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88742
WD19 130W dock, MacBook Pro, monitors not working
I am trying to use WD19 130W to connect external monitors with my MacBook Pro 16 inch 2019. The monitor comes up in the display arrangement settings. But the monitor is black. I have try both HDMI and DisplayPort. Its all the same result. The monitor says there is no signal.
I have tried using DELL U2715H and DELL P2418HT.
There is like a power button on the right bottom corner of the dock. The light never turns on. Is it normal?
DellUser4K
1 Message
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February 27th, 2021 18:00
I had the same problem. The solution is to connect one of your monitors through the dock and the other to the second usb c port on your MacBook. I use my WD19 for both a dell laptop for work and my home Mac. It’s a little annoying connecting two plugs each time I switch computers, but the setup works well for both monitors: one is 4K and the other is 1080p. You may need some cable adapters to make everything work, but they are cheap.
jphughan
4 Operator
4 Operator
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14K Posts
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May 22nd, 2020 20:00
@zhex900 The issue is that the WD19 is just a regular USB-C dock, not a Thunderbolt dock. As a result, it only has access to a single DisplayPort interface from the source system, which in turn means that in order to run multiple displays, the source system has to support DisplayPort MST, which is the ability to divide the bandwidth of a single DisplayPort interface across multiple independent displays. macOS still does not support DisplayPort MST. This has been a complaint on this forum, the Apple forums, and elsewhere on the Internet for years. The only way Macs can run multiple displays from a single output connector is through Thunderbolt 3, which is possible because TB3 can carry two independent DisplayPort interfaces from the GPU, so in that situation macOS just allocates one interface to each display. But even there you're limited to two displays, whereas on a PC you could run 3 or 4, depending on the exact displays you're using.
You might have more luck with a WD19TB, which is a Thunderbolt 3 dock, but I'm not sure. If you ONLY want to use a dock with your Mac, you might want to consider a CalDigit dock. They seem popular for Mac users.
As for the power light, my wife has a personal Dell system and a work Lenovo system. When she connects her Lenovo system to the dock, the dock's light doesn't light up even though the dock works perfectly fine. So maybe the light only comes on with actual Dell systems that support being controlled by that Power button. Using the dock Power button to control the system requires firmware-level support within the system, and there's no industry standard for an external power button, so it wouldn't work with a non-Dell system -- in fact not even all Dell systems have support for dock power buttons, for some reason.
(edited)
zhex900
2 Posts
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May 22nd, 2020 22:00
That I means I brought the wrong the dock. An expensive mistake. But it work with one screen. Also it makes high pitch noise.