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WD15 Dock: Fix Flickering Issue on External Monitors

Summary: The following article provides information about the WD15 dock having an issue with connected external monitors showing a flickering display.

This article applies to This article does not apply to This article is not tied to any specific product. Not all product versions are identified in this article.
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Symptoms

External screen flickers when connected through the WD15 docking station

There have been reports that Dell external monitors flicker whenever they are connected to the WD15 docking station and the attached laptops lid is closed.

Symptoms specific to the issue:

  • The flicker occurs using any video connector input (For example: The Video Graphics adapter (VGA), DisplayPort (DP), or High-Definition Multi-Media (HDMI).)
  • The flicker is not related to any monitor product, as it appears with any Dell Monitor connected regardless of the video connector
  • The flicker is present when the attached laptop lid is closed - it does not appear when the lid is open
  • The Dock driver, the BIOS revision, the USB-C driver, and the WD15 Firmware are all up to date
  • The flicker is seen through all monitor frequencies from 30 Hz through 60 Hz
  • The flicker is seen when using extended desktop mode on two (2) external monitors and the power suspend mode is disabled for the Realtek and USB device (VGA and DP) (HDMI and DP) (HDMI and VGA)
  • Swapping the Dock and cable does not resolve the flicker
  • Replacing the motherboard does not resolve the flicker
  • The flicker is not seen when sitting in the Basic Input Output System (BIOS)
  • The flicker can be seen when installing the Operating System (The last driver that is used is the Intel High-Definition (HD) graphics)
  • The flicker is seen with various builds of Windows 10: April 2018 and September 2018
  • We compared several identical Latitude 7390 2-in-1 laptops: The latest laptops showed the flicker, while older laptops did not

Cause

This section is not applicable to this article.

Resolution

Updating to the latest BIOS version available for the laptop resolves the issue. To download and install the latest BIOS:

Warning: Dell Technologies recommends disconnecting any devices before updating the BIOS. (For example: Devices such as any external hard disk drives, printers, or scanners.)
 
Warning: Dell laptops must have the battery installed and charged to at least 10% before you begin the BIOS update. Dell Technologies recommends connecting the laptop to an AC power adapter before proceeding with the update process.
 
Note: To learn more about updating the BIOS on a Dell laptop, see the Dell Knowledge Base article: Dell BIOS Updates
 
Note: You must have administrator privileges on your laptop to make changes, such as installing drivers or applications.
 

  1. Browse to the Dell Drivers & Downloads page:

  2. Ensure you have the correct System Type.

  3. Select the Operating System.

  4. Under Category, select BIOS.

  5. Locate the latest System BIOS.

  6. Click Download and save the file to your laptop.

  7. Open File Explorer and browse to the downloads folder where the downloaded file is saved.

  8. Double-click the BIOS setup file and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process.

  9. The laptop restarts as part of the upgrade installation.

Additional Information

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Affected Products

Latitude, Vostro, XPS, Dell Dock WD15
Article Properties
Article Number: 000135871
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 30 Aug 2024
Version:  9
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