Dell WD15 USB-C Dock compatibility?

[LeoP15]

Hi Guys
I'm so glad I found this thread as I'm getting crazy with this Dell dock...

At the moment here is my situation:
Dell WD15 with 180w charger, Macbook 12 retina (2015), Dell U2715H monitor

No way for me to be able to get video output.
The dock connected to the Macbook works in everything but video.
Usb hub working, charging working, LAN working, the external monitor does get recognised in system preferences but doesn't show anything. tried both Dp and HDMI, tried every single resolution/hz combination possible. Tried changing color profiles both on the Mac prefs and on the Dell monitor menu. Nothing.

Since I run Windows 10 as well with Bootcamp, tried with windows but same result. Went on Dell's support website to see if there was any firmware update but all I could find were 2 driver updates for LAN and Audio. Did install them, still nothing on the video side of course.

If I connect the monitor with the Apple AV Multiport adapter via HDMI, it works perfectly (2560x1440 @ 60hz) as long as the adapter is connected to power as well. If I disconnect power from the adapter, monitor screen will loose video as well.

What I'm wondering: I see on the connector of the WD15 dock cable (computer side) there's a small led that I think it's supposed to light on once connected to the computer, but in my case it doesn't. Could it be a problem of power/charging?
As I said the docks does charge the Mac but I cannot tell how many Watts power it gives.

Any help/suggestion would be much appreciated!

 

[ahendarman]

I am not sure why mine (and others) work while yours doesn't.
Here's the model that I have, you can compare it with yours.

In my setup, the video works from both the HDMI port and the miniDP port, but they are mirroring each other only.

The small LED on the USB-C connector is not on when it's connected to the Macbook. It is on when it's connected to the XPS 15.

I use coconut battery to tell me how many Watts it's charging.

Good luck

 

[LeoP15]

I am not sure why mine (and others) work while yours doesn't.
Here's the model that I have, you can compare it with yours.

In my setup, the video works from both the HDMI port and the miniDP port, but they are mirroring each other only.

The small LED on the USB-C connector is not on when it's connected to the Macbook. It is on when it's connected to the XPS 15.

I use coconut battery to tell me how many Watts it's charging.

Good luck

Thank you so much for your reply.

The model of my WD15 is exactly the same as the one showed in the picture you sent...

Going through the dell website I've found this note:

which probably explains that it is normal that the led doesn't light up.
However I am still struggling to understand why I cannot get video output.

Is there a way to check the firmware version on the dock? If yes, are you able to let me know what's your version?
I'm thinking the only solution left for me is to find a friend with a dell compatible notebook and go through the bios/firmware/drivers update (which is not available for non-dell systems) and maybe try again after that.

Many thanks again for your support

 

[ahendarman]

I think the dock firmware also got updated together with the Dell firmware / driver update related to this dock. So finding someone to update your dock with a Dell is good idea.

There are also some small differences between our setup. My monitor is U2412M (1920x1200), maybe it's resolution limited. I am also using miniDP to DVI active adapter ,maybe it makes a difference.

p.s. if you happen to be in Los Angeles (91301 zip), we can try with my XPS

 

[LogiLink]

It is true, that you can install drivers for WD-15, but only for Windows, and only in Dell Environment System.
I bought recently a new Macbook Pro Late 2016 with 2 USB-C ports.
Also, i bought Dell WD-15
Technical information given to all customers on the Dell website, convinced me to buy this hardware for 200$

First of all, Dell WD-15 never recharge your mac - no drivers, no charging, Dell forgot to mention ? Och dear !
Second, You never get 2 separate workspaces by connect 2 FHD monitors - the only thing that You can get is Screen Mirroring, no drivers, no separate workspaces, Dell forgot to mention ? Och dear !

So what really happens, when you connect 2 monitors to WD-15 ?
Nothing ! OS X System Spec's show's only one monitor !

How come ? There are 2 connected monitors ?

