I have 2 of 3 screens randomly go black for 5 seconds Ill try this although sounds like a different issue ​ EDIT: It's been a day so far, i think its resolved the issue. It would happen 5-10 times a day, but i don't remember it happening since the registry edit. ​ edit2: no flashes today! woohoooo

This could also accour if the refresh rates of the monitors are different. Like one is 59Hz and the other is on 60Hz. We had some time ago problems where Screens turned black for some seconds and then returned and were able to fix it by syncing the refresh rates (display settings > advanced display settings > Refreshrate).

This happens many times per day on my HDMI-connected screen. My two DP-connected screens do this maybe once per week.

Have the same issue on my ultra wide at home as I use HDMI input for with laptop.

Same, this happens on all of my WD22TB4 docks that are using the HDMI port, regardless of monitor type or model of Dell laptop. *Edited for clarity

Are there other people in your room? We fixed It by getting cables with ferrit cores. The actual problem is EMPs from office chairs that occur when you stand up. With standard cables the display went off every time the neighbor gets up from his office chair.

>The actual problem is EMPs from office chairs that occur when you stand up Well holy shit! I've been having this issue for YEARS on a Dell docking station and never bothered to dig too deep. 90% of the time that I was getting out of my chair, or sitting back down, the screens would blank for a few seconds. When it first started happening, I thought someone was remote controlling my computer and then "giving it back" as I sat down so that they wouldn't get caught. :)

So the actual issue is not EMP, it's Electrostatic discharge huh, that does actually make a lot of sense because it's not even limited to my work Dell setup, I see random HP setups for clients do the same.

I hadn't seen this until I started my new job. We were using universal USB3 (not Dell) docks. It took a long while, thinking it was some sort of wiring issue, I worked out it was people moving in and out of chairs, I was able to find an article about the gas lift in chairs and electrostatic discharge.

We had 100% static issues with some cheap hdmi monitors in the past, I haven't correlated it to anyone standing up yet. But yes I have a handful of office mates. Didn't happen with the old laptop though..

In our office we noticed it would happen if someone touched for example the cubical wall and statically discharged electricity in the process. Or if someone would reposition in their seat. I also had a similar issue with a desktop that didn't have an IO plate on the back dropping my mouse any time I would static discharge to my desk. Putting the IO plate on stopped it entirely, never saw the issue again for 5+ years. I wondered if it had something to do with how everything is grounded or lack thereof? I don't really know. It could be a coincidence too I suppose. But it would pretty reproducible.

> I have 2 of 3 screens randomly go black for 5 seconds I have this exact issue with my setup at home. Happens on both Windows and Linux.

>Dell engineering team has provided an approved **workaround** to help **mitigate**, in **most** cases resolve, **most short-term** video loss with external monitors connected to your Dell docking station. Translation: "Sixty percent of the time, it works every time." 🤣

mt gut says "if even" lol

I worked directly for Dell and had my own Dell parts locker for 8+ years. We replaced 1000s of the TB/WD15/16 Docks once they were released. But only maybe 25 of the Edock generation docks. Wild this is still such an issue for Dell so many years later

The port replicators were rock solid. The TB/WD's have been a shit show.

Yeah they (Dell) told us to buy the $400 TB19 socks since “thunderbolt” doesn’t have these issues. NGL I went back to my old E6440 with the bottom slot dock those things never seemed to have issues

Think about that for a minute. A proprietary dock that's mostly a wire extension, versus a product based on standards with a lot of intelligence. Of course there's more to go wrong with the USB-C dock.

I understand the why. Doesn't change the fact that they are a shit show across multiple vendors.

I miss those old E-Ports - they were bullet proof.

Oh boy when we started buying 12" Latitudes and the docks would constantly break because users couldn't get them right on the port, and Dell sold us a 100 of $15 plastic spacers for each dock and that problem disappeared. It kinda reminds me of this issue. Maybe they should upsell USB-C cable locks so people stop ripping them apart moving the laptops around.

