1 Rookie
•
11 Posts
0
603
February 13th, 2021 05:00
XPS 13 2018 model
Hi, I have an XPS 13 2018, and I have used a usb-c to VGI cable in an attempt to connect my laptop to an external 1080p monitor. However, the laptop couldn't acknowledge the monitor existed in any way. I would rather avoid using a dock as they are expensive. Is there anyway I can connect my XPS to the monitor without one?
0 events found
No Events found!
jphughan
9 Legend
•
14K Posts
0
February 13th, 2021 14:00
@PierJ1 I’ve seen Dell Support reps claim that, probably because they don’t know any better. Dell even makes their own USB-C video adapters, although they’re fairly expensive. I’d suggest getting a USB-C to DVI cable (not adapter) so you have a single-piece solution here and aren’t relying on VGA.
jphughan
9 Legend
•
14K Posts
0
February 13th, 2021 06:00
@PierJ1 Not sure which specific adapter you used, but XPS 13s for several generations now have supported video over USB-C, so those types of adapters should work. I’ve seen cases where specific combinations of laptops and individual adapters fail though, so you might just need to try another brand. That shouldn’t be necessary, but unfortunately not everything in the tech world that should work always does. And I’m not sure if VGI was supposed to be VGA or DVI, but if your external display has ANY other input besides VGA, use the other input instead because anything will look better than ancient analog VGA. If you have a DisplayPort input, that would be best of all because USB-C ports use DisplayPort for video output anyway, so USB-C to DisplayPort adapters (or full cables) are the simplest types of devices. All other USB-C video adapters (HDMI, DVI, VGA) have to incorporate signal converter chips to make the switch, and those add complexity that can in turn make compatibility issues more likely.
PierJ1
1 Rookie
•
11 Posts
0
February 13th, 2021 06:00
Thanks for the advice, the monitor in question is very old so it only has VGA and DVI, I will try another company but I wanted to make sure the XPS 13 could support it directly, as I have heard that I may HAVE to use a dock for some reason, however I can't understand why, and I would rather avoid it.