2 laptops, 1 desk, USB-C switching, closest solution?

tl;dr: I've tried a few solutions to share usb-c devices between two computers at a single desk, and have run into different issues each time.

Hello!

I posted this to reddit but then searched and found that the answers provided here in the forums are substantial in content... but I didn't find an answer to this. It is regarding both an XPS and Inspiron.

Like many others, I am working from home a lot. At my desk, I have a personal laptop that I use while on breaks, play music, email etc... I also have a work only laptop, which I cannot do any personal things on, like play music during the day and do things that keep me from going insane. I am attempting to juggle what I might consider reasonable expectations of my workspace/desk, but I'm running into challenges finding the optimal solution. Some of these challenges are not likely Dell specific, but I am trying to set this up with Dell computers.

If anything, maybe this novel of information could provide some insight to someone else trying to accomplish the same.

I have the following:

• Dell XPS 15 (personal computer)

• Dell Latitude 5400 (work computer)

• Dell WD19S 130W dock

• Aten USB-C switch (US3342)

• Sceptre C35 monitor (3440x1440)

• Various USB peripherals (mouse, kb, camera, mic etc...)

Original Set Up:

For a year and a half, I've had all of the devices above, aside from the Aten USB-C switch. It's been a bit of a mess of cables on my desk and I've needed to "hotswap" the USB-C cable of the docking station between computers. The issues with this:

• Inconvenient to constantly swap USB-C cable

• One computer is always dying, unless I use the power adapters

• If I use the power adapters, they have to be accessible so I can bring my laptop to work (rarely), or my personal laptop somewhere else (more often).

So, I decided to look into a switch and found the Aten USB-C switch. I was aware that it can't switch video, so I would need to use the HDMI ports on the laptops. However, as the inconvenience of unplugging video/power cables would only happen maybe once or twice a week, while the switching between devices (usb-c dock swap) might happen every hour, it was better to eliminate the need to swap the USB-C cable than to worry about unplugging a couple extra cables to move my laptop.

However, this created a bunch of other logistical issues:

Powering

The Aten switch can only power one computer and that is only if I provide the switch with USB-C power (it doesn't have a PSU). I don't have another USB-C high wattage power supply, so this can only be done presently using the Dell dock. I can't tie up the power supply of the XPS and the Dell dock, because I wouldn't have anything to power the XPS when outside of the house.

• To solve the above, I decided to just use both power adapters on the computers and free up the clunky Dell docking station, to keep in my computer bag to be ready to travel with either of the computers. Not ideal to use as a power supply but it can power either computer and I wouldn't need to buy yet another device.

Switching / Hot Swapping XPS 15

When I was hot swapping the USB-C cable from the Dell dock between the Latitude and XPS, after one or two swaps, the XPS would not detect any USB devices plugged into the dock. The video would still work and I would hear the connection sound, but nothing would work. If I rebooted the XPS, it would detect everything again.

I do not have this issue with the Latitude at all. Every time I plug the Dell docking station in, it works.

I thought that it was an issue with the Dell docking station. However, the same thing happens with the Aten switch. It works flawlessly on the Latitude but the XPS drops the connection after one or two swaps.

• I presently have no solution for this as, with either configuration, I would have to reboot the XPS when swapping devices. Has anyone else seen or experienced this issue? What is the best way to approach it?

Video

As mentioned, I knew the Aten switch would not help with the video. I would need to have the video plugged into the HDMI ports of the computers.

a) One issue with this is that in order to swap monitor between computers, I need to press the input select buttons on the monitor. I was willing to live with this because while I'm working, I can just use the laptop monitor on my personal computer and vice versa. So, one input change at the beginning of the day and another at the end.

b) The MAJOR issue with video is because of the SCEPTRE monitor. The XPS can display to it fine. However, the HDMI port on the Latitude is 1.4b, I believe. I knew that it wouldn't be able to output at the highest resolution and refresh, but I thought that I could step it down in Windows. No matter what I do, I cannot select a resolution that fills the screen. I tried swapping the cable to a brand new gold-plated etc..., I also changed the refresh rate and tried every resolution available. I either get something readable that doesn't come close to filling the screen or something squished and unreadable.

c) Another challenge, but one I was willing to live with, is that the computers still detect the monitor even when it is set to the other input.

Cable Management

I've cable managed the bejesus out of the desk because it is a standing / sitting desk. So, the cables need to be carefully placed so they not only don't snag on anything but also so it doesn't look like utter garbage when the desk is raised. This adds a bit of a logistical hurdle because I need to be able to remove the computer from this system, and be able to power it while I'm away. I would like to do this without crawling under my desk to unplug it, or have another power bar on top of the desk and with minimal time spent replacing everything.

 

So, the summary of the challenges that I need to balance are:

• Swapping devices between two computers

• Powering the computers at the desk

• Being able to take either computer with me and power it while away

• Fixing the XPS device swapping issue

• Cable-tie/organizing cables at the desk

 

Where am I now?

Before I tear everything apart again, I thought to post here to see if anyone might be able to help. Without any other input, this is where I was heading:

Put the Dell dock back and accept that, until a USB-C video combo switch is made, I need to swap the Dell dock USB-C cable between computers. This will swap all devices and the monitors AND power the devices. To do this, I need to solve the following issues:

• Figure out why the XPS cannot detect devices after one or two swaps. There must be a solution to this somewhere

• Figure out how to power my personal computer during the day

  • Buy another power adapter to keep one at the desk and one in my bag (either a Dell or a 3rd party),

  • Swap the USB-C cable to the personal computer at lunch to give it a boost,

  • or, Figure out a nice way to set up the adapter so I can plug/unplug it when I need to take it with me

• Figure out the best way to "hotswap" the usb-c cable back and forth.

  • I think that cable wear would be an issue after a couple years of doing this.. as well as super annoying to drag the cable across one of the laptops. I was thinking to grab a USB-C extension that supports the transfer rate needed by the dock and just move the Dock cable slightly to plug into the extension

A small modification to the above is that if, during the day, I want to be able to do short tasks on my personal computer (XPS), I could put a small USB 3.0 hub in the mix, put the keyboard and mouse on it, and plug channel 1 into the Dell dock and channel 2 into my XPS. During the day, I can just switch the 3.0 hub for fast access to my XPS then, at the end of the day, I can swap the Dell dock usb-c cable to my personal computer.

If you made it this far... thank you for your time!