This method also does not work:
https://github.com/KhaosT/tb3-enabler

So, You can use WD-15 with new Macbook Pro 2016, if you do not care about 2 monitors.
- USB3 is working
- USB 2 is working
- Gigabit LAN is working
- Audio out is working

 

[ahendarman]

First of all, Dell WD-15 never recharge your mac - no drivers, no charging, Dell forgot to mention ? Och dear !
Second, You never get 2 separate workspaces by connect 2 FHD monitors - the only thing that You can get is Screen Mirroring, no drivers, no separate workspaces, Dell forgot to mention ? Och dear !

So, You can use WD-15 with new Macbook Pro 2016, if you do not care about 2 monitors.
- USB3 is working
- USB 2 is working
- Gigabit LAN is working
- Audio out is working

The WD15 charges the Macbook, it is part of the USB-C standard and does not depends on a software driver.
It's just the small LED on the USB-C connectors is not lit when connected to Macbook while it does when connected to a Dell.

I agree with you on connecting two monitors. I got exactly the same behavior.

Still a good looking dock with plenty of useful working functions. I use it everyday.

 

[LogiLink]

The WD15 charges the Macbook, it is part of the USB-C standard and does not depends on a software driver.
View attachment 681039

Well, You right - talking with Dell technical support, they mentioned that there are some problems with charging none Dell device, so it is possible that this is related to led on USB-C connector.

So now we need to wait for someone, who can prepare driver for OS X
One question remains, what about the original charger, if it gives the same voltage values ?
And when you connect the WD-15 and Apple charger, from which device Mac will be charged ?

 

[ahendarman]

The WD15 charges the MacBook at about the same rate as the Apple charger (17.77W vs 18.20W).
Your MBP should charge at higher rate as shown on your screen shot.
My MacBook only have one port, so I can't connect both

 

[rockethouse]

Did you do anything differently? Install new drivers etc?

Hey sorry for the late reply. Nope i didn't do anything special just plugged it in and it worked.

EDIT: I bought a second one of these for my office so I have the same setup and home and the office and both were working fine for several weeks but now my home one's USB ports have stopped working... Charging and Monitor still works fine but nothing else... not sure if this is a bug with Sierra but I don't think I've updated since.

Anyone else having issues with the USB ports? I plugged in a portable HDD and the light on the HDD lights up but nothing comes up on the mac. My audio interface does nothing at all... no lights or connection.
[doublepost=1483772482][/doublepost]Well I just checked my charge rate and its only 8 Watts...? I wonder if thats causing the issue of the USB ports dropping out. Could this be a power issue from my house? or a faulty WD15? I'll run a test on my office wd15 and see how that goes.

 

[KvR]

I have the same issue with my MacBook 12 (2015). At the office we have multiple WD15's and for the live of me I can't get any video out. The display is recognized. But just no output. I am even under the impression my mouse pointer moves into the void.. I'll double check tomorrow. It might be something about the 2015 model. It should support Displayport 1.2 over USB-C. And other adapters work fine.

Hi Guys
Dell WD15 with 180w charger, Macbook 12 retina (2015), Dell U2715H monitor
...
No way for me to be able to get video output.
The dock connected to the Macbook works in everything but video.
...
Any help/suggestion would be much appreciated!

 

[LogiLink]

With WD-15 everything works, but You can't get 2 separate workspaces by connect 2 FHD monitors.

You need drivers, and Dell does not support apple OS. End of story.

 

[KvR]

With WD-15 everything works, but You can't get 2 separate workspaces by connect 2 FHD monitors.

You need drivers, and Dell does not support apple OS. End of story.

There is still a difference in behaviour between 2015 MacBook and 2016 MacBooks

 

[LogiLink]

different cpu architecture ?

 

[Atusen]

EDIT: I bought a second one of these for my office so I have the same setup and home and the office and both were working fine for several weeks but now my home one's USB ports have stopped working... Charging and Monitor still works fine but nothing else... not sure if this is a bug with Sierra but I don't think I've updated since.

I have the exact same issue. WD15 worked with my MB until last week when the USB-ports and NIC stopped working. I didn't use external monitor before, so I don't know if it worked, but today I connected a VGA-monitor and it works.

