Thunderbolt TB15 Dock still not working

My setup, is a top spec Precision 5510 connected via ThunderBolt 3 to a TB15 dock to two Dell P2415Q displays via DisplayPort. Cost over £3000

I've had the Precision 5510 and the TB15 since early April 2016. The drivers issued at the end of April, resolved some of the initial issues, however there are still some issues, the most frustrating of which are the monitors flashing off or going into sleep mode, in what appears to be a random manner. The other is the USB drops all the time. I've now bypassed the TB15 and use the USB hub in one of the monitors this provides a far more stable solution. All the latest drivers from the dell website are installed on the Precision 5510. The TB15 is now just a very expensive and unreliable, Thunderbolt 3 to DisplayPort adaptor.

I also note the TB15 has now been withdrawn from sale with various Web and social media articles seem to confirm this.

I'm an IT consultant with over 20 years’ experience and a lot of patience which has almost run out. Dell please don’t force me to return this TB15 and my Precision 5510.

Please Dell / intel can we have some more updated driver even if they are beta ones.

The first TB15 dock I had one video port failed and no ethernet.

The replacement dock they sent:

Ethernet & USB do not work

The laptop will not resume from sleep with the dock connected

Both external screens flash off occasionally

I went through all the driver updates with dell same as everyone else

I look every few days to see if  you have released new drivers

 I will hold onto this dock for now as both screens work most of the time but as soon as soon as an alternative dock capable of driving a 2.5k and a 4k external monitor arrives (Plugable Thunderbolt 3 dock expected soon) I will return the Dell one for refund.

You are all scaring me. I've had the XPS 15 9550 for a couple of months now along with the TB15 dock. Initially I was 50% laptop only and 50% of the time docked with a single external hdmi connected 1980p monitor. Occasionally I would get some USB funkiness that I would unhappily reboot to fix. More recently I added a second monitor, another 1080p, and connected that to the dock's full size displayport. I've now experienced pretty much every symptom listed here and the only 4k i'm driving is the laptop's display.

I've felt the dock when this happens and while it's very warm I wouldn't say it's overly hot, but that doesn't mean heat isn't an issue. My guess is this dock is an early product and it's mish mash of components isn't working well together behind that sleek case. Doesn't mean they wont fix it... I hope. Time to call and open a ticket, add my name to the pile.

I also don'y fully understand where the GTX plays a role. Does the dock utilize my NVidia graphics at all?

Dell were pretty quick to offer me a refund, but like others, I bought a complete XPS`15 system with 4k Dell external monitor , my existing 2.5k external monitor on the basis that it would work, which it doesnt.  I have told Dell I am  holding onto it until an alternative comes out and then I will return the dock for refund.

Im hoping this will do the job  "plugable.com/thunderbolt-3" 

expected out Q2

Here is a workaround for the disconnecting WIFI, Blanking video, etc.

Go to the properties of the WIFI, "Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network Connections", Right click on the WI-FI adapter, Properties,  Configure,  advanced, Power output. Change it from 100% to 75%. If you wish to use external monitor attached to the docking station, you may have to change it to 50%. The only problem now with the 50% is that the WIFI may no longer switch off automatically. Closing the lid also affects this, so you may have to play with this setting.

May sound like a strange solution but it worked for few people.

Palo B

Atin90 might be on to something.  I have the XPS 15 - 9550.  I don't have the TB15, but I do have the Startech TB32DP2 Thunderbolt 3 to dual display port.  I have experienced the same DisplayPort issues as described on the TB15.  Typically I might get 5-10 min before the Thunderport crashes.  I have a a single 4K Asus PB287Q connected to the Startech.

After adjusting the WiFi output power to 50% as atin90 suggested, the system ran for over 5 hours.  

I adjusted back to 100% power to see what would happen.  On hitting 'OK' on the network properties card the display IMMEDIATELY dropped out and then came back.  Within 2 minutes the TB3 port crashed again.  I adjusted back to 50% and plugged the TB32DP2 back in and the system was again operating without any issues.

