XPS 9370 extend display

Question

Hi,

I have a Dell XPS 9370 laptop (one of the newer XPS 13's with Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) rather than Thunderbolt 2).

I have an additional monitor which has an HDMI port only (no VGA or DisplayPort connectivity). I'd like to be able to connect this to my laptop (which has USB-C) and be able to extend the display.

I bought a USB-C to HDMI lead thinking it would allow me to do this. However I can only get the monitor to mirror my laptop screen. Totally my fault and I should have realised before buying the lead or the monitor that extending the screen isn't possible simply by using a USB-C to HDMI lead.

I understand from reading these forums which are very helpful that there are solutions if for example one has two monitors. For example the following: https://www.amazon.co.uk/StarTech-com-USB-C-DisplayPort-Monitor-Adapter-Black/dp/B01KIMP28Y/

But like I say I only have the one monitor and would like screen 1 to be the laptop screen and screen 2 to be the monitor. Is there any way around this please? Ideally the most neat / cost effective.

If it helps I already have an HDMI to Display Port lead knocking around.

Thanks in advance

Gareth

jphughan · Answer

@Gecca  a simple USB-C to HDMI cable should absolutely allow you to run the external display in Extend mode.  The multi-output adapters are the ones to be wary about.  Some of them will ONLY allow you to use mirroring across any displays attached that way, whereas others (including the specific item you linked) will allow the attached displays to be used independently of each other.  But when dealing with a single display, this shouldn't be an issue at all.  If you connect the external display and go to Settings > System > Display and scroll down to the 'Multiple Displays' section, do you not have an option that says 'Extend these displays'?  If not, what if you check Intel HD Graphics Control Panel (or Intel HD Graphics Command Center, depending on the driver version)?

Gecca · Answer

Hi,

Thanks for the quick reply.

And you're right, that seemed to run contrary to what I read in this thread:

https://www.dell.com/community/XPS/XPS-13-9360-dual-monitors-will-only-mirror/td-p/7272029

But tried again and it worked.

Thank you very much

jphughan · Answer

@Gecca  glad it worked.  As for that thread you linked, you'll notice that there are a few posts of mine in there.  Unfortunately the first answer from Mary G about the system's capabilities simply wasn't accurate.  But the real issue in that case was that the person who asked the original question in that thread was trying to run two external displays that would be independent from not only the built-in display but also from each other, i.e. three independent displays total when counting the built-in display.  That's different from running a single external display that is independent from the built-in panel as you're doing.  And the problem in that person's case was that the adapter they were using only supported receiving a single display signal from the source system, so if you connected two displays to it, then the two external displays would be mirrors of each other -- but they were still independent of the built-in display.

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XPS 9370 extend display

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