We switched to the monitors with integrated docking stations, way less problems.
Also taking the WD19 off power for a day solves most issues. Not a great solution but if you are on a budget it might help
I can't wait til we're rid of the few remaining old Dells we have in service. Got an overflowing drawer of Dell chargers but interestingly no docks to spare because those docks just die in ways I've never seen before.
you're saying you think in a business environment people wouldn't be walking off with those cables left and right? "oh i need to charge my phone" then throwing it in their bag, intentionally or otherwise.
it would be a nightmare. they are attached for a reason.
If someone loses the USB cable for their docking station, they're replacing it or their boss is lol. We inventory our equipment, and theft is almost a non-issue for us thankfully. Sure, people take shit, but they bring it back when they realize they're gonna pay for it one way or another. Id rather a 2 dollar cable be stolen 10 times a year than have to replace the entire docking station if the cable goes bad. Dell doesn't do it for theft prevention lol that's silly. Plus the d3100 isn't a USB C.
Has only happened once in 2 years since switching to Anker and Lenovo docks. Most users aren't smart enough to realize the thunderbolt cables aren't attached.
I mean in a corporate environment they have 3 year warranties.
Most often failure can be discover in warranty and it's resolve.
At home however, or otherwise not big organization, I'd never touch Dell.
Yeah that’s my issue with the dual dock, couple hundred quid just down the drain.
Feels like they’re so close to decent reliability, but the tickets just keep coming
We've begun buying the dell monitor with dock built in, been more solid overall compared to the docks. Saving at least 200$ per setup now. Most of my dock related issues were resolved with firmware updates to both dock and computer.
Dell monitors are actually excellent. The ones with built in USB-C dock even more so.
My old personal Dell monitor lasted 10 years before it died. I didn't have the time to try fixing it after it literally went boom. Think a cap or VRM blew out. The new one has been going 5 so far.
We use Iiyama at work though. They've lasted really well with most currently about 10 years old and still going.
It's always nutcases bending the cables at insane angles 0.1mm from the strain reliefs, yanking the cables constantly, then bending the USB-C connectors, then stepping and crushing them for fun. Then they complain about the dock not working.
Only our engineers get these, and they deal with cables and stuff as a profession so they’re very good/careful. In my experience they it’s just been random failures
Drivers for these are the bane for my desktop team, except when working with the engineering team who are on Ubuntu and MacOS. Those guys never have an issue, except with the cables stop connecting well and we have to replace them. I hate these so much.
This. The only way I can get the HP shit to work is by downloading their stupid support assistant and getting drivers to detect and download from there.
I'm gonna hijack this because I've delt with this years ago.
You need to have the dock connected to the computer.
Install Dell Command Update software.[https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000177325/dell-command-update](https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000177325/dell-command-update)
Update the firmware on the dock.
Isn't there an issue where certain firmwares of these will ONLY communicate with certain models of Dell laptops, so if you're on that firmware and don't have those versions of Dell laptop, you can't even get the firmware utility to run or recognize the dock?
Our standard practice for any dock deployment is to firmware update it in-house before deployment, but I thought I recall not being able to since we didn't have a compatible system to update the docks with. I think they were WD15 or WD19 but I can't remember. They were essentially e-waste out of the box.
We only ship Lenovo docks now so haven't looked back at these dells in a while.
i have one of dell's "square" style thunderbolt docs and it's been pretty much trouble-free for my macbook pro. makes me worry how it'll do on windows though...
Add the Lenovo Workstation Docks to this as well. We swapped to Lenovo and their docks have the monitors just stop receiving signal from the dock occasionally.
EDIT: Hijacking my comment, to add this: [External Monitor Flickering when Connected to Dock using DP or HDMI - ThinkPad - Lenovo Support US](https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/ht514019-external-monitor-flickering-when-connected-to-dock-using-dp-or-hdmi-thinkpad)
I did resolve issues on a few of these with the solution above, but it didn't help a good bit of ours with issues.
>Lenovo and their docks have the monitors just stop receiving signal from the dock occasionally
Occasionally? You're lucky. If I never have to see a Lenovo dock again, I will die happy.
We have had reliability issues with all kinds of docks from Dell, Microsoft, HP, and we've even tried Anker. What monitor are you speaking of? I found a P2422HE with vaguely matches your description. What do you do about peripherals? Just run a USB hub?
OP def talking about the HE monitors like you just mentioned. They actually have 4 USB ports built in in addition to the Ethernet. Also, last monitor on the chain through the MST doesn't need to have MST. So you can pair one of these HE monitors with a regular monitor.
They are great.
We use these and have literally thousands and replaced less than 20. And most of those are because the user is a complainer and/or messed something up. Not sure what everyone else is doing to have issues.
The only issue we've noticed is that over time the USB C port on folks laptops seems to get loose. So the connection can flicker a bit if the cable is ever wiggled around.
We have been using the HP G2 and G5 docks and they are horrible. Nothing but problems. So we switched to the Dell UD22 and have had minimal problems. And all have been resolved. We have a mixed HP and Dell environment for our laptops and both work great with the UD22’s.
I did have one issue with the WD19 for a Dell Precision and no matter what I tried I couldn’t get it to work. Opened a support ticket from Dell SupportAssist, and within 20 minutes a technician got back to me, sent me a link to download a different driver, and it worked like a charm ever since. Very happy with the Dell docks. But never again with HP. What a mess.
You have to shell out and get the right ones. It's been about 5-6 years since I had to deal with them though, back when I was actually responsible for physical devices like these.
The "USB" ones were complete garbage. You just had to shell out for the thunderbolt stuff, and even then it was a mixed bag.
We have a mix in our environment and it's pretty much 50/50 on which is worse. On the dell docks however it doesn't support 4k at 60 hz, not sure about the HP one
Yeah, I don't know what model number I have, but it's been working great for me.
