External Monitor Is Not Detected until the Display Output Mode Is Manually Selected Using a USB Type-C Dongle

You may experience the following symptom when connecting to an external display:

• The computer may not automatically detect the external monitor.

If you own an Alienware x15 R1, or Alienware x17 R1 laptop, and have set this configuration:

• The laptop screen supports the Nvidia Dynamic Display Switch (DDS) feature.
• You have entered the BIOS and enabled the Discrete Graphics Processing Unit (dGPU) mode.
• The external Monitor is connected using the Thunderbolt port on the computer.

Enabling dGPU mode puts the integrated Intel graphics into power-saving mode. When the BIOS is set to use the discrete Nvidia graphics, monitor auto detection is disabled.

If you are looking to resolve this:

• You may be able to enable detection, by pressing either Win + P, or Fn + F8 to select a video output display mode manually.
• You can disable the dGPU mode in the computers BIOS. Check you User Manual of your computer to navigate the BIOS and change the dGPU mode.
• You can use a different cable and another port such as HDMI or DisplayPort on the computer that supports external graphics.

Recommended Articles

Here are some recommended articles related to this topic that might be of interest to you.

• How to Troubleshoot Multiple Monitor Issues
• How to Set up Multiple Monitors in Microsoft Windows 11 and Windows 10