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HP Recommended
HP Spectre x360 Convertible 15
Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit)

I've been through two HP USB-C docking stations on my new HP Spectre and neither of them will charge the laptop.  I have to plug in the 90w power adapter.  I've talked with HP, they were gracious enough to send me the second one but it does not work.  They continue to say it will work.  This is the 'official' latest response:

 

"I looked again and it shows it should be compatible and operational.

The only thing I can think of is if you can and are available to reach out to a local Best Buy and see if they have one that can work properly and we would be able to reimburse you."
 
All the marketing material I can find and pre sales support told me it would work but on a brand new device their respoisne is "reach out to a lcoal Best Buy".
14 REPLIES 14
HP Recommended

Hi,

 

i have a lenovo Thunderbolt 3 Dock which works great. It also is able of charging mit Spectre x360 when it is turned on (100W power). However, HP is coding their charging adapter and so it is officially not supported to use a foreign one. This is the reason why I always have to turn on the device for a few seconds until it managed to communicate with the power adapter and set the appropriate power mode. After this I can shutdown and it is still charging until 100% is reached.

 

The same is also with a different 45W USB-C PD charger (Inatek? do not remember), a no-name USB-C Dock and an USB-C power bank. They are all working as long as the device is powered for the PD initialization.

 

Strange, the HP docks are not. Maybe, you have to go with a different brand if you can live with the drawback mentioned above.

 

Best,

Simeon

HP Recommended

I have tried 2 docks so far with the newest HP Spectre 15in (8th Gen Intel), and both are blocked from charging the laptop via HP's DRM despite providing 85w and adhering to the USB-C Power Delivery standard. 

 

Aside from the crappy practice of limiting options of 3rd party devices via DRM, HP doesn't seem to have a Thunderbolt 3 dock that officially supports the Spectre 15in. Hoping they address this soon, or I will have to send back this otherwise great laptop.  

 

I just want to be able to plug in 1 cable to both charge and output to dual displays via a TB3 dock.  This works perfectly on both my Lenovo and MacBook, and its frustrating that HP has gone this route with a $2000 laptop, not being able to use the technology the was it was intended to be used (desktop replacement). 

HP Recommended

I could not agree more! In addition, I would also like to have the option to turn on the Spectre without having to open the lid. My TB Dock has the option and this is working great for other brands but not HP. Also, a BIOS option to enable the power-button with the lid closed would be a great option (if you do not want to accidently turn on your device than just leave the default).

 

About the last option I talked to the support and I was told that this operation is not supported in the consumer range. Probably, this is also the reason why there is no TB Dock from HP. However, I believe that many customers use their device with a dock and also in a price range of $2000 I would expect to have such an option.

The business variants - which we sometimes also get at work - are not an option for me. The Elitebook x360 is thicker and heavier with options I do not want (like fingerprint, some of the "old-school" ports). So even for work, I would prefer the consumer device. Unlikely we have a huge IT and we cannot just choose arbitrarily devices.

 

But next time I will also have in mind that these features are only available in business devices or other brands.

 

That's just politics.

HP Recommended

Same feelings here.

 

I just got the 15 inch Spectre and am dissappointed with this whole third party charging issue.

 

HP won't bring out an official dock of their own, while blocking third party docks...

 

The argument that it's not a 'business' product doesn't cut it. A laptop worth $2000 should have property docking support!

 

For years I was using Dell laptops, which have excellent docks. For once, I thought, let's go with another brand. I must admit, the Spectre is a great machine, but this kind of 'support' makes me want to send it back.

HP Recommended

Probably going back to Lenovo after this.  This is a nice laptop, but the charging issue is HUGE and will keep me from purchasing another laptop from HP.

HP Recommended

I have similar issue finding a compatible USB C sharger for my  HP Spectre X360 15T.  Even the OEM  HP USB C chargers (from X360 13)  do not work.  HP support has been no help on this issue.  I too will not repeat my businees with HP.

HP Recommended

If it's any help, the USB-C 4K Plugable dock (UD-ULTC4K) does charge my x360 15-112dx through either of the usb-c ports on the machine.  Of course, you get the popup from HP about non-branded power inputs.

The dock I'm using is not branded a thunderbolt dock,  nor does the usb-c port that goes to the computer have the thunderbolt logo.  I'm trending to the opinion that HP has blocked thunderbolt controlled docks from all sources as power inputs on several iterations of this platform made over the past year, since only a few have claimed that they were able to charge with a thunderbolt dock.

Yes, HP really screwed the pooch on the 2017 model, and magically, the 2018 version has the charging and display limitations "all fixed". 

Thanks for nothing, HP 

 

HP Recommended

UPDATE:
After jumping through hoops HP has acknowledge that the USB-C does not charge the Spectre and has removed it from the accessory list:

 

"After some research and some tech help it looks like this dock that we sent is in fact not compatible in which the online store shows that it is.
I sent an escalations report to the store to remove that off the site due to false advertisement.
Case Manager
HP Inc. AMS TCO Escalations Team"
HP Recommended

Do you have any contact information regarding this?  I want to get the ball rolling on getting my laptop returned, since not being able to use a charging hub is pretty much a showstopper for me and has caused me no end of frustration and money trying to find a dock that works.

† The opinions expressed above are the personal opinions of the authors, not of HP. By using this site, you accept the <a href="https://www8.hp.com/us/en/terms-of-use.html" class="udrlinesmall">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="/t5/custom/page/page-id/hp.rulespage" class="udrlinesmall"> Rules of Participation</a>.