Hi, I am trying to use this dock with my AMD Thinkpad E16 Gen 1, which has both HDMI video out and USB-C DP 1.4. The AMD model says it supports DP 1.4 Alt Mode.
I’ve been using my E16 with two external monitors, resulting in three displays: its own screen, one through HDMI, and one through USB-C/DP. Since I also have numerous USB devices attached as well (wired keyboard, speakers, external drives, etc.) in my main working area, I wanted to attach all of those peripherals to a docking station, and to just attach my E16 to it via Thunderbolt, charging it as well as powering all the perhipherals.
This has worked very well and immediately with the TBT4-UD5, except for one thing: I cannot get the DP connected display to go through the dock. It only works if I unplug it from the dock and attach it directly to the USB-C/DP port in my E16.
It look like the dock is supposed to allow this? I don’t think it’s a driver thing? What am I missing?
I am sorry to hear that you are running into issues with your TBT4-UD5, but I would be happy to help diagnose the issue here.
Can you clarify how you are connecting the display to the dock? You mention a DP connected display, so I am curious as to whether you are using an HDMI to DisplayPort cable, or a USB-C to DisplayPort cable.
If you are using an HDMI to DisplayPort cable, this will not work as the conversion from HDMI source to DisplayPort display is not practically possible. If you are using USB-C to DisplayPort adapter, ensure that it is connected to the downstream Thunderbolt port on the front of the dock.
Actually I feel kind of silly now – as I mentioned in my OP, I have a Thinkpad E16 Gen 1 with the AMD chip in it … and this is the only Thinkpad E16 model that does NOT have Thunderbolt 4 support.
I was connecting the TBT4-UD5 to my laptop via what the Thinkpad’s manual showed as the port for Thunderbolt 4, … “if supported” … Which the AMD variants do NOT, only the Intel flavored ones do. Which explains why it was so much cheaper, I guess, aside from the AMD vs. Intel difference! The same port on my AMD model is merely another USB-C / DP port, but without the necessary bandwidth to drive its own screen plus two external displays through the dock (even though I can use two external monitors directly connected to the laptop, via its HDMI and DP ports on the side).
I now have another laptop (HP Omnibook 7) that does have Thunderbolt and everything works as expected when hooked up in a one-cable docking usage.
Yes, our dock does require a Thunderbolt 4 port in order to output 2x displays. On non-Thunderbolt USB-C ports, we do only expect a single display.
I am sorry for the inconvenience here! Depending on the dock, we do have Thunderbolt dock options that will likely be able to support 2x displays on your non-Thunderbolt USB-C port, and our DisplayLink based docks will for sure be able to support 2x displays. Let me know if you want any recommendations for these!
Well the TBT4-UD5 I’ve already got works well with my new Omnibook 7 with Thunderbolt 4, and I can’t return the TBT4-UD5 any more since I discarded all the packaging…
But out of curiosity, if I were in a position to use the Thinkpad E16 AMD with a Plugable dock, and wanted to drive two external monitors while charging it and also supporting all the peripherals attached (wired keyboard, mouse, ethernet, etc.), which one should I get?