Trouble connecting 2 external monitors using J5create to HP Pavilion Laptop 15-cs2xxx

[Shaun8512]

I am attempting to connect 2 external DELL S3222DGM gaming monitors to my HP Pavilion Laptop 15-cs2xxx by using a j5create USB-C Triple Display Docking Station, model JCD543-5A.

I am aware my computer will not charge through this docking station as the C port does not provide power, so I have my regular computer charger plugged into the charging port, and the J5 docking station plugged into the USB-C port. I then have 2 HDMI cables plugged into the back of the J5 docking station which are then connected to the two Dell Monitors.

Here is my issue, I am able to get 1 Dell monitor to work using this setup, but the second monitor does not. When I try to "Detect other display" I get the message that "we didn't find another display". When I unplug the HDMI cable from the non-working monitor and plug it back in, the screen displays "No HDMI 2 Signal from your device" then goes into standby mode.

On the back of the J5 docking port, there are two HDMI plug ins. One is just HDMI, the second has HDMI and Display ports side by side. The monitor that is plugged into the port for just HDMI is the monitor that works, the second monitor does not work that is next to the Display port / HDMI plug in. I have reversed the cables, and once again, the monitor that wasn't working then starts to work, and the cable from the monitor that was working, but is now plugged into the HDMI port by the Display Cable stops working. I then tried using a Display cord for the non-working monitor, and once again no video. I have also tried other HDMI cables, even though these are brand new, still no luck. 

I have plugged the second monitor directly into my computer's HDMI port and both monitors will then work simultaneously. However, the whole point of having the docking station was to be able to plug multiple HDMI cables into the docking station and not have to plug them directly into my computer. 

To try to rectify this situation I have updated all drivers and firmware, turned monitors on and off, rebooted the computer multiple times, as well as installing drivers from the J5 website thinking the docking station needed a software update. So far, none of these solutions have worked.  I am out of ideas and wondering if anyone in the community has any other ideas.

I have seen on some posts that the C port is not capable of running external video monitors, but since I am able to run 1 monitor using the j5 create docking station, I would assume it is capable of running two?  I have also returned one J5 create docking station believing that it had a bad HDMI port in the back as I had this happen at work, once I replaced the docking station, the screens began to work again. However, even with a new second docking station, I am having the same issue. 

The specs on this computer are as follows

Windows 11

64

1920x1080, 60.01Hz internal display setting on laptop screen - Display 1 - Intel(R) UHD Graphics 620

Dell S3222DGM monitors (new monitors) are 2560x1440, 60hz display settings - Display 2: Connected to USB 3.0 External Graphic Device

Firmware: HP Notebook System BIOS Firmware F.29

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i-7-8565U CPU @1.80GHz

[Jupitero]

Hello.

I recommend asking the same thing from J5CREATE as well.

The USB hub Quick Install Guide has the following requirement: "Available USB-C® port with DisplayPort™ Alt mode"

Your laptop provides only USB-C without the required DP Alt mode. The DP Alt mode is an addendum to USB-C that carries high bandwidth Displayport data alongside other USB data transfers - much faster than what USB 3 data transfer speed is. While this is for Displayport data only, some USB hubs can translate it into HDMI output. Most likely the HDMI/DP shared port requires this Alt mode to function.

Your USB hub likely comes with the common DisplayLink solution. When your Dell display is connected through the hub as it is now, it actually shows up as a USB device - your Laptop graphics do not drive this display, all processing is done by your CPU. You can check this in Windows Device Manager.

Now, your laptop's USB 3 has a bandwidth of 500 Megabytes per second. 2560x1440 resolution at typical 8 bit color depth equates to about 10.5 megabytes per frame (X x Y x 3). This USB bandwidth is shared with all other USB devices in the hub. 10.5 megabytes is not much but if you play e.g. 30 fps videos on full screen, it eats up >300 megabytes per second. Higher frame rate videos may therefore cause stuttering videos, and if your CPU is very taxed, the stuttering may get worse. Playing games on the external monitor at 1440p resolution may also be choppy for the same reasons. Even fast web page scrolling on the external monitor may not be as smooth as with your internal display. Lowering the resolution will help if performance is not adequate.

To have those two monitors working for you, your best option is to just connect the other Dell to your laptop HDMI interface. Your laptop specifications state that the HDMI port may be limited to just 1920x1080@60Hz resolution with 4k@60Hz on "select products only". If that's the case with your laptop then you are out of luck.

The other option would be another (perhaps simpler and cheaper) Displaylink based USB 3 hub that connects to USB-A port.