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August 6th, 2021 08:00
WD19TB, Surface Pro 7, NEC WXGA dual monitors blanking
Hi folks
I hope someone may be able to provide a fix for this as we're experiencing a strange issue on several devices that has started to appear on more and more devices within the business over the past couple of weeks...
Scenario
Microsoft Surface Pro 7 device
Dell WD19TB dock
x2 NEC MultiSync EA245WMi-2 LED displays
If a user plugs in the USB-C cable into the Surface Pro 7 in the morning to use the SP7, everything is OK. Both NEC displays work as intended and also the SP7 display screen is fine.
Then the user unplugs the Surface Pro 7 USB-C cable from the Dell WD19TB dock and goes into a meeting room to plug another USB-C to HDMI display cable (this is a single display and a different make and model than the NEC displays) for a meeting. This works and the display appears fine.
The user then unplugs the USB-C and goes back to their desk to (re-dock) and plug the USB-C from the Dell WD19TB dock back into the SP7 and the output on the two NEC MultiSync EA245WMi-2 displays stay blank. The only fix is to shut the SP7, reboot and then they display again. However, if the SP7 is further undocked from the Dell WD19TB dock after reboot, the displays go blank again when you reconnect the USB-C Dell WD19TB dock cable.
The SP7 is running Windows 10 Enterprise 20H2. I've deployed out the latest firmware and drivers for the SP7 as of today and prior to that I deployed the latest Dell WD19TB dock firmware which has been installed Intune advises me. I've also installed an older Intel Iris video adapter driver on the SP7 which is two years older (driver ending .7101) which has made no difference. It's occurring on around 13 devices now so it can't be the DisplayPort cables, can it?
The Dell WD19TB dock is connected to the NEC MultiSync EA245WMi-2 displays via DisplayPort cables (not mini DP) from both Dell WD19TB dock to NEC MultiSync EA245WMi-2 at both ends.
Obviously the SP7 doesn't support Thunderbolt so it is purely just using USB-C 3.1 I presume for connectivity with DisplayPort to DisplayPort via the two cables for the for the Dell WD19TB dock to NEC MultiSync EA245WMi-2 displays.
We've also tried removing one of the NEC MultiSync EA245WMi-2 monitors and DisplayPort cables and testing on one display and the blank screen issue is still present when undocking and docking.
When the users are at home with the same NEC MultiSync EA245WMi-2 display (single) and a Surface Dock 1, there are no blanking issues only when in the office using the Dell WD10TB dock and the NEC MultiSync EA245WMi-2 displays.
Anyone know why this is happening and perhaps a resolution?
Thanks in advance.
jphughan
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August 9th, 2021 09:00
@rdw72 Based on your problem description and the tests you've conducted thus far, it does sound like some strange interoperability issue with the specific combination of hardware you're running. I'd be curious if this occurs with different display models, i.e. with any setup involving an SP7 and a WD19TB, or if the display models themselves are a relevant factor here. But either way, I suspect this may be a driver or firmware issue that has yet to be resolved. I know that isn't a satisfying answer since it doesn't allow for a fix, but this type of issue does happen. As two even more egregious examples, Dell's own XPS 13 9300 couldn't run dual 4K 60 Hz displays through Dell's own WD19TB dock for quite a while after launch even though that should have been possible, for example, and the Dell XPS 13 9350 has some issues that has prevented it from sending video over USB-C to any of Dell's own USB-C displays, even though it works fine with third-party USB-C displays -- and Dell chose not to fix that one at all. So given the issues that can sometimes crop up even with all-Dell setups, I wouldn't be too surprised if there were issues when mixing products between vendors, even though of course this should work. My only suggestion would be to keep an eye out for future driver or firmware updates for the SP7 and the WD19TB. I don't think swapping components is going to result in a fix here, unfortunately, unless you actually swap to a different component model, such as replacing the WD19TB with a Surface Dock.
XPS_Man
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August 7th, 2021 20:00
The Correct Dock should be WD19 type C, D6000
Anyways
As far troubleshooting is concerned you have done enough
Sine dock is designed to Tap internal GPU via thunderbolt port
and you are using it as a type C dock which uses display link's virtual GPU driver to function ( gives you lesser performance) , I think you should look at the display link driver part of the issue.
Is it it allowed to AutoStart ?
Are you deploying the latest version of it? some Dell users had reported some issue with latest display link driver. Can you try both latest and older one.
Have you tried a dedicated type C dock ?
Similar issue with any other model ?
rdw72
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August 9th, 2021 04:00
@XPS_Man thanks for the response.
How do I look at the Display Link driver part of the issue?
Is it a driver update/where do I get the driver from if it is a virtual GPU driver?
Is this virtual GPU driver running as some form of service as you mention AutoStart etc.? or do you mean just on the Windows 10 endpoint when it boots?
Where do I get the latest and older versions of this Display Link driver?
I haven't tried a dedicated USB-C port dock no but my understanding would be that the WD19TB would work in USB-C 3.1 mode essentially as the Surface Pro 7 does not support Thunderbolt.
We're also testing the monitors in a daisy-chain (media-stream) configuration using the DisplayPort cables. We've got this issue solely on multiple SP7's with WD19TB docks. The issue is only occurring in this configuration of hardware.
jphughan
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August 9th, 2021 09:00
@XPS_Man The WD19, WD19TB, and D6000 are all different dock models, so I'm not sure what you mean by telling the OP that the "the Correct Dock should be WD19 type C, D6000". The WD19 dock family models do not use DisplayLink. Dell's Dxxxx models like the D6000 do, but the WD19 dock family models as well as the earlier WD15, TB16, and TB18DC all use DisplayPort Alt Mode, in some cases over Thunderbolt -- so @rdw72 I wouldn't bother going down that rabbit hole.
XPS_Man
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August 9th, 2021 10:00
I meant why buy a thunderbolt dock when your machine only has TYPE C ports. Why the unnecessary expense
@rdw72 Try https://www.displaylink.com/downloads/windows
Try the latest one first
if no go ,try legacy drivers.
I am not sure how windows updates work in your deployed image. But I would recommend Pausing them until you troubleshoot. Users on this forum have posted that Microsoft is pushing a faulty Display link Driver through windows updates
rdw72
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August 10th, 2021 14:00
Hi @XPS_Man
Thanks for your response. The docks had already been purchased by the customer before we had any input in this. Thanks for link to the Display Link drivers. @XPS_Man, @jphughan: are the drivers still valid based on @jphughan's previous comments?
Thanks again folks
rdw72
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August 10th, 2021 14:00
Thanks @jphughan for that clarity. Appreciate it.
rdw72
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August 10th, 2021 14:00
Thanks @jphughan for the response. I'll keep looking for updates to the firmware. For now I've updated the Dell Dock and SP7 firmware respectively. The odd thing is, the customer has advised that this setup was working before we enrolled the devices into Intune. Thanks for your help, as always @jphughan . Much appreciated.