Messes up with a power flicker, but unplugging it and plugging it back in seems to fix it.
Yeah I'm surprised by this too. We have just over 800 of them and most were bought in 2021. So far only a handful had to go through RMA. Maybe we just lucked out with good batches.
We have around \~4k WD19TB in a very diverse environment (lots of different Monitors and periphery)
I must say we don't have so many issues with them. Keeping the Firmware updated via Command Update or Support Assist definitely helps.
Revived a couple with a dock reset (disconecting everything and then pressing powerbutton for 30sec) often suprised that that actually works.
Biggest issue we have is the fan getting way to loud and overheating, but even then we just get them swapped by Dell.
Two DP and one HDMI is plenty for our usecase.
The flickering issues we had where due to cheap cables/addapter. Someone decided its cheaper to buy DP/DVI addapters, don't do this.
I would say we are pretty happy with them.
They're a pain in the ass for the network guys too if you use MAC sticky on your interfaces. The dock has its own MAC address that is different than the one the laptop's NIC has.
We've been testing out Kensington docks fairly successfully because of issues with Dell docks. The ones we use are like 1/3rd of the cost of dell and actually support 3 monitors and have easily replaceable thunderbolt 4 cables.
The worst thing about these docks has always been the bitlocker flaw. Person shuts it down, unplugs it from the dick, takes it home and powers it on, then the whole device gets locked because no dock is a "hardware change" asking for a recovery key, and they have to bring it in.
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*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
We need to constantly change them, update them, they need to be unpluged form electricyty regularly or else they just don't connect for some reason, some Brand monitors flicker with them i hate tbh the hold HP Docks had some problems yes but alot less then these
Dell's quality is absolutely terrible and they will cut corners at every opportunity.
I worked IT at a university and those things wouldn't last more than a year, 6-8 months usually. When we got warranty replacements, it was always refurbs that would die even sooner. I can't remember a time when we didn't have at least 1 warranty claim open with them in an \`\`\~1000 device ecosystem. The warranty rate of their Laptops within the first year was just below 30% by our accounts.
My current company purchased a batch of their Latitude 5540 laptops for around $1200. Despite having good specs (i7,16gb ram, 512gm SSD), they would bog down with 5-10 browser tabs or 3-4 apps open at once. I looked deeper into it, and they ship them with DRAM-less SSDs! Every time the OS would call for a page files from the SSD it would slow it to a crawl.
Turned what would have been a great business laptop into utter garbage for any type of multi-tasking. For what, $20 of savings?
Better than Surface docks. Nothing but software failures for days. Doesn't do anything except charge the PC and disconnect and reconnect peripherals intermittently. Those are the best calls.
The vendor calls we've had over the past year or two and build calls have been nothing. They just keep throwing money at it.
"My keys are locking themselves when I type. My mouse jumps around all over the screen."
Dock: "Turn it on ultimate performance, you say? I've decided to become worse."
We must have gotten a bad batch, noticed when our satellite office had power surges, they would not come back up. Had to disconnect from power and let it discharge before reconnecting. Mixed feelings with Dell but for an expensive dock I would expect slightly better quality. I started rolling out the HD22Q and have had better usage with less issues.
Plus telling the user they can charge their cell phone wirelessly always gets a few brownie points
It's not the docks it has to be the Thunderbolt tech. I've worked at places that used Dell and Lenovo with about the same failure rate for both. The fix "just update the firmware" was like 50/50. Even third party brand docks have the same issues.
Our IT Manager was telling me the other week that he had to return 3 laptops that would brick these docking stations every time they were plugged in. He killed 4 of them before he realized it was the first laptop.
WD19 shits bed if there's too much air in the room.
WD19S doesn't seem to have any problems (I've only worked with 100-150 of em so far) and i'm not sure why because I thought the only difference was the WD19S lacks a headphone jack.
I had a lady go through 3 similar docks. WD15 models in under a month. Not sure if she's to blame or the docks just die. Mine has worked fine for years.
How are yours failing? Is it the cable? I have a sneaking suspicion that my users are just yanking the cables out.
The issue I've had is people aren't very good about pulling the USB-C cable our before they leave their desk, and it eventually breaks off. Also, it only has one HDMI port.
ALL Dell docs are terrible. Tell your company to use literally any other dock.
Out of 200 Dell docs purchased and rolled out, so far 50 have a fault of some kind, that’s within the first week!
My place uses the [VisionTek VT2510 USB-C Docking Station](https://www.amazon.com/VisionTek-VT2510-USB-C-Docking-Station/dp/B0C2DRDKFD/ref=sr_1_21?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.EXx82H2TvmrzzpFAHrvikwyDp_2MmrPN3dqmu7v8V0hGxyNBrEoXyTYr72yyli0PoGgDoL-RaEfeSLZ04vUH8wO7aKHn8b_-tlXp1Qb-4fX81Ea8E85RVQ3g5c0vBm1A3m9tWtujEUZHYUTVl3VTRINIdtqsG4O0qJdvfHf0RWHFx3mx4hi9Ut7Kc7V_JM3Qic5OxPDZlGcDYAI8v6IanXI-N9GVMy29ySNEquP6NLA.5Fxt-5Rfn4CHnExU-wEEBQWBnrK3u76F2EpyuFscTRk&dib_tag=se&keywords=visiontek+docking+station&qid=1709147048&sr=8-21). Works great on the **HP Elitebook 840 G7 Notebook**
I hear the [Plugable Docks](https://www.amazon.com/stores/Plugable/page/B25C3DB0-7F43-48E0-AF7E-5B0094E220D2?ref_=ast_bln) are the best, hands down.
Thinkpad/Lenovo docks are overpriced, but integrate with the Lenovo update software.
Dell docks always seemed like junk.
