HP laptop can't detect other display

[SilverDatsun]

Hello,

I just bought a new HP laptop 15t-dw300 with Windows 11 Home.  I'm having a problem detecting external monitors.

Prior to this purchase, I did an instant chat with an HP representative who told me that a wavlink WL-UMD501 USB-C docking station would work with my laptop.  I told her that I want to connect two monitors to the dock via two HDMI cables.  I would have preferred to buy a dock from HP, but they didn't offer any docks with the ports I need.

One monitor is a Hanns.G HG281.  The other is an Acer B296CL.  I have an HDMI cable connecting the Hanns.G to the dock.  I have a separate HDMI cable connecting the Acer to the dock.  I have the dock connected to the laptop via USB-C.

I go to System/Display/Multiple Displays and press "Detect" and it says "We didn't find another display".

In terms of debugging, here are a couple of things I tried:

- I plugged in the HDMI cable from the Hanns.G directly into the HDMI port on the laptop.  I was able to extend the display onto this monitor.  So that worked fine.

- I plugged the HDMI cable from the Acer directly into the HDMI port on the laptop.  I am NOT able to extend the display onto this monitor.  So that's odd.

- I went to the Acer website to check for drivers.  They offer drivers only for Windows 7 and 8.  They do not list drivers for Windows 11.  This is a bit odd, as this monitor somehow worked with my previous computer, which was Windows 10.

- I went into Device Manager and checked for updates on the Display Adapters.  It was already up to date.

So, finally, some questions:

1. Did the HP representative steer me wrong regarding the docking station?

2. Maybe my monitors are too old and/or won't work with my new laptop?

3. The dock can be used to supply power to a connected device, but I currently don't have the dock plugged into power.  The dock didn't come with a power cable, but I believe I could buy one.  Maybe the dock needs power to run the extended display?  I personally think this is unlikely.

4. Is there some magic setting in System/Display or Device Manager that I have set wrong?

Thanks.

[banhien]

@SilverDatsun 

It specs

             https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-laptop-15t-dw300-touch-optional-1b9n3av-1

It ONLY has 1 SuperSpeed USB Type-C® 5Gbps signaling rate port which does NOT support Alt mode nor Power Delivery. You can NOT use it to

• Charge your machine
• Connect to an external monitor with/without hub/dock/adapter

A1. You did get wrong information

A2. No, I don't think of nay thing wrong from monitor

A3. I don't know why they do not supply power cable

A4. No magic setup with your existing hardware.  You need a DisplayLink Certified USB-A to HDMI adapter. You can also use

                       True Universal Docking Stations

Regards.

[SilverDatsun]

@Banhien

Thanks for the reply.  If I understand right, I did indeed buy the wrong dock.  To fix my problem, I should buy one of the true universal docks from the link you provided.  Then I'll be able to plug the new universal dock into the USB-C port on my laptop.  I will then be able to extend my desktop onto my two external monitors.  Do I have all that right?

Thanks

[banhien]

---

@SilverDatsun wrote:

... Then I'll be able to plug the new universal dock into the USB-C port on my laptop. 

---

@SilverDatsun 

I did say USB-A.

Regards.

[SilverDatsun]

Yes, thanks for reiterating that I need a USB A connector.  I was still incorrectly thinking I needed USB C.

Ok, so I am thinking about getting the Plugable UD-6950Z, which is one of the universal docks from the list of universal docks in your link.

Here's a link to this dock:  Amazon.com: Plugable USB 3.0 and USB-C Dual 4K Display Docking Station with DisplayPort and HDMI for...

Will this dock work for me?

Also, given that I've made several mistakes in this endeavor so far, I should really test another one of my assumptions:  Will I be able to use this dock and my HP 15t-dw300 laptop to display images on two external monitors and have the lid of the laptop closed?  My desk is small and there really isn't room for an open laptop.  Although there is room if the laptop is closed.

thanks again.

[SilverDatsun · Accepted solution]

For anybody with the same problem reading this in the future:

It turns out that my HP laptop 15t-dw300 is "Display Link" certified.  HP won't let me paste a link here, so I'll just say I verified that by going to the Display Link Support Knowledgebase article 544297 "Is my windows computer compatible with displaylink".

I downloaded the drivers and ran the executable which installed the drivers.  The drivers were successfully installed.  Since they were indeed installed successfully, I know my laptop is Display Link certified.

Then I bought a Plugable UD-6950Z, which is also display link certified.  This dock has the ports I want and it supports the resolution i want for my dual external monitor setup.  This dock doesn't do gaming, but that's not important to me.  I like the Plugable brand.  Their product descriptions are well written and accurate and their support is excellent.

Plugable supplied a USB-A cable and a USB-C cable to go from the dock to the laptop.  Above, Banheim made it seem like I wouldn't be able to use the USB-C port on the laptop for this purpose.  But in fact the USB-C cable is working for me just fine.

Good luck!