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December 20th, 2021 10:00
Inspiron 7706 - Docking station Dual Displays not working.
I have an Inspiron 7706 2n1 and recently purchased the Tecknet dk001 docking station.
It does not recognize the HDMI ports. I've read several other posts speaking of software issues.
What are the possible issues with this setup? Is it the dk001?
Thanks
jphughan
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December 20th, 2021 11:00
@TWillKing I've never used Tecknet products, but the dock seems to be a fairly standard USB-C dock that uses DisplayPort Alt Mode for video, which your system would support through its USB-C/Thunderbolt port. Make sure the system is connected to that dock's USB-C1 port (apparently you're supposed to connect the system to the front of this dock??), and then make sure the system BIOS, GPU drivers, and dock firmware are current.
All that said, I can't say I'm a fan of this brand just from reading these specs. It talks about dual 4K displays and support for 4K 60 Hz, but dual 4K would be 4K 60 Hz + 4K 30 Hz. It mentions 96W Power Delivery, but 96W turns out to be the wattage of the dock's power supply, while the dock only provides 60W Power Delivery. And it claims to support systems with USB-A ports, which it won't, at least not if you want video output. There are some docks that can handle video output even when connected to the source system via USB-A, but that is achieved with "indirect display" technology that does not appear to be implemented on this dock and can introduce a variety of drawbacks anyway.
TWillKing
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December 20th, 2021 12:00
Thank you for the reply.
Is it possible I need a better usb c cable?
jphughan
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December 20th, 2021 15:00
@TWillKing It didn't come with one? In that case, what cable are you using? There are indeed "grades" of USB-C cables, in fact I wrote an entire explainer post on this over here. Your dock only support 60W Power Delivery, which is the standard maximum power capability for cables, so you wouldn't need a cable specifically rated for 100W. But in terms of data capabilities, baseline USB-C cables only support USB 2.0. Stepping up from there are cables that support USB 3.x Gen 1 (5 Gbps) and video, since those types of traffic run over separate pins from USB 2.0 and therefore require cables to include additional wiring for those pins. And up from there are cables that support USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) and video, since 3.x Gen 2 (as well as 100W power delivery) require the cables to incorporate an e-marker chip to advertise support for those capabilities. Your dock seems to support USB 3.x Gen 2. But if you're using a USB-C cable that was previously used as a charging cable or something, it may well only support USB 2.0 and power.
TWillKing
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December 21st, 2021 14:00
It did come with a usb c cable. Just trying to figure out the issue.
When I connect the dock via usb c there is an immediate error saying "Display connection might be limited" As far as I know this Thunderbolt 4 connection should support DisplayAlt Mode. I'm trying to figure out why it would not recognize this docks hdmi ports. Could it be the usb c cable? Or the HDMI cables need to be better too?
Or is there any system setting I might need to change?
jphughan
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December 21st, 2021 22:00
@TWillKing Yes, DisplayPort Alt Mode support is mandatory on ports that support Thunderbolt, even when they aren’t running in Thunderbolt mode. Needing better HDMI cables seems unlikely since I would expect at least a lower resolution signal to be possible. But you also haven’t said anything about your displays other than that you have two of them. But the only way to figure this out will be to start isolating variables. Test the displays and HDMI cables with another HDMI source device, such as a media device. Or test the system’s TB4 port for video using some other dock or a USB-C to DP/HDMI adapter. Or test the dock with another system. Or test another USB-C cable.