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5 Posts
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3745
May 28th, 2019 07:00
Latitude 7480 / WD15 issues
I have around 200+ users with latitude 7480, as a standard setup, we use WD15 docking on each desk and 2 external monitors also Dell P2417H.
Since the initial deployment, we faced many issues with the WD15 connectivity and the Type C port on the laptop, most of the time we ended up replacing the laptop motherboard for type C issues and WD15. Even with most recent BIOS 1.14.1 and WD15 (3.12.002) issues still happening.
All our laptops were shipped with standard DP over type C, there are NOT Thunderbolt, even on the left side of the port, the DP logo is printed.
With that said, I wonder why Dell Support representatives always insist that we need to install the Thunderbolt driver / firmware on our laptops, even when I explained that these laptops are NOT TB, also we are using WD15, we are NOT using TB16. The Dell support people are supposed to be the experts, but it seems that they did not know the products they are supporting.
IT is really a waste of time having the customer install a driver for a technology that is not being used with the promise that “it will fix the issue”.
Please correct me if I am wrong, so far, thunderbolt driver has never fix any of the constant issue that we face everyday with this set up. But I really want to clarify this to avoid more time wasted when I call for support.DP logo printed on TYpe C
DP printed on WD15 cable
3411
0
Posted May 28th, 2019 13:00
Do you know if there is any documentation that i can point to, and send it to the tech representative to avoid this. Will be really helpfull.
I was digging into the manuals but can't find this explanation
3278
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Posted July 22nd, 2019 11:00
The 7480 I use has a single HDMI port built-in - of course this does not solve the WD15 issue but I have to say, after one week of the monitor blinking every few seconds it was time for desperate measures, I purchased a cheap adapter at Walmart and by-passed the WD15 - what a relief and IMHO well worth it - Dave M.
jphughan
11 Legend
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13985 Posts
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3417
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Posted May 28th, 2019 08:00
You are 100% correct that installing the Thunderbolt driver is unnecessary and a total waste of time on a system that does not have Thunderbolt 3 built in. Sorry you're having a bad experience with Dell Support reps, but it's been known to happen especially when dealing with things that involve deeper technical knowledge. I've always figured that the support reps are expected to be familiar with a broad range of products, which means that for questions or issues where answering/resolving them would require knowing in-depth technical design details of specific systems or even understanding general technical concepts at a deep level, they probably can't reasonably be expected to know all of that. That said, knowing that Thunderbolt software won't do anything on a non-Thunderbolt system shouldn't be too difficult...