TBT3-UDC1 - two brand new ones and neither connects any monitors. Perplexing!

1

I bought two new TBT3-UDC1 Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C Docking Stations Duel Display with 60W charging. Neither one allows any monitors to work. I am an IT manager and methodically tried many things per below. The Monitor is a brand new ASUS VP228 and the two laptops I am using are A Lenovo P52 and a Lenovo X1 5th Generation. Both have Thunderbolt and the Plugable dock was recognized and approved to always connect.

  1. Plugged the monitor directly into the laptop. Worked fine.
  2. Plugged the monitor directly into a different laptop - worked fine.
  3. Plugged the monitor into the Plugable dock with the HDMI cable I was using to connect directly to the laptops and the included Plugable HDMI-to-Display Port adapter - nothing
  4. Swapped the monitor cable from HDMI/the included Plugable HDMI-to-Display Port adapter to a cable with HDMI on one end and a Display Port connector on the other end. Nothing.
  5. Swapped the two Plugable Thunderbolt cables - nothing
  6. Swapped the two Plugable power supplies - nothing
  7. Got a different monitor - a Dell P2213 with a Display Port. Used the enclosed Plugables Display Port adopter with a different HDMI cable - nothing.
  8. Swapped the included Plugables HDMI to Display Port adapter with another one from Plugables - nothing
  9. Finally two hours after all of the above, I find the one DisplayPort-only cable in the entire company and wah-lah, it worked.

So the Plugables enclosed HDMI converters were all junk.

Hope this saves someone a 2-hour headache like I had.

2

Hello,

Thank you for contacting Plugable support! Sorry to hear about this issue. I’d be more than happy to assist you.

You’d mentioned trying: “Plugged the monitor into the Plugable dock with the HDMI cable I was using to connect directly to the laptops and the included Plugable HDMI-to-Display Port adapter - nothing”

I would have expected this to work. (Dock DP output → included active DP to HDMI adapter → HDMI to HDMI cable → Monitor HDMI input)

“cable with HDMI on one end and a Display Port connector on the other end. Nothing.”

Please note, this docking station requires active DisplayPort adapters if converting to HDMI. Passive adapters/cables like the one described here will not be compatible.

“Got a different monitor - a Dell P2213 with a Display Port. Used the enclosed Plugables Display Port adopter with a different HDMI cable - nothing.”

If this monitor offers native DisplayPort input, you’d want to use a DP to DP cable, and not try to convert anything to/from HDMI if possible.

“Finally two hours after all of the above, I find the one DisplayPort-only cable in the entire company and wah-lah, it worked.”

Glad to hear that the dock is functioning OK with DP to DP!

“So the Plugables enclosed HDMI converters were all junk.”

I don’t think I’ve encountered a situation with this dock where the included DP to HDMI adapter did not work correctly. We’d be more than happy to try sending you some replacements under warranty that we’ve pretested to ensure they’re functioning normally.

Please don’t hesitate to let us know of other questions.

Thanks again for contacting Plugable support and best wishes!

Joshua Henry

Senior Engineer | Product Owner
Plugable Technologies

3

I have to take my conclusion back. Since I used an HDMI to Display Port cable without your adapter, and it didn’t work, for whatever reason I have to conclude the particular Plugables unit I have will only accept DisplayPort without any converter.

4

No, our dock is able to support an adapter, but it has to be the correct kind. I’d mentioned earlier that:

“Please note, this docking station requires active DisplayPort adapters if converting to HDMI. Passive adapters/cables like the one described here will not be compatible.”

So unless that DP to HDMI cable you used is active (contains a chipset to convert the signal inside), it’s not going to be compatible with the dock.

Passive DP to HDMI (or DVI, VGA, etc) adapters/cables are not supported as our dock does not support DP++ which is needed to use passive adapters.

As such, the following configurations are valid:

  • Native DisplayPort monitor using passive DP to DP cable:

Dock DP output → Passive DP to DP cable → Monitor DP Input

  • Native HDMI monitor using an active DP to HDMI adapter + passive HDMI to HDMI cable:

Dock DP output → Active DP to HDMI adapter → Passive HDMI to HDMI cable → Monitor HDMI Input

  • Native HDMI monitor using active DP to HDMI cable:

Dock DP output → Active DP to HDMI cable → Monitor HDMI Input

If you have any additional questions just let me know.

Best wishes,
Josh

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