Multiple Dell Laptops with a WD19TB Dock - Have I bought the wrong thing?

[d3vy82]

Ok, So my setup is I have two 28" Iiyama 4k monitors connected to a desktop PC via display port.

I also have an XPS15 (9550) for myself and a Latitude 5480 for work.

When at work I can connect the latitude to a dock (a WD15 I believe) and the experience is pretty nice, everything just works, though in that set up its dual 1080 monitors.

 

What I am aiming to do is get rid of my desktop and just have the two laptops with one common dock that I can swap between them as needed.

So, After a little research I thought that the best dock to buy would be the WD19TB as the XPS has thunderbolt and the dock should be backwards compatible with the USBC (DP) port on the Latitude.

And this is where I have started to run into issues.

Latitude

The Lattitude will not boot when plugged into the dock, I get a message before the POST screen saying : 

"The docking station you have connected is not compatible with the current port, if you have a thunderbolt port attach the docking station to that port"

I noted in the bios that everything in the "thunderbolt adaptor config" is turned off however as this is a work device I cannot change the settings to check.

This raises Question 1 - If I can get the thunderbolt config in the bios enabled will the laptop be able to bool up when docked?

I did note that if I unplug the dock, boot the laptop and then plug it in it all works though only at 2k resolution so its not the end of the world - just a bit of a pain having to disconnect the dock to boot.

This does raise Question 2 though : Why am I only being offered 2k resolution with this config? Is it a limitation of the laptop?

 

XPS

Only one of the external monitors will go to 4k resolution they are both connected via display port and I have since read some comments that to get dual 4k at 60Hz you need to connect one of the monitors via the USBC display port connector instead? Question 3 : Is that correct, it seems odd to have 2 display port connections available and then limit them like this? Question 4 : if this is correct and I need to use the USBC DP port would a USBC -> Display port adaptor be sufficient for this?, the monitors do not support USB-c.

I have only just had this dock delivered so have the option to return it and swap for another, Is there a better choice of dock for what I want to do? Would I be better with the USB-c variant of this dock? Or even the D6000?

Any help you can give will be greatly appreciated, I asked the same question on the dell community forum and got flagged as spam which is a nice touch considering I have about £3500 worth of their kit on the desk in front of me at the moment trying to get it all working nicley!

[haghighi]

Question 1: Since you are able to get the dock to work sometimes, your 5480 must have Thunderbolt. Models with Intel U or H series processors and only integrated graphics do not. The System Configuration -> Thunderbolt Adapter Configuration page includes an option to Enable Thunderbolt Adapter Boot Support. It is disabled by default. The first thing I would try is to enable this setting.

 

Question 2: According to this PDF, your dock does support 2x4K displays at 60Hz if your system supports DP 1.2. Note the double **, which reveals that Question 3 is correct and you need one display connected to the Thunderbolt Type-C port on the dock. There are two Type-C ports on the back and only one is TB. That means that for Question 4, yes, you need either a USB-C to DisplayPort cable or a USB-C to DisplayPort adapter that you can connect to your existing cable. If you choose an adapter or cable from a reputable company, I'm confident it will work per this post about about the WD19TB. This should fix the resolution issues on both your machines.

 

Since you have all Dell equipment, you have the best dock for your needs. The Dell docks have custom power delivery that works only with their laptops, and any third party dock you get will still charge but with less power. Finally, you should definitely not buy a Dell USB-C dock because none will work with dual 4K displays and both your machines appear to have TB. The D6000 is a decent dock for productivity use, but in high performance scenarios, the WD19TB will be better since it is not DisplayLink.

[d3vy82]

Thanks for the help!

Had a bit of a frustration with it today - went out and got the adapter and plugged it into the USBC port with the DP logo and.... Same behaviour.

Was just about to box the dock back up and just go back to the desktop PC when I realised that there is another Thunderbolt port on the back... Plugged the adapter in there and.. IT WORKS!

I now have dual 4k @60Hz and more importantly once I tidy up the desk (I swapped out all of the wires just in case before I realised I needed to use the TB port!) Ill have a really tidy setup.

Not tried the Latitude yet - because its a work machine Ill have to go and beg the IT department to change the BIOS settings for me as its all locked down - I suspect that it might have to stay in the configuration that its in so Ill be stuck having to open the lid and booting it up before connecting the dock like some kind of cave man... but I can live with that, Even if Im limited to 2k output on it, the main thing was getting the dock working with my own laptop.

Im sure Dell have their reasons for requiring one 4k monitor to be connected via thunderbolt rather than just having both DP ports work but Its quite frustrating for the end user (especially if like me they didnt read the documentation properly!)

Thanks again!

[haghighi]

You're welcome! There is one more thing you might try on the Latitude if you have Windows admin privileges. Check if you have Intel Thunderbolt Software installed--it may appear in the Windows task try while you're connected to the WD19TB. If you can change the authentication mode to "No authentication," that might do the same thing as the boot setting in the UEFI. Unfortunately I can't verify this for you on my work equipment, but it's worth a shot especially if IT isn't willing to adjust your settings.

[d3vy82]

Tried the Latitude and it looks like it wont work quite as well as the XPS.

The display port on the dock will put out a 4k signal but only at 30Hz.. and the monitor that I have connected to the Thunderbolt connection doesn't work at all, If I switch between the TB and the USBc DP port then I can get both monitors working at 2k 60hz.. Maybe it will if IT will enable the TB features on the laptop.

In the mean time, the XPS is working and if I need to do any work I can always get under the desk and switch which port I have the second display attached to - it will mean using the work laptop at 2k but that's acceptable *.

* Also thinking of using one of these - Think it should let me have 2 DP connections attached to one monitor and switch them as needed without actually disconnecting any wires... 

Thanks again for the help!

[d3vy82]

5 minutes ago, haghighi said:

You're welcome! There is one more thing you might try on the Latitude if you have Windows admin privileges. Check if you have Intel Thunderbolt Software installed--it may appear in the Windows task try while you're connected to the WD19TB. If you can change the authentication mode to "No authentication," that might do the same thing as the boot setting in the UEFI. Unfortunately I can't verify this for you on my work equipment, but it's worth a shot especially if IT isn't willing to adjust your settings.

I have an account for the laptop that has local admin access to Ill have a look - doubt that I can modify much though.

Even as it is (with my comment above about the 2k output) Im happier with it than I was - the main thing is my XPS works.. the work laptop is secondary.

Thanks again