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Issue Connecting Dell XPS Laptop to Accer Monitor
I am seeking a solution to connect my Dell XPS 13 9365 laptop through to a Acer external monitor (Model name: XR342CK Pbmiiqphuzx) by way of an HP Elite Thunderbolt 3 dock (Part number: 1DT93AA). I have downloaded the latest drivers for the dock and have the ability to charge my laptop through the dock as well. The appropriate cords and cables have been plugged in as well.
On the monitor, I have the ability to connect by HDMI, DP In, Mini DP, and HDMI 2. I have been constantly receiving a "No signal" message on the monitor, and my laptop is not recognizing any form of external display.
Any thoughts concerning next steps? I'm assuming there will be extreme compatibility issues with this current set-up. Thank you in advance!
jphughan
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June 9th, 2020 10:00
@nspringm Being able to charge an iPhone from a dock USB port doesn't necessarily mean it's interfacing with the system. The dock can provide power to its USB ports independently of system connectivity, which is why it would be better to test something like a USB flash drive. Or if you want to use your iPhone, make sure the system actually detects the iPhone within Windows.
However, the firmware updater suggesting that the dock isn't even connected makes it unlikely that anything else would work. Even if the firmware updater can only be run from an HP system, I wouldn't expect it to claim that the dock wasn't connected at all.
In that case, I'd suggest disconnecting the dock and making sure the following are installed and updated to the latest release, or updating them in the order below if needed:
After rebooting to install those updates, reconnect the dock and see if you get that connection approval prompt. (You never mentioned whether you ever saw that, by the way.) If you still don't see that, then just as a test, go into your XPS 13's BIOS Setup and change the Thunderbolt Security level to SL0 "No Security". Then try the dock again. If even that doesn't work, then I'm not sure what to suggest if you don't have another dock to test that system with or another system to test that dock with. If it DOES work with No Security enabled, then you really shouldn't have to do that. It should work with SL1 "User Authorization" enabled. In that mode, which is the default, you should see a prompt to authorize the dock when you connect it, and one of the options you'll have will be to "Always allow" so you don't have to authorize it each time you connect it.
jphughan
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June 9th, 2020 10:00
@nspringm I've never used HP's docks, but that shouldn't be an issue on its own. Dell docks work with at least some non-Dell systems, and Dell systems work with at least some non-Dell docks. I believe this is the correct HP Support page for the dock you have, in which case the only driver appears to be for the USB controller. The displays should work without any additional drivers. There are some firmware updates listed there, though. Have you tried to install those. (Hopefully they don't require being installed from an HP system the way some Dell dock firmware updates require using a Dell system....)
When you first connected the dock, did you see a prompt to "approve" the connection? That's the typical setup for Thunderbolt 3 unless you disable Thunderbolt 3 security in your system BIOS, but I would strongly advise against that. But if you didn't see that, then it's possible for charging to work even though nothing data-related would work. Which brings me to my next question: Is ANYTHING other than charging working from this dock? Do USB devices connected through the dock appear on your system? What about the dock's audio or Ethernet controllers, even if you're not using them for audio or network?
Based on your display's input connectors and the available output connectors, a basic DisplayPort cable would be the simplest option. And of course make sure the display is set to the correct input if you haven't done that.
nspringm
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June 9th, 2020 10:00
Entering BIOS Setup and selecting "no security" for the Thunderbolt prompts worked. Thank you!
Are there any issues that I need to be made aware of now that I have made this change to my BIOS Setup?
nspringm
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June 9th, 2020 10:00
Thank you for the response, @jphughan.
I may have been incorrect in saying that I have the appropriate drivers installed. Using the installer from the link provided, my laptop/installer is not able to recognize the dock once it is plugged in to my USB 3 port. I was able to charge my iPhone by way of the USB port located on the dock.
jphughan
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June 9th, 2020 11:00
@nspringm Glad it's working, but that's definitely not an ideal way to run your system permanently. The issue is that Thunderbolt ports allow access to PCI Express, which in turn allows direct access to system memory. That means that when you run in No Security mode, a malicious user could potentially connect a malicious device to your system's TB3 port and dump the contents of your system memory, which might include sensitive information such as passwords, decryption keys, and personal information, depending on what your system was doing at the time. This is precisely why Thunderbolt 3 defaults to "User Authorization" mode in the first place, in which case you have to approve each device that gets connected to your system before your system will interface with it. (There's a newer security mechanism called Kernel DMA Protection that avoids this vulnerability without needing approval, but your system doesn't support that.)
Did you actually install those updates as I suggested? If so, I'm not sure why you're not seeing the authorization prompt when you connect the dock. To my knowledge, all Thunderbolt 3 peripherals are required to support at least the User Authorization security level in order to be certified as Thunderbolt-compatible devices by Intel. So if you're not seeing that prompt, it makes me wonder if it's either a firmware glitch or due to outdated/missing Thunderbolt software on your system, because a Thunderbolt 3 dock should not require you to disable all security in order to use it. But while you do have the dock working, are you able to update the dock's firmware at this point? That might be necessary too.
If you're confident in the physical security of your system, then you might decide that using No Security permanently is acceptable, but again I would strongly recommend against that. I would suggest doing a bit more digging to see if you can get to a point where you can enable security and then see that authorization prompt. If you get there, then after you click "Always allow this device", you should be able to keep using the dock normally with security still enabled.
nspringm
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June 9th, 2020 14:00
@jphughan, I wanted to circle back with you, as you've been extremely helpful today.
I went back into my laptop's BIOS and returned to default settings. From there, I downloaded the first update that you recommended in an earlier post. Upon restarting the laptop, I was automatically connected through to the external display. I am quite religious in checking for updates, so I was surprised to see that my device had not incorporated this update from 2019.
Again, thank you!
jphughan
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June 9th, 2020 16:00
@nspringm Great news, and happy to help. I'd install the remaining 2 updates just to be safe if you were missing that BIOS update. And were you able to update the dock firmware?