XPS 13 9380 and docking station TB16 problems

novosib,

Disable the  Intel C-States Control in the bios to see if that will resolve the issue for you. Post back to me if it does work or no. Also, Sometime redocking the system will resolve the issue for a time. Updating your system to the most recent revision of the BIOS, system drivers and firmware available on the Dell Support Site will resolve the issue for your system. 

For my notes, click my username and send me the pc service tag number via private message.

Given that the 9380 is a brand new system and the history of Thunderbolt issues with new systems, I'm guessing this will require a new firmware or driver release that isn't yet available.  But in the meantime, this is admittedly a long shot, but have you experimented with the Thunderbolt boot settings?  Some users on other models have found that those settings sometimes affect behavior not related to boot, or in some cases not even related to Thunderbolt, such as the ability to boot from a flash drive plugged into the TB3/USB-C port. So toggling those settings might affect the port behavior when the system wakes up.

On a related note though, you really shouldn't run your Thunderbolt interface with no security.  Having security enabled would not cause the issues you're seeing, and since Thunderbolt allows direct access to PCIe and RAM (unlike USB), running those ports with no security means that a malicious device would be able to steal a lot of potentially sensitive information out of your system simply by being plugged in.  I'd really recommend setting that back to its default user authorization mode.

Thank you for your suggestions, jphughan!

First, Thunderbolt boot settings - where is it? I don't remember seeing that. Is it in BIOS?

Second, no security for thunderbolt. I did not really want to open this can of worms, but I had to disable security, unfortunately. This windows app that manages thunderbolt approvals is behaving erratically and does not list my thunderbolt, so I cannot "approve" it. I am just not ready to fight this problem, it is just easier to turn security off. Yes, I understand this is less secure, but at least I can use my docking station this way.

Hi Jesse, thanks for getting back to me.

As I mentioned in the post, I am updated completely from top to bottom and checking for new drivers all the time in the hope there something out there which can help solve the problem.

Yes, I read about disabling C-states and how this solves lots of problems with XPS, but I tried it and it did not help. Will send  you a tag in a sec

Yes, the Thunderbolt boot support settings are in the BIOS.  I don't have an XPS 13 9380, but on my Latitude 7480, there's a listing for Thunderbolt in the left column area under one of the broader category headings, and when you select that, you see a variety of Thunderbolt options on the right.  In fact I think that at least on my system, that's where you have to go if you want to change the security mode, which you obviously already did.  Do you not see boot support options there on that system?

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@novosib wrote:

Hi Jesse, thanks for getting back to me.

As I mentioned in the post, I am updated completely from top to bottom and checking for new drivers all the time in the hope there something out there which can help solve the problem.

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You might try going into the Device Manager and looking at the top and selecting to scan for devices.  Maybe it would pick up the missing devices without needing a reboot.

If you are not already, make sure the configuration at the time you unplug the dock is the same as when you plug it back in, such as in low power mode or not.  Does the time (5-60 minutes)the dock is disconnected make any difference in this behavior?

My system only shows two devices needing approval, the TB cable and the Dock.  If you have other devices which need to be approved, you might try not using those for a while but the system should not need the approval disabled.  If it does, that may be part of the problem.

Right now I am running a wired Keyboard and Mouse (plugged into the appropriate USB ports) and a monitor with 2.1 speakers connected to the monitor.  If you can verify to me what you mean by "making it sleep", I will try my system (not a 9380) to see what it does.

jphughan, this is a very good suggestion. Will try that and let you know!

Saltgrass,

Resetting devices - interesting workaround, will try that. Thank you for your suggestion.

My laptop is always in the one of 3 states - hibernated, sleeping and active. This anomaly happens when it sleeps. Which means that if I wait for too long, it hibernates and after that there is no issues (now I am not 100% sure, will doublecheck).

"Making it sleep" in my case means to wait 30 min until it goes to sleep, or just make it go to sleep manually using Windows command

This is a new laptop so I assume "sleep" is Modern Sleep / Connected Standby (which isn't really much of sleep, drains battery fast, isn't bag-safe etc)? 

Try finding related events in Event Viewer / System, or debugging with powercfg SleepStudy 

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/device-experiences/modern-standby-sleepstudy

Update.

I stand corrected: manually induced sleep or hibernation does not cause the problem. So far I was only able to observe it when sleep is happening automatically, by the timer. In other words, if I leave the docking station for a couple of hours, I am guaranteed that I won't be able to connect to the docking station without a reboot. If I send it to sleep manually and immediately reconnect, no problems.

On other things:

- Changing boot options for Thunderbolt in bios does not change anything

- "find new hardware" in device manager does not help either

Thanks samos1111,

While I doubt this is related to the main problem, that was quite educational for me.

The report said my intel audio controlled was active during the sleep and burn completely through my battery over the weekend. I checked the internet, it seems there is no legit solution to turn this "modern standby" disaster off, except changing registry, which, it seems, complicate things even further.

I guess "standby" means that you open up your laptop the next day and it works. Modern standby means you open it up and laptop is dead.

OK, one more observation.  When I disconnect the computer from the dock I get the disconnect sounds.  When I reconnect I also get sounds.  Are you hearing those?

A sleep timer on a Modern Standby system is a little of a quirk.  I see if can effect how long iTunes will play after the display turns off and it goes into Modern Standby.  Otherwise, the Display off and hibernation timers seem to have the biggest effect.

If it seems to make a difference as to how long the system is in another mode, maybe check and change some of the timers to see if one coincides.

This is a link to an older video so just look at the overview of how Modern Standby is supposed to work and how it might even help your situation.  This is a Microsoft video so you should not have any problems with.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gilclJxJCCQ

I had a similar problem with XPS 13 9380 and Dock WD 15.

Dock WD 15 could not cope with settings under Control Panel\Hardware and Sound\Power Options that were set to not sleep / do nothing when plugged in and I close the lid.

Solution: I changed the Power Plan from factory pre-configured "Dell" Plan to one of the Windows Plans. And it worked!

Saltgrass,

Yes I hear these sounds. Video is quite educational and it seems that my laptop is in unchangeable "disconnected stanby" which is super great.

The question is why microphone is listening during the standby and kills my battery ...