Dell Dock D6000 Replacement cable

@John-SMU​ @kevinevens left his email. I just sent one to him and hoping for a reply. 

I've just been through this experience will a dell UD22 - They appear to have the same internal cable connector as the d6000 and I find it absurd there's no replacement case/cable available for these docks. The UD22 cable also has a section where the outer plastic has been cut back to the metal braiding, where it's affixed to the heatsink/metal inside the dock with some metallic style tape.

This is so anti-consumer repair it's concerning, considering it's literally unpluggable in the first place and *should* be as simple as unplugging the old cable and plugging in a new one. I don't even care if I have to cut a hole in the top of the dell dock casing if a right angle cable/repairing the existing cable isn't viable.

Keep us posted @upset137 

I opened my cable and draw the sch

ematic.

The red wire on both ends has no connection, I think that is the problem with my cable.

Any Luck!???? I try a few either no luck so far.

@Lalo mammon​ Which cable did you use? I can't find any that are USB-C to USB-C. The pinout for this is very strange, so it would be great if there is another cable that works

@OMG77​ Sadly that link is broken now. Is there a part number and manufacturer? And is that the 90 degree end, or the straight end?

One thought that I just had is that in the majority of cases, it is only the metal connector tip that is actually bent/broken (other than the cat chew cases). For those situations, it should be possible to find a connector with the correct pin spacing and solder it to the end of the connector board. It seems fiddly, but is essentially more doable than constructing the entire cable.

I'm wondering if right to repair laws would now require them to offer or at least provide the pinout for tech reference.

The pinout is already provided here above.

The problems are:

1. It is Dell proprietary cable. There is no 3rd party replacement cables on the market.

2. The spacing on the USB-C connection is too narrow to solder the cable at home even if the pinout is known.

@Kostya_y2k​ yea that is also the problems. when find similar cables to use for soldering the cables too big it will touching each other. 

Hi everyone,

I'm having a similar issue with my Dell Dock D6000, although my cat didn't chew my cable (phew!). My dock only works when using the USB adapter; direct USB-C connection results in unstable communication between the dock and my laptop.

So far, here's what I've gathered from this thread (which feels like an archaeological dig into the ancient tech forums of Jan 7th, 2019):

1. Replacement Cable Challenges: Finding an off-the-shelf replacement cable has proven to be nearly impossible. All evidence points to the USB-C cable being a proprietary cable from Dell. I think the cable is more secretive than a secret agent.
2. Dell Support Response: Talking to Dell support has been unhelpful, as they suggest purchasing a new dock instead of providing a replacement cable. Guess they missed the memo on reducing electronic waste.
3. Proprietary Configuration: It appears that some users have tried to identify the cable and confirmed that it uses a proprietary configuration from Dell, which does not follow standard USB specifications. Basically, it's as unique as a unicorn.

Regarding the DIY approach, I came across a KiCAD project by @kevinhikaruevanson GitHub that aims to replace the proprietary USB-C cable. The project includes a schematic and PCB design, and it has been tested at low speeds. However, achieving the required differential impedances for high-speed communication (like near GbE speeds) has been challenging. The project is still a work in progress, and it might take some time before a fully functional solution is available.

This post is to summarize all previous pages, so you can get an insight about this topic at a glance. Has anyone found a reliable solution for this issue, or is DIY cable replacement the only viable option? Is there any hope for us to get a stable USB-C connection without having to buy a new dock? Or should I start considering a career in archaeology given my current digging into tech forum history?

Thanks for any advice or insights!

Sorry for the long post... I wasn't able to make it shorter!

@CrazySpy​  Dear Friend. Sorry to hear that. At my work, we use these docks, and the user does not care. I already lost 9 cables of these DOCs.  I opened the cable to check the structure and it was really different from any type C that I ever saw.  I was wondering if the Nintendo Switch cable could help. Does anyone try that? Could anyone try? 

Thanks

Hi everyone,

I just registered on the forum to share my feedback on this issue—unfortunately, without success.

My issue with the Dell Dock D6000 was a bent USB-C connector, which caused a faulty USB 3.0 connection. The dock could only connect via USB 2.0, which wasn’t enough for my needs. I’ve spent about two months trying different solutions, and I even got a used Dell UD22 (slightly different model) to help troubleshoot.

I’d like to thank all the users here for their helpful posts, pinouts, and diagrams, and I’d like to share my experience with you.

What I’ve tried:

• I started by removing the USB-C connector and soldering a full USB 3.0 Type-A. Following the pinouts, I've tried both pairs of data lines in different orders. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get either dock to work properly—only USB 2.0.
• Using the UD22 cable on the D6000 worked flawlessly, as expected (though, as already stated in this post, it only works in one orientation).
• I confirmed the UD22 cable pinout (already posted by another user). I found small differences and tried different changes to verify, but without success. I wasn’t very familiar with how USB handles side/reversibility, but at this point, I believe it’s irrelevant.
• I bought some USB-C adapter PCB daughter boards from AliExpress and tried soldering all the wires in the correct order. Again, I could only get USB 2.0 to work.
• At this point, I attempted to make a cable adapter similar to the one posted by @kevinevans on October 17th, 2020

  Just so you can have an idea, here is a example:

  
• I spent a lot of time trying to figure out why it didn’t work, despite the pinout seeming correct. I made small modifications, tried different USB cables, and explored every option I could think of, but once again, I was only able to get a USB 2.0 connection.

After spending so many hours on this, I finally gave up…

Final Attempt & Solution:

My final solution was to reassemble the original cable, using the original small PCB (Bizlink) and replacing only the USB connector with a male from one of the test boards. Boom! It worked instantly on both docks!

I secured the conector with hot glue and heat-shrink tubing, and I’ve been using it without issues.

Personal conclusions:

I’ve reached the same conclusion as @kevinevans—there’s something else involved that’s beyond my knowledge, and I can’t afford to waste any more time/money trying to solve it.

For anyone trying to fix these cables, here’s my advice:

1. Don’t waste your time—it’s so not worth it.
2. The easiest solution (maybe the only one) is to replace the USB connector at the tip of the Bizlink PCB and keep the cable as stock. Resolder everything accordingly.
3. I’m not an expert in electronics or signals—this is just my personal experience from this frustrating journey.

Hope this helps someone!

Thank you!

@Mirafiori318​ I had planned to do the exact same thing as you. However, I retired from my PC Consultant position. So, your work is not in vain. It is helpful for many of us. I did purchase the same connectors from AliExpress, years ago. I may take the time to solder a new USB-c connector onto the end of the cable as you suggested. At SMU we had many $250 docking station being thrown away because of the worn-out USB-c connector. What a waste! Thanks again for going through the trouble to research this AND for also taking the time to document it here.

@Mirafiori318
hi,

Thank you so much for taking the time to document your experience it's very helpful!
I'm in the same situation with a Dell D6000S dock and I’d love to try the solution that worked for you.

Would you be willing to provide a simple step-by-step guide (or even just a brief outline) on how exactly you replaced the USB-C connector while keeping the original Bizlink PCB intact?

Even just a photo of the final setup, or what to ask an electronics technician to do, would be very helpful. I’m not very experienced with soldering at this level, but I do have access to someone who can help I just need to explain to them clearly what needs to be done.

Thanks again for your contribution it might be the key to saving a lot of these great docks from going to waste!