Given it never worked properly the spec hardly matters, a very poor showing from DELL and I am certain they will have lost a lot of customers next time a solution is required. I for one would not trust them with any technology that was based on 1st generation features like TB3. An absolutely dreadful experience made worse by the complete shutdown by DELL in terms of communicating with the customer base and ensuring their requirements were met through alternative solutions.
Using the TB15 and a DP to HDMI2 and miniDP to HDMI2 adapter I was able to get 4K@60Hz out of both Displayports on the dock simultaneously without any issues. I am also able to get 4K@60Hz out of the miniDP directly on the Precision 7510 that I am testing with.
As others have suggested I think a number of the issues are related to certain system models in combination with the TB15 dock, it's not as easy as "the dock is bad and they should feel bad". Testing devices in a model/hardware revision/driver/firmware matrix is expensive and time consuming, which is why when you expand that matrix by adding newer firmware versions and driver levels on multiple layers, it becomes nearly impossible to test every scenario.
The TB15 also recommends you plug a power adapter into your laptop in addition to the dock for models that draw more than 65W I believe, which includes the Precision 5510/7510 and other models.
After some to and from and back and forth I finally returned the TB15, I had a day off and so could spend the time with the engineer to have him try and fix the unfixable. He seemed to know that the 9550 and TB15 are not very compatible.
To DELL's credit, the engineer/ tech side was quite good. They actually helped me out and processed the refund and return when Customer Care and Sales were just being a real pain.
Hopefully I will get refunded and I can be happy again. Setup (as in one of my previous posts) with legacy TB1 dock using TB3->TB1 is working fine, although limited to 30hz @4K.
I thought that some people might like to know that OWC is going to bring out their own TB3 dock, normally Other World Computing do good things and they seem to stand by their products. Unfortunately the wait is until Feb 2017! eshop.macsales.com/.../
I will certainly not plunge for a TB16 dock, after being burned by the TB15...I would wait mthis time round.
I struggled hard with my Dellx XPS 13 9350 and my TB15 dock. My two external monitors were contintiously blanking out for any reason. Using the latest drivers only reduced the pain a bit.
Belive it or not, I finally found a fix and I havent had any problems since that: I fixed this issue by reducing the power output of my wireless lan adapter to 75% in windows system settings (adapter settings - Confgure - details; not sure if menu names are correct, I use a german windwos.
This workaround has been known for months but there are mixed reports about it. For me, it was still as buggy after changing the setting.
Similarly, some people have reported having fixed it by replacing the original broadcomm wifi card with an Intel one, but in my case it didn't work either. I tried the killer 1535, and Intel 7260 & 8265.
For me and my Precision 5510 the TB15 dock works without problems. I have 2 of them - one with a 4k display and one with a classic display.
All that I have done:
- placed the dock in an upright position for better cooling
- updated all drivers (provided by dell)
- DISABLED power saving of the display. Really completely - not only turn off after 2 hours ... you have to disable display power saving completely in your energy profile. If i have it enabled my usb devices and network will get lost after power save of display. For me this is a good tradeoff.
I tried using one dock with 2 display (and the notebook display) ... one 4k and one classic ... but this caused overheating i think so that after a short while the 4k display will be shot off. My solution for that: i connect the classic display directly to the notebook by hdmi cable.
I'm using the TB15 together with a Precision 5510 and two 4k displays. I had massive problems with overheating of the dock (probably caused by the dual 4k setup) - quite always after a period of working, the display connected to the DisplayPort dropped out.
After a few not so successful hacks like drilling holes into the case I completely removed the case. Since then the dock is working quite without bigger problems...
But nevertheless I've wasted a lot of time for troubleshooting and it's a shame how Dell dealed with the known problems...
For months I've seen the Thunderbolt 3 Firmware (A04 01-07-2016) update in Dell Command | Update but have been unable to install it. When I download the driver from the website, it says it's already up to date.
Weeks ago the new Thunderbolt Controller Driver (A00 14-10-2016) was released, and this also keeps showing up in the Dell Command | Update. Whenever I install them, and do a recheck, they reappear.
I've tried to uninstall and reinstall the controller driver, 16.2.52.250, but under my devices it keeps showing driver version 16.2.51.2.
New BIOS got released. In the details it says it's to Fix Dell Thunderbolt Dock issue.
Also I see there is update to Intel Management Engine Components but when I tried to install that it says I have to remove the previous driver. I looked in my installed programs and there is nothing for Intel Management Engine. Anyone know how to get around this?
Like the Intel(R) Thunderbolt(TM) 3 Firmware Update few weeks ago, which told me I didn't need the update because I already had it, it seems these Intel updates from Dell don't quite seem to work as expected.
terminaljunkie
19 Posts
0
November 14th, 2016 08:00
Given it never worked properly the spec hardly matters, a very poor showing from DELL and I am certain they will have lost a lot of customers next time a solution is required. I for one would not trust them with any technology that was based on 1st generation features like TB3. An absolutely dreadful experience made worse by the complete shutdown by DELL in terms of communicating with the customer base and ensuring their requirements were met through alternative solutions.
5* sales with 1* customer care (if that).
Poor show.
dragon_788
24 Posts
0
November 14th, 2016 08:00
Using the TB15 and a DP to HDMI2 and miniDP to HDMI2 adapter I was able to get 4K@60Hz out of both Displayports on the dock simultaneously without any issues. I am also able to get 4K@60Hz out of the miniDP directly on the Precision 7510 that I am testing with.
