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vaespinoza
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October 29th, 2026 06:49
Alienware 18 / 16
DO NOT UPDATE YOUR BIOS IF YOU USE A DELL DOCKING STATION on Alienware 18 / 16 Area 51! I have used a Dell WD22TB4 from day one on this laptop approximately a year, immediately after a bios update today (10/2026) my docking station did not support monitors with my Alienware 18 Area 51 laptop, everything else worked that was connected except the monitors. I called Alienware Elite Care, and they worked on it for almost 2 hrs., couldn’t get monitors to come on, but I also had a Dell Work laptop (Dell Precision 7680) that I connected to docking station and everything worked including the monitor’s???? I was told that they would do some research and get back to me in 24-48 hours, we'll see. So after disconnecting with support, I grabbed my wife docking station a Dell WD22TB4 and transferred all to it, and it worked fine for a few minutes, then the monitors stopped working, I believe that Dell has intentionally blocked their own docking stations from working with Alienware machines, and I just cannot figure out why they would do that? I asked support which docking station works with the Alienware system, he said NONE. If anyone has figured out how to bypass this issue, please let me know!
anne_droid
6 Operator
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2487 Posts
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Posted October 29th, 2026 12:07
Hi
Interesting....
So an internet search sorta clarified the Dell position....
"I asked support which docking station works with the Alienware system, he said NONE. "
Dell does not officially validate or support docks for Alienware laptops, so treat it as “works with” rather than fully supported.
For a high-end Area-51 with RTX 5070 Ti or above, get the Dell WD25TB5 Thunderbolt 5 dock, connect it to one of the rear Thunderbolt 5 ports, and keep the original 360 W charger attached. It is the closest Dell dock match, though not an officially Alienware-certified accessory.
That to me is strange, but Dell know their own business best.
Kind Regards
anne_droid