting from the beginning again.  its been on going for at least 3-4 weeks and its ridiculous...

@DELL-Cares 

I appreciate you have to break down the fault down into granularly, however I seem to be providing repeat information which from my perspective is very frustrating.

I am slowly losing faith in Dell as the 9380 has been nothing short of problematic from day one. I have had a lot more success with your previous range, but I just feel the 9380s reliability has let the XPS range of machines down.

Sorry to know that you feel this way about the product. Rest assured that we are working on this and will get back to you as soon as we have an update. 

-Mellisa. 

Hi,

I understand what you are saying here. We have forwarded the details to our product engineering team and we will get in touch with you as soon as I have an update. 

-Mellisa. 

Hi,

Adding to the above message, I see that the earlier version shared was

OS– W10PRO

Version-10.0.18363

Build-18363.

Did you get any more updates?

Do let me know if yes. 

-Mellisa. 

Hi Fawad, 

We have forwarded the request to the concerned team and they are working on replicating the issue to find a solution for you. 

Could you tell me the build version of the Windows present on the system?

You can find this by searching for system information. 

Do let me know. 

-Mellisa. 

Hi,

This message is just to keep you posted that our support team is working on your case and thus we have no update yet. 

We will write to you as soon as we receive an update.

-Mellisa. 

I also, have issues with dual monitors with this flavor of XPS. See Dell REC Service Request# 990928145 placed in archive on 10/2019 by Andrew May. Tried everything including new hard drive to new PC. Mirror monitor was going to just the taskbar and background image while PC screen was fine using DA300. Was finally told that DA300 was not compatible to XPS 13 9380. Just gave up and plugged monitor into USB-C.

Now noticing that when I try to extend the monitors, same imaging happens. It's OK when I simply keep on duplicate.

At this point, only looking for answers to extend monitors. Could it be either in the port itself? Or maybe in the graphics hardware?

This is the only Dell out of 5 that I am disappointed in. I re-installed windows 3 times, and had to reconfigure each one. What a pain.

Just to be clear its been 2 months with no resolution to my fault... i keep on getting the stock answer from Dell that their development team are still investigating.. every other day i get a useless response to say theres no update and we are investigating!! I presume they are keeping me with SLA to make themselves look good..

either way the Dell XPS is useless.. i cannot connect dual external displays via USB-C or my dock.. i have since purchased a new dock as well as another monitor to see if the issue is resolved.. needless to say the issue is still present and doesnt help me one bit..  i am at home trying to work and with the monitors going nuts every 30 minutes its just unusable.  I have had to revert to using my old Inspiron and that doesnt have the problem.  It seems the XPS graphics card or usb-c isnt up for running dual displays either by daisy chaining or by a hub.. ive invested heavily with Dell.. an XPS, 2 x 2k displays, Dell D6000 hubs and official cables... and the support i get is non-existent.

its such a shame as i really like the XPS but it looks like i may need to start looking at investing my money elsewhere for a replacement.. 

frantically googles MS Surface

Just an FYI i have tried a TB16 and a D6000.. neither work with the xps.. the problem is specifically the XPS running dual monitors at 2k..

so the scenarios i have tested are xps > dock > mdp and usbc to two displays

as well as

xps > display 1 > display 2 daisy chained.. the same problem occurs.  Either way it its not a fault with a the dock.. it may make things worse but the XPS displaying dual screens is the issue