I feel like this is sooo close to working, but right now when I use the UD-4VPD with an M1 Macbook Air and connect to a Dell U3224KB it’s using 6016x3384 as the resolution (with HiDPI effective resolution of 3008x1692). However, the native resolution of the monitor is 6144 x 3456, which is what is used if I connect the Mac directly to the monitor via Thunderbolt.
My understanding is theoretically this should support up to 8K resolution, and I’m using a 48Gbps-certified HDMI cable I got specifically for this purpose. Any ideas on a way to achieve the native resolution using the dock?
Thank you for contacting us, I am sorry this is not working as expected.
We do not currently recommend this docking station for use with Apple computers, from our product page’s fourth bullet point:
Works With—This Plugable docking station offers driverless compatibility with Windows 10 and newer. 4K 120Hz requires full-featured USB4 or Thunderbolt 4 port. Not recommended for Apple MacOS devices
This docking station is built around a DisplayPort MST hub to support up to two displays on a DisplayPort MST compatible host computer. Apple has not enabled DisplayPort MST on their computers and the docking station will only be capable of supporting a single external display with Apple computers.
Apple computers have a limitation preventing HDMI displays from being set to over 60Hz refresh rate when connected using a USB Type-C to HDMI adapter or docking station, this may also be limiting the maximum resolution to 3840x2160 (4K UHD). This limitation does not exist for either USB Type-C to DisplayPort or native USB Type-C DisplayPort Alternate Mode external displays.
I am sorry, the external display will need to be connected directly to the computer to achieve native 6144x3456 resolution.
Please let me know if you have any additional questions, or if there is anything else I can do to help.
This is an interesting response on a number of fronts.
I don’t need two displays - two displays were not referenced in my post, and it’s pretty well know that M1-based Macs don’t support multiple external display without resorting to DisplayLink or some other workaround.
I also don’t need > 60Hz refresh rate, so I’m not sure why 120Hz support would be relevant here.
It sort of sounds like you are saying that 3840x2160 is the maximum resolution for a single HDMI connection, but with my current setup it’s actually getting recognized 6016x3384 resolution (effectively used as half that by the HiDPI setting on the Mac).
It’s kind of hilarious to throw this “Not recommended for Apple MacOS devices” item out, when, well allow me to quote the Amazon.com item listing in the Plugable store: " Plugable Thunderbolt 4 Dock with 100W Charging, Thunderbolt Certified, Laptop Docking Station Dual Monitor Single 8K or Dual 4K HDMI for Windows and Mac, 4X USB, Gigabit Ethernet (TBT4-UD5)": https://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Thunderbolt-Charging-Certified-TBT4-UD5/dp/B0CNTTVVN6/ref=sr_1_8?crid=19P5B8NLHO8DK&keywords=plugable+usb+4+hub&qid=1707500823&sprefix=plugable+usb+4%2Caps%2C212&sr=8-8&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840
Also the “Works with” blurb there says nothing about not being able to achieve 8K resolution on a Mac (see attached image)
It seems a little more than slightly misleading to literally say it’s for Windows and Mac in the text of the product listing and then turn around and say it’s not for Macs. But if you’re saying I should go ahead and return it, then I guess I will. I will know better than to trust the product listings from other Plugable products in the future.
Thank you for replying back, I apologize for any confusion.
From your original query you were asking about the Plugable UD-4VPD USB4 Dual Display Docking Station ( https://plugable.com/products/ud-4vpd ) and in this reply you link to the Plugable TBT4-UD5 Thunderbolt 4 Dual Display Docking Station ( https://plugable.com/products/tbt4-ud5 ). These are distinct products with different specifications and capabilities.
Please let me know which of these two models of docking station you have, the model can be found on the label on the bottom of the docking station as the last part of the support URL, either UD-4VPD or TBT4-UD5.
The Thunderbolt docking station does indeed support multiple displays with Apple mac systems with M1/M2/M3 Pro or Max series of processors, and it is supported for these systems.
I also don’t need > 60Hz refresh rate, so I’m not sure why 120Hz support would be relevant here.
It sort of sounds like you are saying that 3840x2160 is the maximum resolution for a single HDMI connection, but with my current setup it’s actually getting recognized 6016x3384 resolution (effectively used as half that by the HiDPI setting on the Mac).
I understand this, the reference to 120Hz is in regards to Apple’s limitation for USB to HDMI graphics adapter display capabilities. This limitation makes Apple computers incapable of supporting high refresh and most likely also the high resolution display you are using.
Reference to dual displays is explaining why we do not support or recommend this docking station for use with Apple computers.
Ah thanks for the clarification. Sorry about posting on wrong forum. So to confirm, the one I linked should work with a 6K monitor at full resolution with an M1 Mac?
Sorry for the delayed reply, I checked with the specialist for the TBT4-UD5 docking station, the HDMI 2.0 outputs can support up to 4K 60Hz, for higher resolutions the display will need to be connected to the Thunderbolt 4 “40Gbps, 15W, 8K 30Hz” port and connected with either a Thunderbolt 4 data cable capable of supporting this resolution.
The 6K display may be limited to 30Hz refresh rate when connected through the docking station, 6K 60Hz requires about 1.3x the bandwidth of 8K 30Hz.
I recommend trying the display connected to the Thunderbolt 4 port on the back of the display, please let me know if the system is able to set the native 6K resolution, and if it is able to set the display to 60Hz refresh rate, or if it is limited to 30Hz.
Ok sounds like this won’t work for my scenario. I already have another computer connected to the Thunderbolt input on the display - it’s has KVM capability built into it. So I need the secondary computer to be able to send the full-res signal either over HDMI 2.1 or DisplayPort 1.4
Thanks for your help/clarification. It’s a lot better than just trying things and getting frustrated.
I am sorry to hear this docking station will not meet your needs, at this time we do not have any Thunderbolt based docking stations or graphics adapters that support HDMI 2.1 (4K 120Hz, 6K 60Hz, 8K 30Hz etc) with Apple host computers.
Although I have not specifically tested 6K resolution, a USB Type-C to DisplayPort adapter or adapter cable may be able to support this 6K display with the MacBook host. For example our USB Type-C to DisplayPort Adapter ( https://plugable.com/products/usbc-tdp ) I have briefly tested with a 3440x1440 165Hz display, is a DisplayPort 1.4 monitor. USB Type-C to DisplayPort adapters do not modify the DisplayPort signal, they simply pass it along so they are forward compatible with most DisplayPort changes from version 1.2 to 1.4 and I would expect this to enable 6K resolution with this computer and display. This may be worth a try and if it does not support the 6K display it can be returned directly to Amazon within 30-days for a full refund.
Please let me know if you have any additional questions, or if there is anything else I can do to help.
We’re closing this thread due to inactivity, but if you have any further questions please feel free to contact support@plugable.com and we’ll be happy to help.