I have latest OSX10.12.2, no updates available. I have no Dell to update the firmware on the WD15-dock. That's probably the next step in the troubleshooting.

SUMMARIZE:
USB-ports: Doesn't work
NIC-port: Doesn't work
Headphone-port: Doesn't work
VGA-port: Works
DP/HDMI/Line-out: Not tested
Charging MB: Works

ADDITIONAL INFO:
I have now tested another WD15 dock in my MB, same result. This dock was used by another Mac user with a MBP-touchbar and worked one day to stop working the next day (2017-01-19 -- 2017-01-20). No Apple updates have been applied from one day to the next day. The MBP-touchbar has OSX10.12.2.

SOLUTION:
I now found a solution! Reboot the Mac in safe mode (Reboot and hold down SHIFT). Reboot again to normal mode and the WD15 works!

I'll continue the troubleshooting to see if the dock hangs again, and if updating firmware stops the misbehaviour.

 

[KvR]

I have the same issue with my MacBook 12 (2015). At the office we have multiple WD15's and for the live of me I can't get any video out. The display is recognized. But just no output. I am even under the impression my mouse pointer moves into the void.. I'll double check tomorrow. It might be something about the 2015 model. It should support Displayport 1.2 over USB-C. And other adapters work fine.

Using a colleagues Dell laptop I updated the WD15 to the latest firmware and now it works with my 2015 MacBook. One screen, but that's the MacBook not the WD15.

 

[Flakeinator]

I must just have an old version or something - the display is the only thing working well. It mirrors or extends, too.

Did you do anything differently? Install new drivers etc?

So I have a brand new (a few weeks old) 15" MacBook Pro with touchbar and I use the Dell USB-C dock 130watt version and Dual Dell P2317H displays. Here is a breakdown of how things work (also this is my work machine so all this is being done at work not in a home environment):

1. The ethernet, USB, charging, and HDMI all work just fine.
2. The Displayport works but only does mirroring. This is a limitation of Apple since they played around with Displayport/MacOS to prevent it from working if not Thunderbolt. It is also the same reason that I can't daisy chain two Displayport 1.2 displays together.

I also use a Dell USB-C adapter that has ethernet, USB 3, VGA, and HDMI on it. This things works great as well and is very compact.

I would also like to add as of doing the update last week for macOS Sierra it has broken the ethernet on the dock (I am using the adapter mentioned above instead) and I have also having troubles with the dock in general keeping its connection via USB-C to my machine. The dongle is still working just fine and I have switched to using the Ethernet on that instead. Once a new update comes out I will see if that fixes things for me.

 

[camcancook]

So, You can use WD-15 with new Macbook Pro 2016, if you do not care about 2 monitors.
- USB3 is working
- USB 2 is working
- Gigabit LAN is working
- Audio out is working

I have the Macbook pro 2016 and the Dell WD-15.
I'm unable to hear audio through the dock. Can you provide any guidance?

I updated the firmware for the WD-15 to 1.0.0.8 released 2016/12/20.
The audio works fine thru the dock when I have my dell XPS plugged in via the thunderbolt port, so maybe it's a setting on my mac?

 

[Flakeinator]

I have the Macbook pro 2016 and the Dell WD-15.
I'm unable to hear audio through the dock. Can you provide any guidance?

***UPDATE***

So I tested this morning at work the Apple headphones plugged into the dock via the port in the front. I am playing audio just fine through the dock. There is a newer update for the Dock that was released last week that might help. Also when connected to the dock with headphones plugged in option-click on the sound icon in the bar at the top of the screen and be sure to select Realtek USB2.0 Audio. Once I did that sound started to play. I am going to switch back now to my Bluetooth headphones. Hope that helps.

View attachment 688452
I updated the firmware for the WD-15 to 1.0.0.8 released 2016/12/20.
The audio works fine thru the dock when I have my dell XPS plugged in via the thunderbolt port, so maybe it's a setting on my mac?