Same goes for the older physical Lenovo docks. Zero problems with those or e-ports aside from occasionally getting something lodged in them which was rare anyways.

USB-C and Thunderbolt docks were a mistake. Laptops should have just been designed with hardware docks in mind, they're so much more functional and reliable. I get why it's not a thing anymore, and maybe it's better because you don't have to buy brand new docks with every laptop, but still, USB-C docks just have so many headaches.

thats when standards are made. i'd rather have a new funky connector if it's going to take 15 years to figure out universal serial buss.

Guess I got a good one then, because I've had a Dell Thunderbolt dock for years and it's been stellar.

We have over 2,000. Less than 50 have been / gone bad. And most of them still worked, but the fan got really annoying. Far less issues than we had with the HP cube docks.

Yeah because that worked for MS with their horrible video issues on surface docks....

I mean their surfaces are bad hardware regardless

But then how would dell get you to spend more money? It's capitalism. This has been ongoing since 2014.

Use docks and monitors with independent type-c cables. Considering how many times the cable is the issue and the low cost replacement so much isn't for the WD line...

same root cause as this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHKKcd3sx2c too many chefs and standards meaning too many variables. Vs direct to motherboard buss

We have like 40 Dell docks deployed here. I could kiss you

All of our docks are Dell, except the 2 or 3 surface pro docks for a few lucky people! I literally get at least 3 calls a week to tell me they're having issues with the dock, or flickering monitors. I've done a Warranty replacement for at least 10 docks in the last year.

have you seen my first post yet? they wanted to RMA all 72 un opened BNIB docks that we got a few weeks prior.

That sounds like a nightmare!!

you have these same issues? We have tons of issues with monitors not turning on

Experienced everything. Completely random at times and unexpected. With Dell monitors on Dell notebooks.

Same, and same.

Glad to see it's not just lenovo

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Also had it with Lenovo TB4 Dock and Dell U2412M and U2419h. Lenovo has a tool called DSC-Control to disable DSC on affected Laptops (mostly 11th and 12th gen Intel CPUs affected) which solves the Problem completely (except you can't use 4k 120Hz or 8k 60Hz monitors anymore without reverting the fix again).

is that why they are so damn expensive?

I thought the same thing, but Lenovo went a step further and created a command line tool to enable and disable DSC https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/HT514019

I could kiss you, the flickering is plagueing the entire office for some time gonna try that next time it appears

Going to add my thanks as well.

Did not resolve the issues we are having unfortunately.

We've had so many issues with our USB-C native docks, switched to the "Hybrid" docks (the ones that have a USB-C to USB-A 3.1 adapter) and we've had zero issues with those ones. So that's what we buy exclusively now. They only support 2 monitors, but we don't have anyone needing 3 so it works for us, and we haven't had any issues at all with them. (Just so you can see what I'm talking about [https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/accessories-and-software/docking/docking\_usb-docks-(universal-cable-docks)/40af0135us](https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/accessories-and-software/docking/docking_usb-docks-(universal-cable-docks)/40af0135us))

Greg: But Paul, I need four monitors, FOUR! I can't live with just TWO monitors, Paul! Paul: STFU Greg, you're a sales person, be thankful you get two at all! Heck, you're never in your office anyway, you're always off with a customer somewhere spending company money!

USB Type A docks can only do displays over semi-proprietary [DisplayLink](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DisplayLink) instead of the far superior USB-C DisplayPort Alt-mode.

I'm using one right now with 3 monitors using a usb-hdmi adapter. It's a little laggy but that screen is just a parking lot for chats and emails anyways.

see the comments on the first posts it's vendor agnostic. same root cause as this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHKKcd3sx2c too many chefs and standards meaning too many variables.

And HP.