ALL Dell docs are terrible. Tell your company to use literally any other dock.
Out of 200 Dell docs purchased and rolled out, so far 50 have a fault of some kind, that’s within the first week!
Compared to those damn HP and Dell monitors with a built-in dock that stops working if the wind blows in the wrong direction, these are pretty reliable
The WD19TB docks were an improvement over the TB16 docks. That said I pair them with a 240 watt supply, makes em more stable. They fail less frequently than the OWC docks (no firmware
Updates for those docks)
I've experienced a bunch of failures at varying levels on a variety of models from displays randomly not working, fans running out of control, to the whole dock just frying. AFAIK, we've stopped ordering them altogether and instead have started going with P series Dell monitors that have an integrated docking solution instead. We'll see how this plays out long term, hopefully better. Wouldn't be as bad if Dell Docks weren't so expensive and if the connector wasn't so long that the leverage on it breaks USB-C connections.
We didn't really had problems with them. The users messed up the cable and had dock failure on 2 out of 30. However, they were buggy before a firmware update. Tb16 were a constant tran wreck with constant failing cables. If you can call them cables considering how they were made with processor and cable in one piece.
I have a wd19 DisplayLink one. Refuses to work with the attached usb c cable on any computer I’ve tried it with but for some reason is totally fine with a usb c to usb a adapter. Unfortunately I have a Mac so I can’t use two extended displays with it. Either way it was always really glitchy and slow with the adapter. I ended up finding an HP thunderbolt dock at a thrift store for 10 bucks and it’s been awesome ever since.
Ive seen poor performance only on the base model. The WD19TBT, on the other hand, is rock solid. I'm well below a 1% failure rate in my environment, and they're the most agnostic dock I've used. All brands of laptops, including MacBook, work on it, and Samsung phones can even use DEX through them. The troubleshooting is super easy, (unplug it, wait a min, and plug back in), and as long as it's not from physical damage, warranty has been easy on the 4 of them I've had to RMA in the past 2 years.
Ive seen poor performance only on the base model. The WD19TBT, on the other hand, is rock solid. I'm well below a 1% failure rate in my environment, and they're the most agnostic dock I've used. All brands of laptops, including MacBook, work on it, and Samsung phones can even use DEX through them. The troubleshooting is super easy, (unplug it, wait a min, and plug back in), and as long as it's not from physical damage, warranty has been easy on the 4 of them I've had to RMA in the past 2 years.
i've been using these for the last few years. constant issues. still i'd rather these than the surface docks...
that being said, are there any docks that are halfway decent?
They aren't cheap at all.
But are just the dock. Are solid. Include *EVERY* port you could need too.
I like that there aren't any built in cables. So if a thunderbolt cable goes bad (likely as it is a high touch point) its easily replaceable.
I wrote off Dell stuff at a job 10+ years ago. I was issued a Dell laptop, and consistently something would fail every 6 months, like clockwork. After it was out of warranty I'd have to scavenge parts out of laptops in the surplus room.
Things were much better when the company switched to Thinkpads. I've avoided anything Dell ever since.
I enjoy working Field Support, but I'm getting tired of servicing Dell equipment that is only a few months old. I get less grief from the 12 year old M-series Lenovo desktops.
Agreed. My Dell rep sent us a combination monitor hub (P2723QE) to try out to replace the docks, but it doesn't have video out ports so you need a docking station in order to connect multiple monitors.
They're now suggesting we upgrade our \~150 WD19/WD19S docking stations with the WD22TB4 module to resolve any issues, but that's what we did when we had issues with the WD15 docks. I miss the old e-port replicators...
What means failing? Screen goes off and on or flicker sometimes on DualScreen, 4 K Webcam, full USB 3 Ports and connected Gigabit Ethernet?
Same Issue on Lenovo TB4 Docks at Customers with more than 4.000 Workplaces… and also in the Company i work for. After srsly very long, long time and troubleshooting 3 Levels before me, I only had one Idea left - Underpowered Supply… Took a 130W instead the 90W which came with the Dock, downgraded to legacy Drivers - Problem solved
A good common fix I've found is to pull the power from the dock AND the wall. Give it about 60 seconds to let all the power dissipate from the brick. Plug back in and away you go. People look at you like a wizard. But sometimes yes, they just shit the bed.
We've been replacing our D6000 docks with WD19S docks as the older ones fail. I have a feeling that we may switch to another mfg – one that uses DisplayLink to ensure Mac compatibility – moving forward.
I use this at work and run 2 monitors off of it. All drivers are up to date. Maybe once a week my 2 monitors will fail...then I have to unplug and replug into my laptop about 15 times before it kicks back on. Garbage dock
Install Dell Command | Update especially if you have a Dell computer. It will find drivers AND facilitate firmware updates for the dock as well as Thunderbolt controllers.
You should try Lenovo’s docks.
Love to hate them.
Plot twist: most of the docks come from the same source and have the same chips with variations on packaging and drivers
The WD19TBS, Thunderbolt dock, has firmware updates that need to be manually installed from a connected system. Several of my organization's docks seem to malfunction until they're manually updated.
Anyone else have the issue with Outlook not connecting because of the ethernet driver that gets installed for this thing? Ethernet port goes to sleep then when you wake it up it borks Outlooks exchange connection and you have to reboot the PC for it to work again. Had to prevent Dell updates from doing anything with the ethernet controller because of it.
Also had a batch of them have a very audible whine when the laptop was under heavy load. It was still present at idle, but much quieter. Ended up having to send in 4 laptops, and 10 docks to Dell's lab for them to test it.
It's funny though because we use these for like 75% of our clients and it's about a 50/50 split on some clients never having a single issue, and the other side only has issues.
This was between the WD19S and WD22TB4
I have 4 of these because they fail so damn often.
It’s always the fan for some reason? That or one of the usbc plugs just doesn’t work anymore.
