I’ve seen many posts on this but there seem to be individual responses / actions so I am posting this one separately.
I just moved an older Plugable UD-3900 to another workstation I needed and replaced it with a TBT3-UDZ. Nothing else changed in the config. Config is two Samsung HDMI monitors, 1920-1080. These monitors previously worked flawlessly with the prior plugable unit. I also use the same laptop with a UBS 3.0 Universal Laptop Docking Station (plugable) and a Plugable USB 3.0 Dual 4K Station - horizontal. 3 working Plugable units. Laptop is an HP Spectre x360 14".
Displays are: LC32F397FWNXZA
I confirmed the bug is with the top port only.
Windows seems to think the display is there. The settings screen doesn’t change.
This seems like some of the other issues with a bad dock, or at least bad firmware. Happy to help troubleshoot. Love pluggable devices, really do. And support through the forums looks great.
Thank you for contacting Plugable support! Sorry to hear about this issue. I’d be more than happy to assist you.
Thanks for the information about your setup. I’d like to get a closer look at the system configuration. We have a troubleshooting tool that helps us find out what is going on in situations like this. Please plug the dock with your devices attached to it into your computer, then go to this page and follow the instructions there:
I received a reply back: “We’ve assigned a ticket (#344079) so you can also track our progress.” That’s a different ticket than you noted and what I put in the subject line. Just so you can find it.
Thanks for sending the diagnostics! Looking at them, my first recommendation would be to try upgrading the Intel graphics drivers for the Iris Xe graphics in this system.
With the most recent version from Intel there have been several fixes specific to Iris Xe for similar issues when used with docks, etc. Here is the download for the newest version (27.20.100.9466): https://downloadmirror.intel.com/30381/a08/igfx_win10_100.9466.exe (vs 27.20.100.9079 installed now)
Thanks Josh. I’ll do that shortly. I also figured out that if I connect the 2nd display using an HDMI to USB-C cable to the second USB port on the laptop it works fine. So the laptop can drive both displays through USB-C, just as long as it’s not through the dock and the top port. Strange issue for sure.
I’ve already posted here and got tech support from Joshua a few months ago, but my issue was exactly the same with an Xe graphics laptop - top HDMI port flashes intermittently to be unusable and have updated display and Thunderbolt drivers as they come up and using the most recent as Joshua flagged here but hasn’t fixed it. Only workaround has been as what the poster here has done to run the second monitor via a USB-C to HDMI adapter on my second Thunderbolt port.
I am terribly sorry to hear the updates suggested have not helped. I had hoped the updated graphics drivers may help as Intel had called out several Iris Xe specific fixes related to docks, etc. Since the issues persist, I suspect we may still be hitting some underlying compatibility issues with the Intel Iris Xe graphics in this system as these behaviors have been a common theme for systems with it (although not all systems have been affected which has made tracking the issue difficult).
At this time I unfortunately do not have any further suggestions that I believe will resolve this problem. I can say that these issues are being investigated by our engineers and Intel, but I do not have any time frame to offer for when/if the issues are resolved.
It is good you have been able to find a workaround by using a USB-C adapter via the second USB-C port on the system. In my experience I know that some customers do not mind such a workaround, but for others this wouldn’t be acceptable with an additional cable needed. I understand that we may need to offer you a return for a full refund if we’re unable to solve this problem since the dock isn’t able to function correctly and if a fix is not found in a timely manner. (We can discuss this via email directly if you decide you do need to return the dock and I will be happy to assist with this process.)
Thank you for letting us know that the updated graphics and Thunderbolt 3 drivers have not helped you as well and that the Display 2 HDMI port is still unstable.
I just replied to the topic starter (hofeling68) above with some additional information that may also be relevant to you.
We are still looking into the issues you had reported here. Unfortunately I have not heard back about any other possible fixes for that system yet. My apologies.
First, thanks for the great, honest customer service. I do appreciate it and the complexities of the issues you are trying to solve.
Unfortunately, after the upgrades to the Thunderbolt and graphics drivers, one of the other docks I have (UD-6950H) started mis-behaving after working for several months. The displays repeatedly connect/disconnect. I tried many things to get that to stop as I needed to work at home but I was not able to resolve that issue. Rolled back both drivers, double checked for upgrades and tried the troubleshooting steps on Displaylinks site. Something certainly seems amiss.
Both USB 3.0 Docking stations (vertical) continue to work.
I am leaning on returning both the horizontal and the one of this topic and replacing with the known working ones and leaving it at that.
You’re most welcome for the support, thanks for bearing with us through this!
“Unfortunately, after the upgrades to the Thunderbolt and graphics drivers, one of the other docks I have (UD-6950H) started mis-behaving after working for several months. The displays repeatedly connect/disconnect. I tried many things to get that to stop as I needed to work at home but I was not able to resolve that issue. Rolled back both drivers, double checked for upgrades and tried the troubleshooting steps on Displaylinks site. Something certainly seems amiss.”
Ah! I actually believe I know why. With the most recent Intel Graphics drivers (27.20.100.9466) that were released, we’ve seen some reports that DisplayLink DL-6xxx series chipsets can encounter issues like you’ve described. I’d have expected rolling back the GPU drivers should have helped here, but since the issue remains, you may see if these newest drivers from DisplayLink that were released earlier this week fix the issues with the UD-6950H (https://www.displaylink.com/downloads/file?id=1728). The DL-3xxx series like your vertical USB 3.0 docks were fortunately unaffected.
In the release notes DisplayLink specifically mentions: “DL-6xxx: fixed issue with Intel driver xx.yy.100.9458-9466 for Intel 11th generation GPUs (33008)”
I would personally recommend a full clean install of these drivers versus an upgrade, here’s how:
Disconnect the dock from the system and please remove the power cable from the dock so it turns off completely. 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, just move onto the next step.
Reattach the power cable to the dock first. Once the dock is powered on, reconnect it to your system which will trigger the final portion of the installation. If the device is not detected, please reboot the system.
If the issue remains with the UD-6950H, we might try manually installing one revision back of the Intel Graphics drivers.
“I am leaning on returning both the horizontal and the one of this topic and replacing with the known working ones and leaving it at that.”
That’s of course an option, though hopefully the above suggestion might help bring back stable operation of the UD-6950H. I think the TBT3-UDZ is the only dock that I believe we won’t be able to immediately resolve the issues with.
Happy to report this worked to resolve the issue with the UD-6950-H. There were no hiccups along the way. I was still on the rolled back driver and was able to upgrade to 9466 without any issues. (other than that driver ends up in a reinstall loop you have to cancel out of).
I’ll recheck the the TBT3-UDZ to see what’s up. I’m in Seattle and I notice you guys are here too. Seriously, if you guys need some hands on time on a system that you can reproduce the issue I’m game.
That’s great to hear the updated DisplayLink drivers did indeed help with the UD-6950H! If things change do let me know.
“I’m in Seattle and I notice you guys are here too. Seriously, if you guys need some hands on time on a system that you can reproduce the issue I’m game.”
Indeed we are! Thank you, we’ll definitely keep that in mind!
