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June 29th, 2022 22:00
P3421W, two PC Windows, KVM issues
Hello,
I have the wonderful P3421W and it is great to work on it. I currently have two workstations hooked on it.
Both Windows 10 64bit.
A laptop and a PC.
1. The laptop is an HP and it is on the Type-C with the charging provided by the monitor.
2. The PC is on the display port and has the USB-B cable connected to it with USB devices that are connected to the monitor.
KVM monitor has 3 devices that are required for both workstations:
- Wireless mouse with a dongle (Logitech G603)
- Wireless keyboard with a dongle (Logitech 613)
- Microphone Razer Seiren Mini
To switch between stations I use the input shortcut CTRL + SHIFT + Z
The Dell display manager overview connections and configs are like in the picture below:
Issues:
Sometimes when I switch with the shortcut between workstations, the shift or ctrl key remains pressed and I end up doing other things in windows. This does not happen every time but I learned that when it does, I can simply press the shift key again and it unfreezes, but is an inconvenience. I lived with this for months, after the firmware upgrade that fixed devices that were not initializing from a sleep mode. This happens on both workstations. Now the cherry on the top, which made me come here and complain is the fact that some USB devices are impacted more than others. Like a brand new Razer Seiren Mini Microphone that is not starting after a switch between workstations is done.
Picture A - When a switch is done, the USB device looks like in the picture below in the Device Manager.
B. Unplug and plug again the microphone, the mic is initialized and working.
Hope you can help,
Eugen
smiorbos
22 Posts
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June 29th, 2022 22:00
Additional note: Tried to change HP workstation with a DELL one via the USB Type-C and the same happens with the microphone. Probably with the keyboard as well.
smiorbos
22 Posts
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July 4th, 2022 22:00
Found a workaround with firmware M2B205.
By connecting the microphone to a USB hub 3.0, the device seems to be initialized correctly when switching occurs between workstations.
I believe the HUB introduces a delay which opens a timeframe for the mic to properly load. (this happens on both stations)
Of course, this is not ideal as the minimal look (clutter-free) is spoiled when having a USB hub with all the cables connected to it on the desk.. and for the price paid, it is expected to have a fully functional premium product.
Hope that Dell takes this seriously and analyzes the problem of the initialization of USB devices when switching as it promised on the private channel (support team)
The best..
DELL-Jesse L
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September 26th, 2022 04:00
smiorbos,
We got an update from our internal Team.
Please follow the steps below to reproduce the issue.
1) Connect External Webcam, Keyboard, and Mouse to Monitor.
2) Connect USB Type-C cable from Monitor to Notebook.
3) Launch Windows Camera APP and select the External Webcam as the active camera.
4) Observe any of the failures listed below.
a) Distorted signal or distorted images on Monitor.
b) Camera APP switches to select Platform Built-in webcam
c) Warning Sign appears on the USB controller.
Now please follow the steps below to fix the issue:
Method 1: Sequence for connecting Power Adapter and Monitor Cable
Please connect a 65 or 90 watt AC power adapter (Type C or Barrel connector type) to the laptop to prevent USB devices drop.
NOTE: It is critical to the sequence of cable connections, that the power adapter cable should be connected before the monitor USB-C cable.
Method 2: Use a Docking station
Please use a dock as a workaround. This includes WD19, WD19S, WD19DC, WD19DCS, WD19TB, and WD19TBS. See Figure 5 for the setup of a WD19 dock.
a) Connect to Monitor with a USB C-C cable.
b) Connect to the Power Adapter that shipped with the Dock.
c) Dock's upstream cable for connecting to the laptop's USB-C port.
Method 3: Part replacement
The preferred hardware solution is to replace the type C cable. This type C cable is a modified Type C cable with hardware included to resolve disconnect issues on P3421W.
Method 4: Monitor replacement
If the issue still exists, we will have the monitor replaced.
Do perform these steps and share which step worked to address the issue.
We will wait for the results.