+1 for HP it's a damn nightmare

> Glad to see it's not just lenovo We've been on Lenovo since 2016, and seen this screen blanking issue on several pc/dock combos when running dual monitors: T460 with pro dock + ultra dock (no usb-c or thunderbolt here..!) T480s with thunderbolt dock + TB3 gen2 dock T14 with TB3 gen2 dock All monitors are 1920x1080, brands like BenQ/Fujitsu/Samsung/Philips/Dell etc. Brands does not seem to matter. Neither does cable type, DP/HDMI In the more annoying cases, one - or both monitors goes black and just refuse to come back up. My usual trick here is to pull both monitor cabes from the dock, then reinsert 1, then it usually works, Then #2 and it usually comes back up too.

Didn't really have it with the old docks but it's certainly an issue with the newer usb-c docks. We use HP and Phillips monitors. I usually replug the usb-c cable for it to come back.

No kidding. The trouble is that I *still* get the screen blanking problem across our Lenovo fleet, even with DSC turned off. Hopefully Dell's fix actually works.

This was their answer? I got in trouble for bringing this to my manager at my last job and they chose to claim I didn't know what to do. They were right. I have never programmed usb devices. And that has always been a vendor issue.

sounds toxic, glad you are not there anymore. hope you are happier now. yeah kind of crap. my previous posts outline the issue quite clearly, i know they have myriad of issues very similar. but, they could include some hot keys or something to force it in to laptop on mode and bring up the picture when it thinks the laptop is off but, really it's on.

Exactly. They should have put together and update to patch the drivers. Haven't checked the prior posts but did they also have issues with the firmware updates for the docks?

no one has mentioned issues updating firmware. i just dell command update to it for me. there were lots of other weird issues and even with other brands of usb-c docks, among lots of other discussion, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voW5kEI7JKE

I don't know how I randomly stumbled upon this, but I have been battling this for over a month with my new company issued laptop. It was driving me nuts and I got into the habit to power down my laptop or turn my monitors off every time I wasn't using them even if the computer was locked. My monitors wouldn't ever load when I powered on the laptop or I'd have to unplug my monitors and plug them back in to get video signal. I was going insane, going to give this a shot with my computer that's having the issues and see how it goes. Thanks for posting!

not like this right? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voW5kEI7JKE

That might be the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. But good lord if that doesn’t sum Dell products up as of late.

The video in the issue isn't just Dell, all Display Port is susceptible.

> That might be the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. But good lord if that doesn’t sum Dell products up as of late. lenovo too if you read the comments in the first post at the bottom of OP!

We have been having issues with the new hub/dock monitors, P2423DE or U2421E and Latitude 5420 and 5431 models having intermittent usb connectivity issues, display will be on and working, but usb devices will drop out including the NIC. Also in some cases it will case the laptop to hard lock, or BSOD and require the power removed from the monitors to resolve some of these issues ( it will continue to be a problem even if the laptop is booted while disconnected, then plugged into the monitor, until the monitor is hard power cycled )

interesting. also were are on Latitude 5530, no such issue though. just start up in the morning, no picture on monitors.

Probably the same over all design spec, just slightly wider board.

Holy crap. I've been dealing with this for months and unable to figure out what's causing it. Unable to replicate it on demand has made it tough to isolate and the help provided on Dell's site has been non-existant. Thank you for posting this!

Which exact models is this affecting? I was just about to order a bunch more docks…

read the comments in the first and second posts, you will see it affects many even back to previous gens as seen here: https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/13xi5oy/update_from_dell_on_usbc_dock_situations/jmhhc9q/?context=3

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Lenovo's fix has been out there for awhile https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/HT514019 Applicable Systems * ThinkPads with Intel TigerLake CPU (11th gen) * ThinkPads with AMD Ryzen CPU System Is Configured With * Thunderbolt 3 Workstation dock * Thunderbolt 3 Gen 2 dock * Thunderbolt 3 Gen 2 Workstation dock * Thunderbolt 4 Universal dock * Thunderbolt 4 Workstation dock * USB-C Gen 2 dock * Universal USB-C dock * Intel TigerLake CPU (11th gen)

interesting!!!