As others have suggested I think a number of the issues are related to certain system models in combination with the TB15 dock, it's not as easy as "the dock is bad and they should feel bad". Testing devices in a model/hardware revision/driver/firmware matrix is expensive and time consuming, which is why when you expand that matrix by adding newer firmware versions and driver levels on multiple layers, it becomes nearly impossible to test every scenario.
dragon_788
24 Posts
0
November 14th, 2016 09:00
The TB15 also recommends you plug a power adapter into your laptop in addition to the dock for models that draw more than 65W I believe, which includes the Precision 5510/7510 and other models.
phlegm123
1 Rookie
•
28 Posts
0
November 22nd, 2016 01:00
Ok. Saw the new drivers today. In the description: "Added the support for Dell TB16 Dock." Anyone know what a TB16 dock is?
phlegm123
1 Rookie
•
28 Posts
0
November 22nd, 2016 01:00
Actually, that depends on if you purchased the 180 Watt vs 240W version. 240W runs with the 5510 without the need for a separate power adapter.
johnptd
380 Posts
0
November 22nd, 2016 21:00
I found a leaked .PDF document mentioning it. Apparently it is the replacement for the TB15. Not much detail about it.
JohnD
Elpatolino
5 Posts
0
November 24th, 2016 20:00
Hi all,
After some to and from and back and forth I finally returned the TB15, I had a day off and so could spend the time with the engineer to have him try and fix the unfixable. He seemed to know that the 9550 and TB15 are not very compatible.
To DELL's credit, the engineer/ tech side was quite good. They actually helped me out and processed the refund and return when Customer Care and Sales were just being a real pain.
Hopefully I will get refunded and I can be happy again. Setup (as in one of my previous posts) with legacy TB1 dock using TB3->TB1 is working fine, although limited to 30hz @4K.
I thought that some people might like to know that OWC is going to bring out their own TB3 dock, normally Other World Computing do good things and they seem to stand by their products. Unfortunately the wait is until Feb 2017! eshop.macsales.com/.../
I will certainly not plunge for a TB16 dock, after being burned by the TB15...I would wait mthis time round.
Cheers,
josefterriga
2 Posts
0
November 29th, 2016 02:00
I struggled hard with my Dellx XPS 13 9350 and my TB15 dock. My two external monitors were contintiously blanking out for any reason. Using the latest drivers only reduced the pain a bit.
Belive it or not, I finally found a fix and I havent had any problems since that: I fixed this issue by reducing the power output of my wireless lan adapter to 75% in windows system settings (adapter settings - Confgure - details; not sure if menu names are correct, I use a german windwos.
Have a look here as well: plugable.com/.../
turtounet
10 Posts
0
November 29th, 2016 07:00
This workaround has been known for months but there are mixed reports about it. For me, it was still as buggy after changing the setting.
Similarly, some people have reported having fixed it by replacing the original broadcomm wifi card with an Intel one, but in my case it didn't work either. I tried the killer 1535, and Intel 7260 & 8265.
wiedsche
10 Posts
0
November 29th, 2016 13:00
For me and my Precision 5510 the TB15 dock works without problems. I have 2 of them - one with a 4k display and one with a classic display.
All that I have done:
- placed the dock in an upright position for better cooling
- updated all drivers (provided by dell)
- DISABLED power saving of the display. Really completely - not only turn off after 2 hours ... you have to disable display power saving completely in your energy profile. If i have it enabled my usb devices and network will get lost after power save of display. For me this is a good tradeoff.
I tried using one dock with 2 display (and the notebook display) ... one 4k and one classic ... but this caused overheating i think so that after a short while the 4k display will be shot off. My solution for that: i connect the classic display directly to the notebook by hdmi cable.
Best regards,
alex
chihinwong
1 Rookie
•
19 Posts
0
November 29th, 2016 20:00
The Thunderbolt 3 port on the XPS 13 9350 IS A JOKE.
Compatibility is 100 times worse than the same TB3 port found on my HP Spectre 13.
XPS's USB-C compatibility is the worst of all the laptops I own.
(My XPS 13 9350 has the most updated BIOS, firmware and drivers)
RHC_automation
12 Posts
0
November 29th, 2016 22:00
I'm using the TB15 together with a Precision 5510 and two 4k displays. I had massive problems with overheating of the dock (probably caused by the dual 4k setup) - quite always after a period of working, the display connected to the DisplayPort dropped out.
After a few not so successful hacks like drilling holes into the case I completely removed the case. Since then the dock is working quite without bigger problems...
But nevertheless I've wasted a lot of time for troubleshooting and it's a shame how Dell dealed with the known problems...
iGudi
3 Posts
0
November 29th, 2016 23:00
For months I've seen the Thunderbolt 3 Firmware (A04 01-07-2016) update in Dell Command | Update but have been unable to install it. When I download the driver from the website, it says it's already up to date.
Weeks ago the new Thunderbolt Controller Driver (A00 14-10-2016) was released, and this also keeps showing up in the Dell Command | Update. Whenever I install them, and do a recheck, they reappear.
I've tried to uninstall and reinstall the controller driver, 16.2.52.250, but under my devices it keeps showing driver version 16.2.51.2.
Windows 10 Pro 64bit, build 10586.679
Dell Precision 5510, Xeon E3-1505M, Quadro M1000M, 32GB, UHD IGZO 4K, 1TB PM951 M.2
sunta
16 Posts
0
November 30th, 2016 01:00
my expectation for any improvement tends to ZERO
right now working with DELL to ship back this paper weight
SonyHome
27 Posts
0
December 4th, 2016 17:00
New BIOS got released. In the details it says it's to Fix Dell Thunderbolt Dock issue.
Also I see there is update to Intel Management Engine Components but when I tried to install that it says I have to remove the previous driver. I looked in my installed programs and there is nothing for Intel Management Engine. Anyone know how to get around this?
Like the Intel(R) Thunderbolt(TM) 3 Firmware Update few weeks ago, which told me I didn't need the update because I already had it, it seems these Intel updates from Dell don't quite seem to work as expected.