I have tried this a couple of times with similar results and now have the WiFi Power Output set to 75%.  No issues for 20 min.

This is even more disturbing than it being an issue with a peripheral such as the TB15 dock or TB32DP2.  This is pointing towards a hardware issue with the XPS15.  Insufficient power available on the supply rail?  Poor EMI design/shielding?  I'm not sure how they're going to fix this one in drivers or BIOS... unless the next version of the wireless card driver remaps the output power settings to lower levels. ie. 75% becomes the new 100% :-(

Has anybody tried replacing the Dell WiFi card with a 3rd party card such as Intel?  If it's an EMI issue this would change things up a bit; provided that the Dell card isn't just a re-branded Intel card.

Atin90 might be on to something.  I have the XPS 15 - 9550.  I don't have the TB15, but I do have the Startech TB32DP2 Thunderbolt 3 to dual display port.  I have experienced the same DisplayPort issues as described on the TB15.  Typically I might get 5-10 min before the Thunderport crashes.  I have a a single 4K Asus PB287Q connected to the Startech.

After adjusting the WiFi output power to 50% as atin90 suggested, the system ran for over 5 hours.  

I adjusted back to 100% power to see what would happen.  On hitting 'OK' on the network properties card the display IMMEDIATELY dropped out and then came back.  Within 2 minutes the TB3 port crashed again.  I adjusted back to 50% and plugged the TB32DP2 back in and the system was again operating without any issues.

I have tried this a couple of times with similar results and now have the WiFi Power Output set to 75%.  No issues for 20 min.

This is even more disturbing than it being an issue with a peripheral such as the TB15 dock or TB32DP2.  This is pointing towards a hardware issue with the XPS15.  Insufficient power available on the supply rail?  Poor EMI design/shielding?  I'm not sure how they're going to fix this one in drivers or BIOS... unless the next version of the wireless card driver remaps the output power settings to lower levels. ie. 75% becomes the new 100% :-(

Has anybody tried replacing the Dell WiFi card with a 3rd party card such as Intel?  If it's an EMI issue this would change things up a bit; provided that the Dell card isn't just a re-branded Intel card.

Thank you atin90 for the workaround, but it's hard for me to understand why Dell would accept a 50% performance hit as a successful solution. I have finally returned the dock, and hope to have my money back within 30 days. I will not get the hours they wasted of my time back.

Easy fix: reduce Output Power of your WIFI, found in advanced properties of the WIFI, to 75% or 50% in some instances.

I have more info on which Power setting to use for best results:

Use 75% if you do not use the Video port of the Docking Station or 50% if you do but only if you also close the lid.

 flamesfan2635 could you put a checkmark the question if my solution fixed your problem

 flamesfan2635 I have been working on this for couple of days and came to conclusion that possibly, the 100% is just too high power output, The 75% still has some issues too and 50% seem too low. I think the answer is somewhere between 50% and 75% but since the setting does not allow smaller increments, you have to choose one or the other.

Interesting note, I searched the internet about problems with the Broadcom WIFI and found that Dell is not the only one that have problems with this card. HP has very similar if not the same problems. I an switching to Intel  card. Since I have this Notebook for only few days, I think Dell should refund me the $26.00 it cost me to replace this card.

I have 2 external monitors, one 2.5k and one 4k.  The replacement dock i was sent runs both ok but ethernet and usb ports drop out. I have tried changing the wifi power to 75%, 50% and 25% but no improvement.  As i prefer to use wired ethernet I switch off the wifi anyway.

I have the 240w power supply on the dock

StuartMM, I am sorry that it did not work for you. Does this problem exist if you unplug the monitors from the docking station?

About the ethernet and USB ports dropping out: are you sure you installed all the the latest drivers for the TB15? That was a symptom of a problem early on, I'd say January or February. The driver update completely took care of the problem.