I have several people with new HP ProBook 450 G7 laptops, that are plugged into a Plugable USB-C 4K docking station. I am hearing report from a few of them that when they are in Microsoft Teams calls, there monitors start flashing, kind of like when a monitor is added or removed. Most of the time all of their open windows move to the primary screen. Some have reported that when this happens their Citrix apps freeze, and they have to disconnect from their session, and reconnect.
This is problematic as we are an accounting firm going into our busiest time of the year, and with COVID, we are relying on virtual meetings using Teams and Zoom.
It is also worth noting that all of the people having issues are on laptops with Windows 10 20H2.
Thanks for contacting Plugable support and for the clear description of the issue!
Based on your report, the first step we’ll want to take is to make sure that the software used by the dock is in a good state by reinstalling the DisplayLink software and running the DisplayLink cleaner tool.
You described this issue with the screens flashing, which is common when the driver is conflicting with the system.
Additionally, there have been reports that Microsoft Teams has seen issues with Citrix in the past. I recommend disabling the 'Hardware Acceleration" feature in Microsoft Teams.
Please let me know if these changes anything.
Open Microsoft Teams → Click on your profile photo → Setting → Disaply GPU hardware acceleration.
To run the cleaner tool and install the new 10.0 drivers, please follow these steps:
Disconnect the dock from the system, and please remove the power cable from the dock, so it turns off completely (this is important, so the unit resets). Please keep it disconnected until the last step
Uninstall any and all software with ‘DisplayLink’ in the title that is present from within the Control Panel > Programs and Features. Don’t worry if these entries are not present or if the process does not work, move onto the next step
Reattach the power cable to the dock first. Once the dock is powered on, reconnect the dock to your system
If these steps help, great! If not, I’d like to request some logs from your system to investigate further. Could you please keep the Plugable dock connected to your system (with the non-working displays and USB devices still attached), then navigate to our PlugDebug tool (https://plugable.com/support/plugdebug) and follow the instructions there?
I have a similar problem. the laptop is Lenovo T490S. The dock is connected to 3 1080p VGA monitors via adapters. During Teams calls, the two monitors connected to the DisplayPort flash occasionally. The one connected to the HDMI port never flashes. What can I try to resolve the problem?
Do the steps that were provided above work for you?
If not, please feel free to reach out to support so we can take a closer look at this issue.
If possible, please include a copy of your log files if possible. (https://plugable.com/support/plugdebug)
I followed your step above, with some success. The flashing has slowed down, however it still continues. I attempted to download the debugger, but my AV isn’t liking it, and deletes it. Before I put in an exception for the executable, I would like to verify that it is safe to download and run.
I had IT update my laptop to the drivers you had linked late Friday afternoon. During a 5 minute teams call this afternoon I had 2 more crashes. These crashes were the same as before. All screens go black for several seconds then come back.
Thank you for reaching out to Plugable with that update.
Our PlugDebug Tool allows the application to collect system information such as:
Installed Apps
Installed Drivers
Currently connected Monitors
Allows Plugable to verify systems updates that may need to be completed.
This tool does not collect any files that were made by the user, such as:
Files and Folders
Photos
Save passwords
Additionally, you are free to unzip the log folder and inspect the files to confirm personal information is not being sent.
I hope I was able to answer your questions.
Please feel free to reach out to Plugable support with any additional questions or concerns.
