Will a pair of ASUS VN279QL 27" rotating monitors work fine with the Plugable USB 3.0 docking station?

#1

Hi,

I’m planning to buy 2 of these ASUS VN279QL 27" monitors, and have them side-by-side on my desk:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FE6DNM2?pf_rd_p=1cac67ce-697a-47be-b2f5-9ae91aab54f2&pf_rd_r=D5XF0V3A3W24VCYSC3BZ

They rotate / pivot, and each one can be used in either vertical (portrait) or horizontal (landscape) mode. Will the Plugable USB 3.0 docking station be able to handle these monitors in their different orientations, and be able to update appropriately, on the fly, if I choose to flip a monitor from one orientation to another? Before I put down the money for these monitors, I want to make sure that they will work properly with the Plugable once I receive then. I hope to be able to change the monitors’ orientations as I see fit, in real time, and have the screen orientation update appropriately, again, in real time.

And FYI - these will be used with a 2018 Dell XPS 15 9560 laptop running Windows 10 Pro, version 1809.

Thank you in advance for all of your feedback and support! It’s most appreciated.

Best,

Michael

#2

Hi Michael,

Thanks for posting!

Unfortunately, Windows is not able to detect when an external monitor is rotated portrait or landscape, and therefore the displays will not adjust accordingly. One limitation is that the hardware (an accelerometer) does not exist in monitors which is necessary for it to gauge what kind of orientation it is in.

No docking station will provide this functionality – you only find this kind of auto-rotate feature on Windows convertible PCs or tablets. Even then, only the internal screen will rotate.

That being said, it’s always possible to manually enter the Display settings and change the orientation of the screen if you’re willing to do so.

Sorry to bear the disappointing news! The Plugable UD-3900 USB 3.0 Docking Station would still be compatible with your Dell system if you’re interested.

If you have any other questions, just let me know.

Thanks!

Mitchell

#3

Mitchell,

Many thanks for your detailed response! I knew I could find the right expertise if I asked the right question in the right place.

A follow-up question: you said, “it’s always possible to manually enter the Display settings and change the orientation of the screen if you’re willing to do so.” I’m guessing this would be pretty easy to do, right? I mean, I’m not planning on changing the orientation of these monitors several times a day. It would only be every now and then. And so then, “manually entering the Display settings and changing the orientation of the screen” - would this be pretty easy to do? And would it only take a few minutes? Perhaps you can point me to what those steps would be, and where I would find them in Windows settings, for multiple monitors…

Many thanks,

Michael

#4

Mitchell,

I was just watching one of your Plugable tutorial videos on YouTube, and it gave me some more insight.

Is “manually entering the Display settings” (as you suggested) as simple as going to Settings / Display / Orientation, and then just clicking on “Portrait” or “Landscape”?

Thanks,

Michael

#5

Hi Michael,

You got it!

To change this setting, you can refer to the following steps:

  1. Right-click on any empty area on your Desktop, then choose Display settings
  2. Under Select and rearrange displays, click on the monitor whose orientation you’d like to adjust. If you’re not sure which number matches up to which physical monitor, you can click on the Identify button to match them up
  3. Scroll down to the Orientation field, then select your desired option
  4. Click Keep changes to save the orientation

That’s it! If you’re only changing the orientation every once in awhile, then this is definitely feasible – a few minutes is all it takes to change this setting.

Hope this helps!

Mitchell

#6

Perfect! Thank you for your help. Now I can buy the monitors, and another Plugable docking station, with confidence.

Best,

Michael

#7

Hi Michael,

You’re welcome! Glad I could help clarify.

I’ll be closing this post, but for any further questions, please feel free to open up another topic or contact us directly at support@plugable.com. We’d be happy to help.

Thank you!

Mitchell

#8