Add two monitors to hdmi 2.1 laptop

[athegn2]

Add two monitors to hdmi 2.1 laptop 

Have an Envy x360 laptop with an HDMI 2.1 port. How can I connect two monitors to this port to extend the desktop. All usb ports full; one with a usb extender so don't wish to add to usb load.

Any advice please

[Kuroi_Kenshi]

Hi @athegn2,

Welcome to the HP Support Community!

Thanks for reaching out!

We're thrilled to have the opportunity to assist you and provide a solution.

I understand your HP Envy x360 laptop has a single HDMI 2.1 port and you want to connect two external monitors to extend the desktop without using USB ports. Let’s go through a few important points and options to clarify what is and isn’t possible.

Understand HDMI limitations
A single HDMI port, even HDMI 2.1, can output video to only one display.
HDMI splitters duplicate the same image and cannot extend the desktop to two monitors.

Check if HDMI MST is supported
HDMI does not support Multi-Stream Transport (MST) for extending multiple displays.
Because of this, there is no HDMI-only adapter that can create two independent screens from one HDMI port.

Use the USB-C port with DisplayPort Alt Mode (preferred solution)
Most HP Envy x360 models support DisplayPort Alt Mode over USB-C.
A USB-C to dual-HDMI or dual-DisplayPort adapter can drive two external monitors as extended displays without relying on HDMI splitting.

Use a USB-C docking station (no heavy USB load)
A USB-C dock uses the display signal from the GPU, not USB graphics processing.
This avoids performance issues and allows two monitors while keeping USB ports free.

Verify USB-C display capability
Check the HP specifications for your Envy x360 model to confirm USB-C supports DisplayPort.
You can also check in BIOS or Device Manager under Display adapters.

Avoid DisplayLink adapters if possible
DisplayLink adapters use USB data and add CPU load.
Since you prefer not to increase USB usage, this is not recommended in your case.

Confirm graphics limitations
The number of supported external displays depends on the Intel GPU in your laptop.
Most Envy x360 systems support two external monitors total, depending on resolution and refresh rate.

There is no supported way to extend two monitors directly from a single HDMI 2.1 port. To run two external displays independently, a USB-C DisplayPort solution or dock is required.

I hope this helps.

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Best regards,