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A dock that wakes up reliably

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Re: A dock that wakes up reliably

#51

Post by bakoo »

awakeasleep wrote: post #31
wonnage wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 succ…

Unplugging the monitor power for a second solves about half of the issue we're having with our Dell U22DEs, but the plugs are hard to reach so we've seriously considered tripping the relevant power breakers once a week before deciding it was too brutal.

While most users know the power trick by now, there are still those in the "not my job" and "any excuse is a good excuse" categories, and for those I might just spend a little on old fashioned power timers.

Re: A dock that wakes up reliably

#52

Post by izacus »

ainka-ainka wrote: post #39
jolux wrote: 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.

Which part is expected? I had no issues having TB docks on my AMD laptops.

Re: A dock that wakes up reliably

#53

Post by trelane »

firecall wrote: post #47

On a similar note, I still do not understand why I have to plug a USB Flash Drive into my Mac twice for it to mount. I take modern USB-C Flash Drive, plug it into my Mac. Nothing. Take it out, plug it in again, and it mounts just fine. Same with SD Cards. I have no idea why this is, and I'm not sure if it's always been this way, but I can't remember a time when I didn't have to do this.

Maybe 2027 will finally be the Year of Apple on the Desktop!

Re: A dock that wakes up reliably

#54

Post by dgellow »

golem14 wrote: 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…

That has been a thing since a while, look for „Dell hub monitor“. I personally love the Ultrasharp series, with RJ45, usb C, USB A, audio, etc

Re: A dock that wakes up reliably

#55

Post by randallsquared »

shepherdjerred wrote: post #37
golem14 wrote: 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

And they are not immune: a few years ago when I was using an Apple Studio Display, it had a similar issue where sometimes it would not wake from sleep, and the only workaround was to unplug it and wait NN seconds for cap discharge, and then plug it back in. (There's no power switch, so no other way to restart the CPU in it). After a number of updates, it no longer seems to do this, or at least the current user of it hasn't mentioned any such issue.

Re: A dock that wakes up reliably

#56

Post by user43928 »

erdaltoprak wrote: post #22

My OWC Thunderbolt Pro dock is still the most feature packed one with 10g and good heat dissipation

I have a OWC Thunderbolt 3 dock and it also had issues with waking up.

What seems to work reliably is monitors directly into the MacBook Pro via HDMI and USB-C, keyboard, mouse, audio into the OWC Dock.

Re: A dock that wakes up reliably

#57

Post by randallsquared »

MY CalDigit TS4 is not what I would have blamed for this issue, given that every time it happens for me, opening the lid of my Mac shows that it's asking, again, if this CalDigit accessory should be allowed to connect. This used to happen after every single reboot, but now it's rare, though I haven't changed anything about the setup in a year. I attributed this to MacOS problems, for that reason.

Re: A dock that wakes up reliably

#58

Post by torginus »

These smart peripheral protocols suck balls.

The VGA->DVI->HDMI chain retained the following simplicity of: 1. Send color of pixel 2. At the end of the line + blank send a pulse on HSYNC pin 3. At the end of the screen send a signal on the VSYNC pic. That's it (almost, there's EDID). If you can implement this, chances are you can display what's sent down the cable accurately. Likewise with audio, you just send a voltage level down the cable, if you want to be fancy, you use SPDIF, in which case you send a 16-24 bit number per channel.

That's it, no handshake, no negotiation.

I have a TB dock for my Macbook. Sometimes it doesn't register. Sometimes it reboots for some reason, giving me 10 seconds of black screen. There's a 10% chance on every connect or reboot that it will just plainly not work.

And it's way better than it used to be, but still pretty bad.

Re: A dock that wakes up reliably

#59

Post by GTP »

I have a Dell usb C dock that I got from a company that was going to trow it away. My issue is with charging. It used to work with the Dell laptops they were using, but it has a weird behavior with my HP laptop. If I connect the laptop to the dock when the laptop is off, charging works. If I instead plug in the laptop while it's running, most of the times it doesn't start charging it. I have either to disconnect and reconnect a few times, or I have to pull the dock's plug and reinsert it again. Any idea why? Did anyone else observe a similar behavior?

Re: A dock that wakes up reliably

#60

Post by jubilanti »

hankbond wrote: post #5

Please take this gently, but I did not really walk away from this post having gained anything. I don't have any problems with the post in isolation but I just don't feel it really offers enough weight to be here if that makes sense. I read a few of your other posts and your writing style is direct and pleasant in a way I appreciate. Thank you for actually writing things.

No idea how this made it to the front page. HN is not tech support.
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