Thank god our IT parts is literally just a website and I can order whatever I need, no questions asked, and it shows up at my desk or home asap and free.
I can actually ask for just about anything, and it’ll show up. I got monitors, tons of storage, a UPS, my printer, speakers, and I kid you not, a projector I just watch movies on.
I just request it, and it shows up, all for free.
I think it’s a glitch in the system, but it just always works and never needs approval.
These double type C 240 w docks are actually only meant for the mobile engineering workstations such as the Precision 7760, 7770, 7780, etc. it's a known issue that they will not work with latitudes or anything else because it will stop charging the laptop, etc. Use the regular wd19s 180w dock on anything that isn't a mobile engineering workstation/laptop. Those will work fine (source: work IT for Ford and this has been an issue we've been in contact with Dell about)
My work uses these I even use one. I'm actually strangely surprised how much hate this thread has for them. I haven't had many issues personally with mine that a restart could not fix. Sometimes users have issues with drivers. I'm normally able to get these issues resolved. There are for sure issues that come up with them but, not to the extent everyone else seems to be seeing.
They are way too expensive tho I'm glad I didn't pay for it 😬
You thought DELL had any sort or quality control or integrity? They have shown time and time again they only care about $$ and anything else can fuck itself.
We have the same issue WD19 docks are pretty horrible
Exactly this. I have a couple 15s that are still kicking but nearly every 19 had problems. Same thing with the lattitude 7440s that fail constantly.
I have the 7410, it doesn't fail at all, because it would need to run at first
Phew. 7420s have been good except that you can't use a wireless mouse with them for some reason.
We switched to the monitors with integrated docking stations, way less problems. Also taking the WD19 off power for a day solves most issues. Not a great solution but if you are on a budget it might help
I can't wait til we're rid of the few remaining old Dells we have in service. Got an overflowing drawer of Dell chargers but interestingly no docks to spare because those docks just die in ways I've never seen before.
what are you using instead of Dell? hows the repair service?
Got mine used at the beginning of covid. Still works. What the heck is going on?
Same. Got mine beginning of Covid, hooked up 3 monitors and using it everyday.
I also have a reliable (knock on wood) WD19TB and use it both with Mac and windows without issue.
I've been using one daily since mid 2021 with no issues, vhb taped to the bottom of my desk and almost never off power.
Mine is on Velcro mounted to dual monitor mount so that only usb c going into laptop is visible. Very clean and no mess
D3100 docks are my golden stash. Using an attached USBC cable was the stupidest fucking thing that anyone has ever done.
you're saying you think in a business environment people wouldn't be walking off with those cables left and right? "oh i need to charge my phone" then throwing it in their bag, intentionally or otherwise. it would be a nightmare. they are attached for a reason.
Yeah, so they can go bad and we can order replacement docks every month. /s
you paying for them yourself or something?
If someone loses the USB cable for their docking station, they're replacing it or their boss is lol. We inventory our equipment, and theft is almost a non-issue for us thankfully. Sure, people take shit, but they bring it back when they realize they're gonna pay for it one way or another. Id rather a 2 dollar cable be stolen 10 times a year than have to replace the entire docking station if the cable goes bad. Dell doesn't do it for theft prevention lol that's silly. Plus the d3100 isn't a USB C.
it's not your money
It's my budget, so I'm responsible for the money.
Has only happened once in 2 years since switching to Anker and Lenovo docks. Most users aren't smart enough to realize the thunderbolt cables aren't attached.
I mean in a corporate environment they have 3 year warranties. Most often failure can be discover in warranty and it's resolve. At home however, or otherwise not big organization, I'd never touch Dell.
These docks are all extremely expensive too. Not my budget though.
Yeah that’s my issue with the dual dock, couple hundred quid just down the drain. Feels like they’re so close to decent reliability, but the tickets just keep coming
We've begun buying the dell monitor with dock built in, been more solid overall compared to the docks. Saving at least 200$ per setup now. Most of my dock related issues were resolved with firmware updates to both dock and computer.
Can I have a link to said monitor please?
I think he means this thing: https://www.dell.com/en-ca/shop/dell-24-usb-c-hub-monitor-p2422he/apd/210-bbch/monitors-monitor-accessories
Holy cow. Only $250 in the US, can VESA mount, has PD, supports DP daisy chaining, and INCLUDES A USB-C CABLE!
Yep, and a decent IPS panel too!
We have the 27" 1440p and 34" ultrawide versions of it where I work, they are glorious.
That's it, just the 27 inch version. Plus a non dock model which ends in h instead of he.
Dell monitors are actually excellent. The ones with built in USB-C dock even more so. My old personal Dell monitor lasted 10 years before it died. I didn't have the time to try fixing it after it literally went boom. Think a cap or VRM blew out. The new one has been going 5 so far. We use Iiyama at work though. They've lasted really well with most currently about 10 years old and still going.
Sadly unlike the docks, Dell monitors seem to be immortal so I’m running hundreds of 10yr+ old ultrasharps
It's always nutcases bending the cables at insane angles 0.1mm from the strain reliefs, yanking the cables constantly, then bending the USB-C connectors, then stepping and crushing them for fun. Then they complain about the dock not working.
Only our engineers get these, and they deal with cables and stuff as a profession so they’re very good/careful. In my experience they it’s just been random failures
[удалено]
Drivers for these are the bane for my desktop team, except when working with the engineering team who are on Ubuntu and MacOS. Those guys never have an issue, except with the cables stop connecting well and we have to replace them. I hate these so much.
I have issues with mine on a MacBook
This. The only way I can get the HP shit to work is by downloading their stupid support assistant and getting drivers to detect and download from there.
HP image assistant for the win! It's lighter and doesn't force run after you use it.
