USB-C Travel Dock HDMI not working (other connects work)

[tes4352]

Hi there ---

I have a USB-C Travel Dock that I've been using since June 2017 on the HP Spectre x360 15 to connect multiple items, one being a second external monitor, (the first is also plugged directly into the laptop).  It's been working flawlessly since then.

I had to take in my laptop recently due to a swollen battery issue which seems to be quite common among these laptops from what I have read on this site.

During this time, I used a different HP laptop to do my work -- an HP Notebook 15.  Interestingly enough, when I received this new laptop, the HDMI port on the dock wouldn't recognize my second screen until I switched the monitor cables with each other 3 times.  And everytime the computer went to sleep, when it woke up, it would not recognize my second monitor until I switched the cables back and forth exactly three times.  I finally figured out on my own, that if I completely shut down my system instead of putting it to sleep, it would auto-recognize both monitors immediately on startup.  Very odd, but it worked.

Once I got my Spectre back, I plugged that one back in to the dock and kept working as normal.  Everything worked great.  

Then when I was having issues with an external program, I plugged back in the Notebook which was in sleep mode to the dock and the secondary monitor wouldn't work again, even after switching the cables (not a big deal since I was planning to go back to the Spectre anyway after my external software test).  When I plugged the spectre back into the dock, the second monitor would no longer work either!  So both monitors were working yesterday morning through both laptops and the dock, and now neither computer will recognize the second monitor plugged into the hub.  Yet, all other items plugged into the hub through USB connection work fine.  What could have possibly gone wrong?

Thanks in advance for any help received.

[The_Fossette]

@tes4352,

Welcome to the HP Support Community!

I assure you I will try my best to get this sorted.

In order that I may provide you with an accurate solution, I will need a few more details and I would appreciate if you could, perhaps elaborate on your concern.

• What is the product number of your computer?
• What is the make and model of the docking station?
• Have you performed any troubleshooting steps before posting?

Look forward to hearing from you and you have a great day!

Take care.

Cheers!

[tes4352]

Product number of laptop: z4z35ua#aba

dock make and model is hp usb-c travel dock. I don’t have any other info except a serial number for that one. 

[Echo_Lake]

@tes4352

Thank you for posting back. 

Don't worry as I'll be glad to help, As we have limited support boundaries in the support community as of now.

I would request you to contact our Support and our Support Engineers should be able to sort this out. HP Support can be reached by clicking on the following link: www.hp.com/contacthp/

Please feel free to contact us here anytime you need any further assistance. Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

[tes4352]

Well, I let the dock sit for a while, not plugged in for several weeks.  Then I decided to give it another try -- this time I plugged the hdmi cable in first, into the dock, before plugging the dock in.  And left all other connectors unplugged.  I plugged the dock in, with the hdmi cable already connected, and voila... works again.  No rhyme or reason to it; it just started working again like magic. It's not really a solution as it makes no sense, but in case it helps anybody else out there, I wanted to post what finally worked for me.