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November 7th, 2025 12:34
DockPro WD25 power button doesn't power on Inspiron 5645 laptop
I have an Inspiron 16 - 5645 laptop
It IS listed as being compatible with the WD25 DockPro on the October 2025 Dock Pro compatibility sheet.
Everything SEEMS to work fine--except the power button on the dock pro.
I have to open the laptop and press the power button to turn the laptop on.
I saw some old (like 2021) posts about older inspirons not functioning this way, but they were also not on the compatibility list (it sounded like).
But this one is (I specifically checked before I bought the Dock Pro WD25).
Is there some odd setting somewhere I have to change? (Tried searching Dell but they didn't state anything that I could find and the user guide/manual doesn't say squat about this).
Thanks!
ejn63
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November 7th, 2025 13:47
The power button will work if the system supports it -- business-class notebooks (Latitude, Precision, Dell Pro, etc.) do. Consumer grade notebooks (Inspiron) do not.
mjonis
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November 7th, 2025 14:48
Thank you. If that's the case, then Dell shouldn't list if on the Compatibility list, IMO. (Not all Inspiron's are listed on the matrix). Guess I'll be returning it then as it offers no other extra support than the cheaper Universal docking station.
ejn63
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November 7th, 2025 18:09
The Thunderbolt dock does offer more than a universal dock will, particularly in the area of video bandwidth for external monitors.
Docks don't add features the system to which they're attached don't support.
mjonis
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November 7th, 2025 21:33
The fact of the matter is that the Dell 10/2/25 compatibility matrix (did you actually read/check it?) has footnotes all the way at the bottom. ONLY for things marked "5" does it state that the power button on the dock doesn't work on the inspiron laptops. If you had actually looked at the matrix you'll see that the footnote #5 is ONLY on the green checkmark next to the HD22Q dock pro. It's not next to the WD25 Dock Pro and it's not on the UD22 (although the UD22 doesn't have a power button so irrelevant).
Had Dell bothered to accurately put the #5 footnote next to the WD25 for the Inspiron laptop (supposedly not all of them are affected at least according to Google), it would've saved me some time and money.
Since you are obviously aware of this limitation perhaps you can convince Dell to accurately correct their compatibility matrix?
In terms of display bandwidth, since you're connecting to a USB 3.2 Gen2 USB C port, the thunderbolt bandwidth is basically moot. The Display port throughput and HDMI through should be the same.