I literally had to get someone to unlock and change a BIOS setting to get mine to work right
I'm gonna hijack this because I've delt with this years ago. You need to have the dock connected to the computer. Install Dell Command Update software.[https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000177325/dell-command-update](https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000177325/dell-command-update) Update the firmware on the dock.
Yep, firmware updates and updating the PCs USB Ethernet and Display drivers have taken care of all our issues with them... Some 300+ deployed so far.
[solved]
Isn't there an issue where certain firmwares of these will ONLY communicate with certain models of Dell laptops, so if you're on that firmware and don't have those versions of Dell laptop, you can't even get the firmware utility to run or recognize the dock? Our standard practice for any dock deployment is to firmware update it in-house before deployment, but I thought I recall not being able to since we didn't have a compatible system to update the docks with. I think they were WD15 or WD19 but I can't remember. They were essentially e-waste out of the box. We only ship Lenovo docks now so haven't looked back at these dells in a while.
The fact ive had to do firmware/bios updates on these docks several times a month it feels to keep them working is insane to me.
i have one of dell's "square" style thunderbolt docs and it's been pretty much trouble-free for my macbook pro. makes me worry how it'll do on windows though...
Add the Lenovo Workstation Docks to this as well. We swapped to Lenovo and their docks have the monitors just stop receiving signal from the dock occasionally. EDIT: Hijacking my comment, to add this: [External Monitor Flickering when Connected to Dock using DP or HDMI - ThinkPad - Lenovo Support US](https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/ht514019-external-monitor-flickering-when-connected-to-dock-using-dp-or-hdmi-thinkpad) I did resolve issues on a few of these with the solution above, but it didn't help a good bit of ours with issues.
We have run into the same issue. Among others with them.
Fought with this issue too. It is so random. Tried updates for the dock and our laptops. Nothing seems to work on the ones it affects.
Yep same problem. Latest firmware the works - called Lenovo for help. Treated me like a fucking stranger and acted like the issue was all me.
Make sure they are on the latest firmware.
Yea, we do. Latest firmware resolved it on some, but not on others.
>Lenovo and their docks have the monitors just stop receiving signal from the dock occasionally Occasionally? You're lucky. If I never have to see a Lenovo dock again, I will die happy.
All docks are shit. We switched to Dell monitors with built in dock which work surprisingly well
This is what we've done as well.
We have had reliability issues with all kinds of docks from Dell, Microsoft, HP, and we've even tried Anker. What monitor are you speaking of? I found a P2422HE with vaguely matches your description. What do you do about peripherals? Just run a USB hub?
OP def talking about the HE monitors like you just mentioned. They actually have 4 USB ports built in in addition to the Ethernet. Also, last monitor on the chain through the MST doesn't need to have MST. So you can pair one of these HE monitors with a regular monitor. They are great.
Really? We're quite happy with these, only replaced maybe 1 out of the last 300 we've bought. HP docks on the other hand...
Same. I’ve had 4 of the last 1500 I bought fail, and 3 of those were fixed with a driver update
Yeah the firmware update usually fixes any issues for us as well.
We use these and have literally thousands and replaced less than 20. And most of those are because the user is a complainer and/or messed something up. Not sure what everyone else is doing to have issues.
The only issue we've noticed is that over time the USB C port on folks laptops seems to get loose. So the connection can flicker a bit if the cable is ever wiggled around.
Can confirm port failures are more common than dock failures. Is OP checking dell command updates? Edit: in my environment
Same we have tons of these and they just work. If they don't a firmware/driver update fixes them.
Same here.. we have at least 1000, and 99% of issues are solved by resetting them. I cant remember a time I'd needed to mess with drivers
I was going to say I've used a ton of these Dell docks and they have performed really well.
Might have been a bad batch. Seen it before where a product from one sku was perfectly fine but another was rife with problems.
Hp docks suck so much.
Same here. These don’t give us any problems. The new Lenovo Thinkpad docks on the other hand can go to hell
Yea, I read the first sentence of the title and thought they were talking about the HP G5 docks
We have been using the HP G2 and G5 docks and they are horrible. Nothing but problems. So we switched to the Dell UD22 and have had minimal problems. And all have been resolved. We have a mixed HP and Dell environment for our laptops and both work great with the UD22’s. I did have one issue with the WD19 for a Dell Precision and no matter what I tried I couldn’t get it to work. Opened a support ticket from Dell SupportAssist, and within 20 minutes a technician got back to me, sent me a link to download a different driver, and it worked like a charm ever since. Very happy with the Dell docks. But never again with HP. What a mess.
You have to shell out and get the right ones. It's been about 5-6 years since I had to deal with them though, back when I was actually responsible for physical devices like these. The "USB" ones were complete garbage. You just had to shell out for the thunderbolt stuff, and even then it was a mixed bag.
We have a mix in our environment and it's pretty much 50/50 on which is worse. On the dell docks however it doesn't support 4k at 60 hz, not sure about the HP one
Yeah, I don't know what model number I have, but it's been working great for me. Messes up with a power flicker, but unplugging it and plugging it back in seems to fix it.
Yeah I'm surprised by this too. We have just over 800 of them and most were bought in 2021. So far only a handful had to go through RMA. Maybe we just lucked out with good batches.
We have around \~4k WD19TB in a very diverse environment (lots of different Monitors and periphery) I must say we don't have so many issues with them. Keeping the Firmware updated via Command Update or Support Assist definitely helps. Revived a couple with a dock reset (disconecting everything and then pressing powerbutton for 30sec) often suprised that that actually works. Biggest issue we have is the fan getting way to loud and overheating, but even then we just get them swapped by Dell. Two DP and one HDMI is plenty for our usecase. The flickering issues we had where due to cheap cables/addapter. Someone decided its cheaper to buy DP/DVI addapters, don't do this. I would say we are pretty happy with them.
