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A dock that wakes up reliably

fabiensanglard.net

31–40 of 71 posts

Re: A dock that wakes up reliably

#31
post #24
post #21

I think there's a solid case for someone to make a monitor with a working, built-in dock. I mean, many monitors already have USB-outs for keyboards and 2nd displays and such. I think monitors are a sweet spot - they tend to stick around longer than computers, and docks really don't need to change a lot over time, at least now with thunderbolt out there. Fewer cables, too. I like the idea of standalone docks, and I pu…

Dell has a few. I have the U2723QE. It reliably wakes up my Windows desktop but waking up my Macbook is a crapshoot. I'm pretty sure the issue is in Apple's software, not the docks.

I've been following this issue pretty closely, and it's not only Macs that have this problem with dell monitors, if you check out the dell support forum there are various PC users reporting the problem even dell precision users. Also there are various other problems with the monitor firmware like it crashing and needing to be restarted etc.

Additionally, if you look at the firmware updates they published for the successor U2725QE you'll see things[0] again not specific to Macs like

* resolves monitor wake-from-sleep issues; and * resolves daisy-chained monitors not waking from standby;

Which may not be exactly the same bug, but probably is & it shows the problems are getting addressed in Dell's own firmware

[0]https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/drivers/driversdetai...

Re: A dock that wakes up reliably

#32
post #27
post #21

I think there's a solid case for someone to make a monitor with a working, built-in dock. I mean, many monitors already have USB-outs for keyboards and 2nd displays and such. I think monitors are a sweet spot - they tend to stick around longer than computers, and docks really don't need to change a lot over time, at least now with thunderbolt out there. Fewer cables, too. I like the idea of standalone docks, and I pu…

Some monitors kind of do this. They have usb-c connectors for laptop video and charing and can do kvm-ish stuff, having a usb hub for talking to a keyboard and mouse (switchable between inputs). look for dell monitors with kvm

I have a ViewSonic ultrawide like this, picked it up as a factory refurb from their eBay account. Makes it incredibly easy to switch between work and personal laptops (Mac and pc), as well as a gaming tower.

Re: A dock that wakes up reliably

#34
post #21

I think there's a solid case for someone to make a monitor with a working, built-in dock. I mean, many monitors already have USB-outs for keyboards and 2nd displays and such. I think monitors are a sweet spot - they tend to stick around longer than computers, and docks really don't need to change a lot over time, at least now with thunderbolt out there. Fewer cables, too. I like the idea of standalone docks, and I pu…

I have a Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 monitor which basically does this. It basically has a simple KVM built into it. So my keyboard and mouse connect to the monitor, but then the monitor is connected to my desktop and a laptop. Using the monitor controls, I select which system I am using and get the display for that system as well as the keyboard/mouse activated for that system. There are different options for having them both on screen at once, but only one active for the controls, but I don't find that as useful as just having one system at a time being the sole focus.

Re: A dock that wakes up reliably

#35
My Lenovo Thunderbolt 3 docks wakes up reliably, the problem is that it keeps randomly nodding off for a second or so causing the monitor to lose signal and have to sleep/wake itself.

Re: A dock that wakes up reliably

#36
What I would have done is tested it with an Android phone. My Samsung S26 Ultra allows me to connect to an external display via a USB C hub. So the test setup would be:

1. Plug the phone into hub.

2. Check that you get display output, the mouse and keyboard are working whilst the screen is not turned off and the phone is not locked.

3. Lock the screen and wait for the screen to turn off, thereby mimicking suspend.

4. Try to make the phone resume by using the attached keyboard and/or mouse.

If all goes well, the monitor should turn on after unlocking the phone or using the keyboard / mouse.

# Other things to try

Again try and reproduce the issue with a Samsung tablet that supports display out via USB C.

Connect the keyboard via Bluetooth and try to make the laptop resume. I found that connecting a Keychron keyboard via bluetooth allowed me to resume a Macbook Pro. I was kinda surprised that this worked.

Does the same issue occur on Linux as well?

I guess you could attach a USB packet type of debugger to ensure that data is being sent to the laptop by attaching the debugger to the cable that connects to the host machine. If you see USB traffic when the monitor goes to sleep and you are pressing keys in the keyboard and the dock still has power that means the dock is working fine so you can rule that out.

Re: A dock that wakes up reliably

#37
post #21

I think there's a solid case for someone to make a monitor with a working, built-in dock. I mean, many monitors already have USB-outs for keyboards and 2nd displays and such. I think monitors are a sweet spot - they tend to stick around longer than computers, and docks really don't need to change a lot over time, at least now with thunderbolt out there. Fewer cables, too. I like the idea of standalone docks, and I pu…

Apple's monitors fill this gap, but they are obviously quite expensive

Re: A dock that wakes up reliably

#38
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The author does not call it out, but I think the point is that it's not only the dock. I've been struggling with MBP wakeup issues for a while. We have a whole zoo of various apple devices attached to a number of docks. All of the monitors are Odyssey Neo G9. TL:DR an issue with MBP port, MBP to Dock link, Dock, Dock to Monitor link, or the monitor itself could cause the unplugging dance. In addition, it takes some t…

Us old people have the idea of peripherals as input (keyboard, mouse) or output (monitor, printer) - but they've all been input/output for two decades or more; and Thunderbolt and friends are much more like an Ethernet network (reliability of Wake on LAN, anyone?) than they are simple point-to-point connections. Meaning - anything could be the device preventing what you expect to happen, even if it looks like it shou…

HDMI CEC is the bane of my (home theater) existence.

Which device just woke every other device up at 4am?

Which device just shut everything down while I was in the middle of a movie?

And are they the same device?

Re: A dock that wakes up reliably

#39
post #7

My experience with non-Apple Thunderbolt products has been pretty dicey across the board. My ASUS motherboard has a port and theoretically works with it but across several firmware, BIOS, and driver upgrades, I’ve never actually got it to successfully recognize my TS4 as a Thunderbolt device, only USB.

Does the laptop have an AMD processor? This is expected behavior with them.

Re: A dock that wakes up reliably

#40
post #36

What I would have done is tested it with an Android phone. My Samsung S26 Ultra allows me to connect to an external display via a USB C hub. So the test setup would be: 1. Plug the phone into hub. 2. Check that you get display output, the mouse and keyboard are working whilst the screen is not turned off and the phone is not locked. 3. Lock the screen and wait for the screen to turn off, thereby mimicking suspend. 4.…

My Android Phone will connect to my dock and all connected hardware functions as expected but it doesn't charge the phone. After the first disconnect subsequent connections to the phone will just charge the phone but the phone does not detect the hardware connected to the dock. If I then remove the power cord going into the dock and connect the dock up to the phone then no hardware is detected but if I then proceed to insert the power cord into the dock the hardware connected to the dock starts working but the phone is not charging.

It's a cheap phone with a USB-C port that works at USB2 speeds and the dock uses display-link but go figure.

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