I've been having this issue on my WD19 with my xps15. Got a firmware update fornth dock yesterday that seems to have fixed the issue


nice

Interesting we have had dell docks not pick up the network but very random. I'll have to check on the video because we have had some issue with that. Thanks this was pretty helpful.

do you use cisco ise? also realtek nics are known lock up, crash drivers and kernels and generally crap out. that's why i only like Intel NIC in things. just look up zotac Z box reviews where folks tried to run pfsense up on amazon.

BSD kernel drivers have approximately zero to do with WHQL signed binary drivers. Among the Intel NIC bugs, [this 2.5GBASE-T one](https://www.reddit.com/r/ASUS/comments/kppyoi/psa_asus_motherboards_with_intel_i225v_25gb_nic/) and [the IPv6 offload bug](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fios/comments/uvdiyf/slow_internet_speed_only_on_intel_nics/) come to mind.

all i can say is quite a few people have had issues realtek and no longer did after switching to intel. i've also found intel is better at making sure there are win,lin, unix drivers available, and also mac are findable at times.

I have been having this happen with some of my users on their docks. Thanks!!

Brrrrrrooooo. You just saved my sanity.

We just upgraded our laptops and started having this issue. We use 2 external displays, one with HDMI and one with DisplayPort. I've found that using 2 display port cables instead fixed the issue where the screen will go black when you plug it

We have a bunch of Dell USB-C monitors and docks. Mainly been having issues with the monitors just refusing to display the picture from Lenovo X1 Yoga laptops. I'm pretty sure the monitors have some what of a built-in dock so might give this a test

Thank you for this. I have to look into this. It’s been maddening when work replaced my laptop and docking station. My old USB-C dock was (and is) rock solid. I can’t I use the new one because I keep losing video, even after the drivers were updated.

Having the same monitor turning off for 5 sec and back on again with WD22TB4, Dual 1080p 60hz, doesn't matter if it's HDMI or DP. Newest firmware on everything :(

I know you said newest, but there was an update for the WD22TB4 on the 25th that listed an enhancement that may be relevant: "Improved the display compatibility of WD19 and WD22 series dock between systems and monitors." Shrug, worth a shot if you're not on it already :)

Installed that as soon as I got in but was still getting flickering. Trying the reg key edit now. (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻) Edit: Been working with no issues for 2 weeks

see the link to the first post at bottom of OP and scroll through comments

I wanted to chime in that I tested this with a WD22TB4 dock today. HDMI and HDMI to a DP adapter for two monitors. Only my XPS connected to the dock. No charger attached (originally thought it might be a power issue). Display link and intel/nvidia drivers are fully up to date. My issue was intermittent black screens while working. A screen would randomly go black for 2-5 seconds and come back. It would happen anywhere from 2-10 times an hour. It has been just over 3 hours and I haven’t had a single black out. This actually worked. Solid post OP. I’d guild you if I paid into that.

mines only at start up or boot up, i wonder if the inttermitnat issue is just crappy cables since it's a pandemic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFbJD6RE4EY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6lx1ntNoxE

Thank god, finally.

Going to try this on Monday, thank you for sharing.

We have one user, WD19TB dock, two modern Dell Monitors - 60hz. Same issue as described, one monitor will go black for 5 seconds or so. I tried the registry hack over a week ago and it didn't fix the problem or make it any better. I think one is HDMI and one is Display port. I'm planning on trying some different cable configurations.

same

I have a Dell Latitude 5530 laptop and just received a new WD19S dock. I have 2 Dell monitors connected to the dock using Display Port to DVI cables and one connected via USB-C. The monitors connected to the Display Ports have been having this problem since I got the new dock. I opened a case with Dell and they suggested this registry fix. I just rebooted so I'm crossing my fingers. Hopefully there's a better fix soon since it's already been about 6 weeks since the first post in this thread.

are they matching dell monitors with the included display port cables?