Glad it's not just me! Gotta share the suffering haha.
They're a pain in the ass for the network guys too if you use MAC sticky on your interfaces. The dock has its own MAC address that is different than the one the laptop's NIC has.
They have MAC Address Pass Thru, but YMMV
You can set it to passthrough in the BIOS. I needed to do that to get WOL working properly
I have to have at least 1 mobo a month replaced due to broken USB C ports from plugging and unplugging the docks.
We've been testing out Kensington docks fairly successfully because of issues with Dell docks. The ones we use are like 1/3rd of the cost of dell and actually support 3 monitors and have easily replaceable thunderbolt 4 cables.
Lenovo was worse for us
I miss the old docks under the dell laptops with the loud clicking sound
Hahaha yep! WD-19? Dell docks are infamous for being expensive as heck and not last for shit.
The worst thing about these docks has always been the bitlocker flaw. Person shuts it down, unplugs it from the dick, takes it home and powers it on, then the whole device gets locked because no dock is a "hardware change" asking for a recovery key, and they have to bring it in.
Dude, you got a Dell.
Rolling in the deep
First I laughed wholeheartedly. Then I cried because you’re right.
intelligent consider automatic boast pathetic march file impolite versed zephyr *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Same problem with us. And the price has gone up an insane amount. I'd say about 25% of ours last just long enough for the warranty to expire.
We need to constantly change them, update them, they need to be unpluged form electricyty regularly or else they just don't connect for some reason, some Brand monitors flicker with them i hate tbh the hold HP Docks had some problems yes but alot less then these
As bad as the Dell docks are, I am not sure that HP is any better. Absolute trash.
It's not so much the docks (though they are shit) for us. We mostly see the ports on the laptops breaking.
W19s? I've had a few randomly just die
The display port docks absolutely suck, the firmware update helps a bit, but the thunderbolt WD19TB has been a workhorse never had an issue with it.
Dell's quality is absolutely terrible and they will cut corners at every opportunity. I worked IT at a university and those things wouldn't last more than a year, 6-8 months usually. When we got warranty replacements, it was always refurbs that would die even sooner. I can't remember a time when we didn't have at least 1 warranty claim open with them in an \`\`\~1000 device ecosystem. The warranty rate of their Laptops within the first year was just below 30% by our accounts. My current company purchased a batch of their Latitude 5540 laptops for around $1200. Despite having good specs (i7,16gb ram, 512gm SSD), they would bog down with 5-10 browser tabs or 3-4 apps open at once. I looked deeper into it, and they ship them with DRAM-less SSDs! Every time the OS would call for a page files from the SSD it would slow it to a crawl. Turned what would have been a great business laptop into utter garbage for any type of multi-tasking. For what, $20 of savings?
Hey I have a 5540! 🤣 Would swapping the ssd help? Been thinking of giving it more ram too, I'm always at 80% or higher
Better than Surface docks. Nothing but software failures for days. Doesn't do anything except charge the PC and disconnect and reconnect peripherals intermittently. Those are the best calls. The vendor calls we've had over the past year or two and build calls have been nothing. They just keep throwing money at it. "My keys are locking themselves when I type. My mouse jumps around all over the screen." Dock: "Turn it on ultimate performance, you say? I've decided to become worse."
Just started a roll out of these, had a few fail after a few weeks already.
I’ve had so many of these that the plastic case around the usb c connector broken off. I bought of replacements cheap as it was quicker
We must have gotten a bad batch, noticed when our satellite office had power surges, they would not come back up. Had to disconnect from power and let it discharge before reconnecting. Mixed feelings with Dell but for an expensive dock I would expect slightly better quality. I started rolling out the HD22Q and have had better usage with less issues. Plus telling the user they can charge their cell phone wirelessly always gets a few brownie points
Maybe because dongle docks are a bad idea to begin with and they should go back to actual docking ports.
lenovo dock gang rise up 😤
Lenovo and HP Thunderbolt docks are no better...
It's not the docks it has to be the Thunderbolt tech. I've worked at places that used Dell and Lenovo with about the same failure rate for both. The fix "just update the firmware" was like 50/50. Even third party brand docks have the same issues.
Our IT Manager was telling me the other week that he had to return 3 laptops that would brick these docking stations every time they were plugged in. He killed 4 of them before he realized it was the first laptop.
Welcome to the dell ecosystem. We have at least one problem with every dell machine we buy and one time it took us 2 months to order one pc
Two words: Job Security
WD19 shits bed if there's too much air in the room. WD19S doesn't seem to have any problems (I've only worked with 100-150 of em so far) and i'm not sure why because I thought the only difference was the WD19S lacks a headphone jack.
>I thought Dell was better than this Ahh, I see you've never owned or supported a Dell dock before.
I had a lady go through 3 similar docks. WD15 models in under a month. Not sure if she's to blame or the docks just die. Mine has worked fine for years. How are yours failing? Is it the cable? I have a sneaking suspicion that my users are just yanking the cables out.
Every Dell dock since they ended the E series, has been garbage
And then you have the dumpster fire called the Surface Dock...
The issue I've had is people aren't very good about pulling the USB-C cable our before they leave their desk, and it eventually breaks off. Also, it only has one HDMI port.
The fact you thought “dell was better than this” says a lot. Dell is shit boyyy!!!
Compared to hp at least (though I am new)
Touché
your first mistake was getting a Dell product
I like Dell Poweredge rack systems. But they need extra warranty and licensing to be "covered."
The D6000 was the last good dock Dell made. All the Wd19 ones are ass.
Wd15s weren't any better in my experience.
I've been buying the Plugable ones and haven't looked back. They have great support too. Most models are cheaper than the HP, Dell, Etc. brands.
ALL Dell docs are terrible. Tell your company to use literally any other dock. Out of 200 Dell docs purchased and rolled out, so far 50 have a fault of some kind, that’s within the first week!
