I'm seeing stable video artifacts on the HDMI out with my 2016 15" MBP.

I’ve been using the same hub with my Pixel without any trouble, but when I hook up the Macbook, I sometimes get stable video artifacts. What I mean is that I see what looks like chunks of organized noise, kind of like what you’d see if a linux kernel was trying to display text in a graphics mode, in a line of clusters across the screen, with the underlying video showing through.

I’ve also noticed that the video connecter is extremely sensitive–if I jostle it, I lose my video and have to wake the mac back up again.

The noise is not persistent–it’ll be stable for a second or two, then change, or else go away entirely.

Here’s an example. I actually only see the artifacts that are bright in this picture–the other artifacts only showed up in the photograph. Also, these artifacts were stable until I changed what I was looking at on the screen, which suggests some kind of confusion between the signal and the encoding. :confused: !](https://d2r1vs3d9006ap.cloudfront.net/s3_images/1521742/IMG_20161211_123749_inline.jpg?1481478083)](https://d2r1vs3d9006ap.cloudfront.net/s3_images/1521742/IMG_20161211_123749.jpg?1481478083)

One additional note: I swapped out the HDMI cable, and am seeing the same touchiness in the connector–just touching it is enough to make the video go away.

Hi Ted,

Thanks for posting, and for the multiple follow-ups with the photo of the behavior.

A few quick questions for you (apologies if these are redundant)…can you let me know which exact model Plugable product you are using? We make a few different docking stations that can work with your Mac and I just want to make sure I know which one we are talking about here, as the troubleshooting steps can vary depending on which one you are using.

If you are using our UD-ULTCDL Triple Display Docking station (http://amazon.com/dp/B01FKTZLBS), can you let me know which of the three video outputs the display shown in your photo was connected to?

Thank you,

Bob
Plugable Technologies
www.plugable.com/support

I’m using the UD-CA1–the first of the USB-C powered video docking stations that you guys released. :slight_smile:

Hi Ted,

Thanks for getting back so quickly with the update!

Our UD-CA1 depends on your internal GPU to drive the attached display, so that the unit works as expected with the Pixel and not with your Mac may indicate a problem with the Mac itself.

Another quick question for you, are you using the USB-C cable that we included with the dock to connect both the Pixel and Mac? I ask because in some cases 3rd-party USB-C cables can cause problems.

Pending that information, I consulted with one of my colleagues in regard to your issue and he pointed me to this post -> https://9to5mac.com/2016/11/25/2016-m… that speaks to GPU issues some are having with their new Mac systems, and shows a video of some of the behavior. Does that look (or sound) similar to what is happening on your system?

Thank you,

Bob

I’m using the cable you included. Note the flakiness of the connector with multiple HDMI cables–this leads me to suspect that there is an electrical issue. I noticed occasional problems with the Pixel as well–it would lose sync, blanking the screen, and then recover.

This does not appear to be the same issue they are talking about on 9to5mac–they are seeing the problem on their laptop screen, but I only see this on the external display.

Hi Ted,

Thanks for getting back with the update. While there could certainly be other factors at play, given your most recent description I think it best to proceed with sending you a replacement dock that has been pretested in our lab to ensure it is working properly and rule out the dock itself as the cause. If you would, please email your original Amazon Order ID number, the serial number from the side of the dock and your preferred shipping address to support@plugable.com (please don’t post that information here in the public forum). Please put ‘Ticket 163627’ in the subject line as that will help us match up your information to your forum post.

Thank you for your patience!

Bob