I am sorry but I can't. I use Bluetooth headphones with my Mac for my audio so I haven't tried through the dock. If I have a chance I will try it tomorrow and see if it works. There is also an HDMI adapter from Dell that I use for HDMI so I have dual screens. Still disappointed I can't use DisplayPort.

 

[bakermd]

Just throwing this one out there:
Sierra 10.12.3
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
Nixeus Display Port ONLY display: NX-VUE27D

USB and Ethernet worked right out of the box.
Laptop charges and runs totally off USB-C once battery is full.
Have not tested audio.
Getting the display to do anything other than 1280x720 required creating a custom SwitchResX profile @ 40hz. (running the native resolution of 2560x1440)

Overall I am satisfied.

 

[Flakeinator]

Just throwing this one out there:
Sierra 10.12.3
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
Nixeus Display Port ONLY display: NX-VUE27D

USB and Ethernet worked right out of the box.
Laptop charges and runs totally off USB-C once battery is full.
Have not tested audio.
Getting the display to do anything other than 1280x720 required creating a custom SwitchResX profile @ 40hz. (running the native resolution of 2560x1440)

Overall I am satisfied.

HDMI works without an issue but I ended up with Ethernet troubles. When running network utility I would get send errors that were caused by device overflows. I switched to a thunderbolt 3 to 2 adapter and then thunderbolt 2 to Ethernet and those errors have disappeared. I even tried a different USB C dock and a different port in the same wallplate. Not sure if it is an Apple thing or a Dell thing. Maybe too much data being sent through the Dock but Gigabit should be Gigabit.

 

[nardow12]

MacBook Pro 2016, 13, Touch Bar,
Sierra 10.12.3
Installed DisplayLink software for Mac
Not sure about firmware of the WD15

DP works, charging works

However Ethernet and USB does not work at all, tried multiple USB devices and network that works on other laptops, just doesn't work.

Have anyone seen this before? The charging and DP (I guess these are passthrough features?) works but USB and ethernet are totally dead, I do not have my XPS at this time and can't update the firmware, but I'm thinking this could be an issue with the dock's hardware if USBs are not showing at all.

 

[Flakeinator]

MacBook Pro 2016, 13, Touch Bar,
Sierra 10.12.3
Installed DisplayLink software for Mac
Not sure about firmware of the WD15

DP works, charging works

However Ethernet and USB does not work at all, tried multiple USB devices and network that works on other laptops, just doesn't work.

Have anyone seen this before? The charging and DP (I guess these are passthrough features?) works but USB and ethernet are totally dead, I do not have my XPS at this time and can't update the firmware, but I'm thinking this could be an issue with the dock's hardware if USBs are not showing at all.

My post right above mentions this. The Ethernet for me kept having send errors and the display port only did mirroring so I used HDMI instead. For Ethernet I use Apple adapters and USB does work for me.

 

[nardow12]

My post right above mentions this. The Ethernet for me kept having send errors and the display port only did mirroring so I used HDMI instead. For Ethernet I use Apple adapters and USB does work for me.

DP works for me, but the USB and ethernet ports are non-existence on my Macbook, so I think we are dealing with totally different issues here but damn this WD15 and MacOS thing is annoying

 

[jolsonz]

I have the Macbook pro 2016 and the Dell WD-15.
I'm unable to hear audio through the dock. Can you provide any guidance?

View attachment 688452
I updated the firmware for the WD-15 to 1.0.0.8 released 2016/12/20.
The audio works fine thru the dock when I have my dell XPS plugged in via the thunderbolt port, so maybe it's a setting on my mac?

The same with your trouble, WD15 works well on dell XPS 13 9360 but the audio out dosen't work on mbp 2016 13 inch, have you solved it? If you have please give me a hand.

 

[va1984]

Using the WD15 Dock w/DP, I can only get to 720 vertical on my Apple 27inch Cinema Display (1/2 resolution of native).

Is this still true after the latest firmware updates for the WD15? I am considering the same combo (12" MacBook -- Dell WD15 -- ACD 27).
At present, I have a 2016 MBP and Apple Thunderbolt Display but for various reasons I want to downgrade both...