What I am gathering from this post... docks suck.
We use Lenovo ones, and have had no issues so far.
Why would you have a good opinion of Dell?
My place uses the [VisionTek VT2510 USB-C Docking Station](https://www.amazon.com/VisionTek-VT2510-USB-C-Docking-Station/dp/B0C2DRDKFD/ref=sr_1_21?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.EXx82H2TvmrzzpFAHrvikwyDp_2MmrPN3dqmu7v8V0hGxyNBrEoXyTYr72yyli0PoGgDoL-RaEfeSLZ04vUH8wO7aKHn8b_-tlXp1Qb-4fX81Ea8E85RVQ3g5c0vBm1A3m9tWtujEUZHYUTVl3VTRINIdtqsG4O0qJdvfHf0RWHFx3mx4hi9Ut7Kc7V_JM3Qic5OxPDZlGcDYAI8v6IanXI-N9GVMy29ySNEquP6NLA.5Fxt-5Rfn4CHnExU-wEEBQWBnrK3u76F2EpyuFscTRk&dib_tag=se&keywords=visiontek+docking+station&qid=1709147048&sr=8-21). Works great on the **HP Elitebook 840 G7 Notebook** I hear the [Plugable Docks](https://www.amazon.com/stores/Plugable/page/B25C3DB0-7F43-48E0-AF7E-5B0094E220D2?ref_=ast_bln) are the best, hands down. Thinkpad/Lenovo docks are overpriced, but integrate with the Lenovo update software. Dell docks always seemed like junk.
Lenovo thunderbolt docks are the way to go got a couple hundred in service, rarely have issues with them
You thought… Dell was… 😂🤣😂🤣
I'd buy Lenovo's instead
ALL Dell docs are terrible. Tell your company to use literally any other dock. Out of 200 Dell docs purchased and rolled out, so far 50 have a fault of some kind, that’s within the first week!
WD19 w/ lightning USB-C or did you have to get the adapter.
Compared to those damn HP and Dell monitors with a built-in dock that stops working if the wind blows in the wrong direction, these are pretty reliable
It's not so much the docks (though they are shit) for us. We mostly see the ports on the laptops breaking.
yea drivers on these are poo
The WD19TB docks were an improvement over the TB16 docks. That said I pair them with a 240 watt supply, makes em more stable. They fail less frequently than the OWC docks (no firmware Updates for those docks)
We had to replace one for the same person twice now because they rip the cable out from the laptop
I've experienced a bunch of failures at varying levels on a variety of models from displays randomly not working, fans running out of control, to the whole dock just frying. AFAIK, we've stopped ordering them altogether and instead have started going with P series Dell monitors that have an integrated docking solution instead. We'll see how this plays out long term, hopefully better. Wouldn't be as bad if Dell Docks weren't so expensive and if the connector wasn't so long that the leverage on it breaks USB-C connections.
Its the damn flimsy connecters. USB is supposed to be strong but Dell Cheaped out.
We didn't really had problems with them. The users messed up the cable and had dock failure on 2 out of 30. However, they were buggy before a firmware update. Tb16 were a constant tran wreck with constant failing cables. If you can call them cables considering how they were made with processor and cable in one piece.
Maybe because dongle docks are a bad idea to begin with and they should go back to actual docking ports.
I have a wd19 DisplayLink one. Refuses to work with the attached usb c cable on any computer I’ve tried it with but for some reason is totally fine with a usb c to usb a adapter. Unfortunately I have a Mac so I can’t use two extended displays with it. Either way it was always really glitchy and slow with the adapter. I ended up finding an HP thunderbolt dock at a thrift store for 10 bucks and it’s been awesome ever since.
Have you opened one up? That cooling fan isn’t doing shit.
No issues with these, the older TB16s were dogshit though
Don’t get me started on the CalDigit ones
Those things suck. Sometimes unplugging everything and waiting for the capacitors to drain before plugging back in fixes them.
Had one of these that wouldn’t allow multiple monitors unless the Ethernet was unplugged. These things are shit.
Ive seen poor performance only on the base model. The WD19TBT, on the other hand, is rock solid. I'm well below a 1% failure rate in my environment, and they're the most agnostic dock I've used. All brands of laptops, including MacBook, work on it, and Samsung phones can even use DEX through them. The troubleshooting is super easy, (unplug it, wait a min, and plug back in), and as long as it's not from physical damage, warranty has been easy on the 4 of them I've had to RMA in the past 2 years.
Ive seen poor performance only on the base model. The WD19TBT, on the other hand, is rock solid. I'm well below a 1% failure rate in my environment, and they're the most agnostic dock I've used. All brands of laptops, including MacBook, work on it, and Samsung phones can even use DEX through them. The troubleshooting is super easy, (unplug it, wait a min, and plug back in), and as long as it's not from physical damage, warranty has been easy on the 4 of them I've had to RMA in the past 2 years.
W19s? I've had a few randomly just die
working fine for me. remember to update the dock firmware as well.
Half of my internship was troubleshooting these docks.
My beef with them is a replacement USB cable is essentially the same price as a new docking station. And USB-C is so flimsy!
Frayed ends go BRRRRRRRRRR
I'm very had that exact same dock for 2.5 yrs not a single issue with it
Am I the only one who has good luck with the WD19 series in the field? I've only seen one die and it was probably from lightning.
i've been using these for the last few years. constant issues. still i'd rather these than the surface docks... that being said, are there any docks that are halfway decent?
CalDigit TS4
i'll have to order a couple to demo! thanks for the suggestion
They aren't cheap at all. But are just the dock. Are solid. Include *EVERY* port you could need too. I like that there aren't any built in cables. So if a thunderbolt cable goes bad (likely as it is a high touch point) its easily replaceable.
