Expected behavior of all Dell Monitors with USB Type–C input

Follow these guidelines below for using your Dell monitor configured with USB Type-C input.

Dual monitor USB Type-C output on TB16 or TB18 Dock

The USB Type-C output on the Dell TB16 and TB18 docks will not drive dual 2560x1440/60Hz monitors due to bandwidth limitations. The dock USB Type-C output provides both video content and USB data. Since this bandwidth has to be shared, the available video bandwidth is not enough to drive dual monitors with 2560x1440 resolution @ 60Hz.

USB Type-C MST Multi-Stream Transport (MST) Modes Examples:

Dell U2419HC Monitor:

Dell U2719DC Monitor:

NOTE: Most PC platforms currently support HBR2 (High Bit Rate 2) and some monitors will indicate the bit rate on the monitors On Screen Display (OSD). Currently, with HBR2, we are unable to drive dual monitors at 2560x1440/60Hz monitors.
If your PC platform supported HBR3 (High bit rate 3), then it could drive dual monitors at 2560x1440/60Hz.

Workaround

You can still use MST (Multi Stream Transport) functionality. If your notebook has mini-DisplayPort (mDP) or your desktop has full-size DisplayPort (DP) output connections, then the first monitor plugs into the full-size DisplayPort and MST is set to ON. The first monitor then drives the second monitor. MST is set to off on the second display.

You can also connect directly to the dock by connecting to the DisplayPorts on the TB16 or TB18 Dock.

Dell USB Type-C monitors are not expected to perform identical to Dell laptop docking stations

Dell Monitors are designed differently than the Dell Docking Stations intended for use with Dell laptops. The Dell USB Type-C monitors do not have a built-in Embedded Controller (EC) so they will have some limitations.

One limitation is when the laptop is in sleep state (S3 mode) and the laptop is connected to the monitor, the monitor will not wake the laptop. You will need to lift the laptop lid and press the laptop power button to wake the laptop from sleep.

NOTE: Laptops that have S1 mode sleep states will wake up when connected to the Dell USB Type-C monitors.

Dell USB Type -C monitors may have erratic behavior if excessive USB ports are populated

Using the designated USB ports on the Dell monitor should not pose any USB functionality issues. For example, the Dell U3818DW monitor has 4 USB Downstream ports and connecting 4 devices to all 4 ports should not cause issues.

However, if external USB HUBs (Figure 1) are connected to these USB Downstream ports to obtain additional USB Downstream ports, there could be erratic USB and Video behavior due to excessive bandwidth being used.

NOTE: Dell cannot guarantee USB performance greater than the number of downstream ports of the monitor. Avoid using external USB hubs on the monitor.

Figure 1: Example of USB hub