HP Thunderbolt Dock G2 to Mac book pro

[IronBadger]

Please update this thread with what you find.

[thisn00bagain]

Was having the same problem, was googling around and found this forum.

Im using a 2016 15" macbook pro touchbar, with the thunderbolt G2 dock/hub, and no matter what port configuration used, all displays from the hub are mirrored.

we've tried all possible combinations of, displayport, displayport + thunderbolt (from hub), displayport + vga, different ports on the hub, dual thunderbolt ports, and no matter what the config, all the displays coming from the HUB are mirrored.

It's a shame, because except for this, the hub is actually great. Probably the best hub for a usbc macbook, but the display driving problem is a deal killer for us. Myself and at least 10+ other co-workers have this problem. Which is a shame because we cannnot recommend it to anyone else due to the display driver.

I know an earlier post mentioned you could do displayport (from hub) -> displayport on monitor + thunderbolt (from hub) -> displayport on monitor, but that didn't work for any of us. Currently we are using one macbook thunderbolt cable to dock then from dock to monitor, then one additional macbook thunderbolt cable to monitor to get dual displays. It coule be an apple problem, but what a shame on the whole situation. Could of been a real WIN if everything worked out, everyone at work is looking for the perfect dock. All macbooks.

[abhishes]

Will upgrade to mohave solve this problem? i have the exact same issue that two monitors just mirror each other. so I am forced to use the macbook screen and 1 monitor. 

[IronBadger]

Upgrading to Mojave does not resolve this issue.

Even in Mojave Apple only seems to support MST to multiple Thunderbolt monitors not DisplayPort.

In Mojave I can get it to work but it is nothing I would call a solution.

Typically if I connect 1 monitor to Displayport out and and another to the Thunderbolt port it will work but ONLY if:

1. I connect to the dock with the laptop open

2. I completely boot my Macbook pro to the log in screen while open

3. I usually log in at this point and boot to the desktop and all 3 monitors will be on and in extended mode.

4. Close the laptop and both external monitors will stay in extended mode.

When this stops working, which it periodically does, I have to hot plug the Thunderbolt (actaully USB-C) connected monitor to the dock and it will work again.

I, for the life of me, am unable to figure out why booting up with laptop closed always results in either mirroring or one display not working at all but booting with the laptop open regularly allows extended view and both external monitors working.

I have never got this to work using both displayport connections or using the USB-C connection.  It only works if 1 monitor is connecte dto tthe Thunderbolt port and the other is connected USB-C or Displayport.

[gizmostudios]

This is how we managed to get it to work, using only one USB-C connector on the Macbook (Pro). You can extend the dock with another dock, or use a USB-C to HDMI adapter and plug it in the dock for another display. I'm sure it doesn't use MST but somehow it seems to do the trick. Hope this is useful to someone else out there! Took us a day of messing around to find this setup.

[ZanderName]

To any poor soul still looking for an answer, this is indeed due to Mac OS X (yes the operating system, NOT the hardware, see here: https://medium.com/@sebvance/everything-you-need-to-know-about-macbook-pros-and-their-lack-of-displa...) does not support MST in the way that this dock requires. HOWEVER, there is a section in the manual that addresses this:

.... When using a MacBook Pro, if you plug in 2 displays into the two DisplayPortTM ports on the HP Thunderbolt Dock G2, it will mirror the displays. This is due to a MacBook Pro limitation because the MacBook Pro does not support multi-stream transport (MST) hubs which is one of the components used in the Thunderbolt Dock G2. If you want to use 2 displays independently with a MacBook Pro you must plug the first display in to one of these:

- DisplayPort™ or

- the VGA (port 7) or

- the USB Type-C™ (port 9) [Says SS on it]

AND the 2nd display into the USB Type C™ Thunderbolt™ (port 12) <--- This is the port that has the lightning bolt.

I am using the Thunderbolt port and a DisplayPort, and things work great. Yay.

[Walney]

I'm trying exactly what you suggest but I'm having no luck. I'm using an apple branded USB-C to HDMI adapter in the thunderbolt port on the back of the dock and the additional screen isn't detected at all. however if I plug the same adapter into the SS-USB-C port on the back I can mirror like usually happened when connecting DisplayPort directing into he second monitor.

Do you connect via an adapter as well and if so does it have its own power supply?

[tmp121121]

I have the same issue. This might be a better option based on the description. https://www.amazon.com/Kensington-SD2400T-Thunderbolt-Docking-Station/dp/B07TDMX6PT

[FloGro]

See attached which apple models support MST

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206587

[Espryte]

Horray, I got a working setup. And the best, the setup works for both, my MacBook Pro 15", 2019 and a HP EliteBook 850 G5 with the exact same setup. Itsn't that great for once?!

Config:

2x Z27s (J3G07A4) 

1x HP Thunderbolt Dock 120W G2 (2UK37AA)

1x HP USB-C to DisplayPort Adapter (N9K78AA)

Setup:

• 1 screen is connected to the dock via normal DisplayPort cable. The cable is connected to the left DisplayPort, the one below the VGA port.
• 1 screen is connected via normal DisplayPort cable plus the above mentioned adapter. The adapter/USB-C is connected to the Thunderbolt port on the right side of the dock, below the power cable).

You cannot use just any adapter cable, however I don't know what makes the difference.

Hope this helps!