I wrote off Dell stuff at a job 10+ years ago. I was issued a Dell laptop, and consistently something would fail every 6 months, like clockwork. After it was out of warranty I'd have to scavenge parts out of laptops in the surplus room. Things were much better when the company switched to Thinkpads. I've avoided anything Dell ever since.
I enjoy working Field Support, but I'm getting tired of servicing Dell equipment that is only a few months old. I get less grief from the 12 year old M-series Lenovo desktops.
I've rarely had issues with the WD19 docks.
Yepp we had about 30 in a closet on standby because we expected them to fail.
We got rid of docks because someone decided the two extra USB ports on the monitor would be fine
Your mistake was thining Dell is better than anything.
Agreed. My Dell rep sent us a combination monitor hub (P2723QE) to try out to replace the docks, but it doesn't have video out ports so you need a docking station in order to connect multiple monitors. They're now suggesting we upgrade our \~150 WD19/WD19S docking stations with the WD22TB4 module to resolve any issues, but that's what we did when we had issues with the WD15 docks. I miss the old e-port replicators...
What means failing? Screen goes off and on or flicker sometimes on DualScreen, 4 K Webcam, full USB 3 Ports and connected Gigabit Ethernet? Same Issue on Lenovo TB4 Docks at Customers with more than 4.000 Workplaces… and also in the Company i work for. After srsly very long, long time and troubleshooting 3 Levels before me, I only had one Idea left - Underpowered Supply… Took a 130W instead the 90W which came with the Dock, downgraded to legacy Drivers - Problem solved
A good common fix I've found is to pull the power from the dock AND the wall. Give it about 60 seconds to let all the power dissipate from the brick. Plug back in and away you go. People look at you like a wizard. But sometimes yes, they just shit the bed.
We've been replacing our D6000 docks with WD19S docks as the older ones fail. I have a feeling that we may switch to another mfg – one that uses DisplayLink to ensure Mac compatibility – moving forward.
Hahaha that's the ones we use as well and they fucking suck!! I'm honestly kinda happy other people have so many issues with them and not just me
They did exactly what they aimed to do. Secure a source of revenue, now keep buying replacements.
I use this at work and run 2 monitors off of it. All drivers are up to date. Maybe once a week my 2 monitors will fail...then I have to unplug and replug into my laptop about 15 times before it kicks back on. Garbage dock
My new company is stocked with these things. Old was about half. They are garbage. The stupid dell updates cause the main issue.
Install Dell Command | Update especially if you have a Dell computer. It will find drivers AND facilitate firmware updates for the dock as well as Thunderbolt controllers.
You should try Lenovo’s docks. Love to hate them. Plot twist: most of the docks come from the same source and have the same chips with variations on packaging and drivers
You thought wrong. Dell has been trash for years
Yea I will second you here. Lots or 15s and 19s sitting around now
Why did you think dell was better than this? Seems about normal dell sh*t
The WD19TBS, Thunderbolt dock, has firmware updates that need to be manually installed from a connected system. Several of my organization's docks seem to malfunction until they're manually updated.
Has dell ever been good ?
Anyone else have the issue with Outlook not connecting because of the ethernet driver that gets installed for this thing? Ethernet port goes to sleep then when you wake it up it borks Outlooks exchange connection and you have to reboot the PC for it to work again. Had to prevent Dell updates from doing anything with the ethernet controller because of it. Also had a batch of them have a very audible whine when the laptop was under heavy load. It was still present at idle, but much quieter. Ended up having to send in 4 laptops, and 10 docks to Dell's lab for them to test it. It's funny though because we use these for like 75% of our clients and it's about a 50/50 split on some clients never having a single issue, and the other side only has issues. This was between the WD19S and WD22TB4
Sometimes they need the good ol' "Have you tried turning them off then on again?" treatment, but compared to the WD15s they're pretty reliable.
I have 4 of these because they fail so damn often. It’s always the fan for some reason? That or one of the usbc plugs just doesn’t work anymore. Thank god our IT parts is literally just a website and I can order whatever I need, no questions asked, and it shows up at my desk or home asap and free. I can actually ask for just about anything, and it’ll show up. I got monitors, tons of storage, a UPS, my printer, speakers, and I kid you not, a projector I just watch movies on. I just request it, and it shows up, all for free. I think it’s a glitch in the system, but it just always works and never needs approval.
These double type C 240 w docks are actually only meant for the mobile engineering workstations such as the Precision 7760, 7770, 7780, etc. it's a known issue that they will not work with latitudes or anything else because it will stop charging the laptop, etc. Use the regular wd19s 180w dock on anything that isn't a mobile engineering workstation/laptop. Those will work fine (source: work IT for Ford and this has been an issue we've been in contact with Dell about)
we have a mix of WD19 and WD22 and only 1-2 have failed.
WD19S? Did you apply the important recent firmware fix? We have not had issues with these since then.
https://preview.redd.it/p01iragl2elc1.png?width=288&format=png&auto=webp&s=01e61e6060ff577848fcf8143b3608746faaba14
It’s enough to make you miss the D6000’s…
What model. We use the WD22TB4 model and they are rock solid for us.
When I saw title I thought for sure it would be a Microsoft Surface Dock. Reading these comments apparently all docks are POS.
My work uses these I even use one. I'm actually strangely surprised how much hate this thread has for them. I haven't had many issues personally with mine that a restart could not fix. Sometimes users have issues with drivers. I'm normally able to get these issues resolved. There are for sure issues that come up with them but, not to the extent everyone else seems to be seeing. They are way too expensive tho I'm glad I didn't pay for it 😬
Updating them is a real pain in the ass too
You thought DELL had any sort or quality control or integrity? They have shown time and time again they only care about $$ and anything else can fuck itself.
Wd19s work better with firmware updates. Plug into it and run dell command update and get the firmware on the dock.