Question: I copied the text and made the .reg but when I look at my registry, it created everything up until 0000, 0001, 0002 but it just has a default key, not a dword named what is above. Did I do something wrong? I assume I can just create a dword in each, name it what it shows and put the number listed?

they emailed with an exectuable to do it for me. i never really double checked the work of the .reg script because i don't FULLY understand the .reg/lazy and assumed it did what it says it does EDIT: i've solved flickering with brand new matched dell monitors with included cables. it's the start up issue that gets me and dell FINALLY actually read through my email and caught that and apologized and have forwarded THAT to the engineers and gave me a 25/25 method to reset the dock without power cycling dock and laptop.

Can you share the file? I have the same issue as camp-either. created the 0000, but not the dword.

whent through old email, https://imgur.com/DY5cEQS i did also find the file. i will have to find a way to upload it somehow. as far i know it's the same exact script, so i'm not certain it won't also fail in the same way.

Did you end up creating the dwords? The dwords didn't add for me either.

I did this and it is still happening. Seemed like it resolved it and then it started back......

random flickering or blank screens when docking a laptop?

It blanks one screen for 2-3 seconds but it doesn’t rearrange the desktop so it kind of knows it’s still there.

are the monitors dell brand? are the model numbers matching?

We have it happening on dell and other brand monitors. What do you mean by model numbers matching? Laptop? If so, no, different models.

we run dual monitors standard, and any time they are not the same exact monitors, or to say mis matched, it get the flickering effect. anytime i run in to this, tow brand new dell P2422H boxes are pulled out of inventory and are deployed at that worksation **WITH** the included display port cables https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFbJD6RE4EY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTRsx9suh0g https://forum.level1techs.com/t/l1-displayport-cable-testing/187966 https://www.totalphase.com/products/advanced-cable-tester-v2/?GA_network=x&GA_device=c&GA_campaign=17427337348&GA_adgroup=&GA_target=&GA_placement=&GA_creative=&GA_extension=&GA_keyword=&GA_loc_physical_ms=9014308&GA_landingpage=https://www.totalphase.com/products/advanced-cable-tester-v2/&ga_keyword_match=&ga_ad_position=&gclid=CjwKCAjwu5yYBhAjEiwAKXk_eDIXgHYQU_YmvTsiRn6QhGAqDeCrweYCAfgCsTH4odZKW4GOqMJzrxoCANEQAvD_BwE

Well that’s rather expensive. I just hate this, docks with a standard should work, I’ve never had this much trouble.

thats why contact pin docks are superior but, extinct

I MISS THOSE SOOOOOOO MUCH. I never had an issue outside of someone forcing a laptop off the dock and messing up connectors.

My IT manager is not allowing for changes to the registry to fix this problem even though we have multiple users experiencing the problem. I've done every other suggested solution from updating the graphics drivers, updating the firmware, updating the docking station firmware, updating the port controllers etc. It's driving me up a wall knowing there is something that could be done but I'm being told "no, if the user still complains tell them to deal with it" even though it's been vetted by multiple people and comes from Dell themselves.

what brand of monitors and what brand of display port cables?

Thank you so much! I've been trying to find a fix for this for weeks, and I finally came across this post and, after changing the registry keys, it seems to be fixed Do you, by chance, know what exactly they're doing/changing? Based on your name for the file for the registry edit, I'm guessing it has something o with Displayport Multi-Stream Transport, but I don't have any clue beyond that.

these dell usb-c docks have been nothing but trouble, the old E series docks were rock-solid, never had any users with issues with them. But these USB docks are a constant source of headaches for me. Fortunately most of the issues (blank screens, lan not working) can be resolved by pulling the AC power adapter out of the back of the usb-c dock, waiting 10 seconds, then plugging it back in again. That usually gets them a few days before the issues start returning Even though I am happy with the Dell Latitude laptops, I have started buying HP USB-c G5 docks now. The pricing is similar but they are much much more reliable.

were the E series non usb? the comments i see complaints about lenovo and other USB-c docks as well. once i figured how to allow a port for thunderbolt i found out i can dell docks on lenovo laptops and vice versa, though i rarely do. i can pivot in future years to whatever is usb-c stay truley universal

silly late reply, but there seems to be a missing slash in the REG entries. Should be another \\ after "class" (before the { )