Recently installed 8 UD-ULTCDL triple hdmi usb plugable without any problems but recently three started to make a high pitched sound at random times Interestingly it seems loudest when the laptop is turned off. I tried unplugging everything except for the power cord but the noise continued. Only when I disconnected the power cord to the plugable did it stop. The noise is very annoying. I saw a post about this same thing from a few years ago, is there a firmware fix?
Hello,
Thank you for contacting Plugable! I’m sorry the UD-ULTCDL is making unexpected noise, and I’ll be happy to assist.
It sounds like this noise may be coil while coming from either the dock or the power adapter. There isn’t a firmware fix for this type of issue, unfortunately.
To confirm if the problem is the specific docks or their power adapters, can you try swapping one of the known-good docks with one of the potentially problematic power adapters to see if the same issue occurs? If it does then we’d know the power adapters are likely the cause of the coil whine. Otherwise, if the problem stays with the dock and the known-working power adapter then the noise is probably coming from the dock.
Can you please send an email to our direct support email address (support@plugable.com) with “For ticket # 492507” in the subject line? In the email, please include the following details:
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The result of the tests outlined above
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The Amazon Order ID number for your docking station purchase
This information will help us to determine the next steps.
** Please do not post the above information here in our public forum (it contains personally identifiable information) **
Apologies for the frustration, and thank you for giving us the chance to help!
Sam
Plugable Technologies
It is not a power buzz noise or anything like that, it is an extremely loud high volume continuous beeeeeeeeep that as soon as I unplug the power to the docking station it stops; if I unplug the usbC to the laptop it stops but then starting right away if I reconnect the usbC to the laptop, only when I unplug the power cord (to restart the docking station) does the beeeeeeeep stop. This is not a buzz or anything from the power cord adaptor brick. So far 4 users have reported this happening once or twice last week wednesday through friday. Do you think this would show up as an event in the docking station log or anything?
Jason
Hi Jason,
That specific description - an ‘extremely loud, high-volume continuous beep’- is quite unusual. Because this sounds more like a constant electronic tone than a standard power hiss, I’m not entirely sure what the root cause is yet.
Given the lack of clarity on the source of the tone, it is difficult to say if this would be captured in the Event Viewer. Typically, hardware-level electrical noise won’t leave a software log.
To help us narrow this down, could you confirm exactly where the sound is physically emitting from?
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The Docking Station itself?
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The Power Adapter (the ‘brick’)?
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The Laptop or its internal speakers?
Because you have 4 users reporting this, we definitely want to investigate this further. Please reach out to us directly at support@plugable.com with ‘For ticket # 492507’ in the subject line. If you can include the Amazon Order ID and the serial numbers from the bottom of the affected units, it will help us determine if these are from a specific production run.
Please let me know if you have any questions as well. My apologies again for the frustration.
Sam
Plugable Technologies