apologies if this community is just for news, feel free to remove.

anyhoo, having trouble getting my WD19 dock to display 4K@60Hz. the laptop is a Dell Latitude 5290 2-in-1, it supports DP-Alt over USB-C (no Thunderbolt) and a direct connection from the laptop to the screen works. however, attaching the monitor to the dock via DP, and then connecting the dock to the laptop with its USB Type-C cable with PD yields 4k@30Hz max.

Dell has a bunch of newer WD19 models (TB, S, etc.) but I don’t have those.

it is possible that my hardware is faulty as I’ve sourced it nth-hand, but before I start replacing it one-by-one, maybe someone got it to work? thanks.

  • ELLIOTTCABLE@beehaw.org
    2·
    1 year ago

    DP-alt-mode, datarates, cabling are all vastly more complicated than you’d think. (I’ve spent easily 500 hours of my life, buying dozens of products and specific cables, running debugging hardware and software … getting Pro Display XDR’s (6k displays) working at longer distances, behind Thunderbolt docks, on multiple OSes, etc — it’s it’s never intuitive.)

    Some absurd things that may actually help:

    1. flip the dock-to-display cable around (not even shitting you)
    2. if the dock is a DP-alt consumer itself, plug an unterminated HDMI cable into it (and into nothing else),
    3. change the order in which you plug various things into eachother post-boot (ideally, nothing plugged into anything other than that C-D-M chain of three items; then try C-D-first/D-M-second, and try D-M-first/C-D-second.)

    Failing various fixes with existing equipment, the cheapest next steps will be cabling — despite the high promises of USB-C, all cables are absolutely not created equal when it comes to high-pixelclock-DP-alt-mode:

    1. Shortest possible cables. Get shorter USB-C cables from reputable vendors. Make sure they’re maximum-data-rate certified.
    2. This is counterintuitive as fuck, but do not use “better” Thunderbolt cables to substitute USB-C cables for USB-C-capable-displays. (They can work plenty often; but they can also be problematic with some EDID/OS combinations.)
    3. If your display has other inputs, you may have more luck with a USB-C-to-DisplayPort-proper cable, than a traditional USB-C-to-USB-C cable.
    4. Worst case, look into a cable with an active repeater. I’ve had luck with CableMatters’ Cable Matters Active USB C Cable… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PPVMYRV?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

    tl;dr good luck this might be gon suuuuuck. )=

    • dingdongitsabear@lemmy.mlOP
      1·
      1 year ago

      that’s one hell of an effort, thanks a bunch! will take me some time to try some of those things… the dock has a normal DP 1.2 connector, I’m using the same cable my desktop (RX 570) is using and has no issues getting 60 Hz. haven’t tried Dock USB Type-C - DP.

      the dock has an integrated USB Type-C PD cable that I use for the laptop, so that’s not replaceable. charges fine, can take up to 65 W (it doesn’t use even a third of that).

      I was guessing this has something to do with cables. sadly, I can’t afford to buy & try out different cables but I’ll do my best with this new info, much appreciated.