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My docking station does not work reliably

Unreliable operation of docking stations can have many causes. With this detailed FAQ article, we would like to empower the user to narrow down the cause of failure as granularly as possible.

Comparison with our Docking Station Recommendation Matrix

Please check first if the combination of your laptop and docking station is listed in this table:

You can find more information about this table in this FAQ article:  Which docking stations are recommended for XMG laptops?

The information gathered there typically leads to the following conclusions:

  • If the combination of your laptop and docking station is marked with a simple "X", then that docking station is generally not recommended for this laptop because it does not provide the best user experience due to platform compatibility differences. In such cases, we would refrain from further troubleshooting and rather recommend a dock that is marked as "recommended" for your laptop.
  • If the combination of your laptop and docking station is marked with a double "XX" in the table, then there is a known incompatibility that cannot be resolved. In this case, we would definitely recommend switching to another docking station model.

If your docking station is not yet listed in our list or even recommended with a tick mark, please refer to the following troubleshooting steps.

General connection problems

  • The USB-C cables included with docking stations are not always the best due to cost. It is worth trying to swap the cable for a higher quality cable that is certified for Thunderbolt 4. This also applies to docking stations on laptops that do not support Thunderbolt. The certification for Thunderbolt 4 promises the highest quality - regardless of which features are ultimately used. Ideally, the cable should not be longer than 30cm.
  • In many laptop models, the USB-C port is able to supply power to peripherals even when switched off. If this feature is deactivated, it may lead to incompatibilities with some docking stations. See if enabling this feature and then rebooting solves the problem. For XMG CORE and XMG NEO, this feature is located in the Control Center under "General Settings" (see screenshot).
  • If the laptop is able to be charged via USB-C, it is worth trying it out without this feature. To do this, simply plug the laptop's original power supply into the power supply port directly on the laptop.
  • Check with us for firmware or driver updates for your laptop. USB-C and Thunderbolt compatibility depends on EC, BIOS, chipset drivers, and the graphics driver used for image output, among other things. The effect of EC/BIOS updates in particular should not be underestimated. You can find the relevant instructions in the download portal for your particular model.
  • If the docking station is able to have its own power supply connection, make sure to use it.
  • Finally, it is also possible that the docking station has its own defect that is not related to the laptop. Please test the docking station with the same peripherals on another laptop with Thunderbolt or USB-C.

Connection problems in relation to external monitors

Please refer to the following FAQ article:  My external monitor does not work reliably

Further steps

If there is no improvement despite these troubleshooting tips, please contact our support team. Please provide the following information:

  • Model number of the docking station used (with a link to the product page where the monitor was purchased, if applicable).
  • Model number of the monitor used (if applicable, with a link to the product page where the monitor was purchased)
  • Model number of the cables and adapters used (with link, if applicable)
  • Specification of the resolution, refresh rate, colour depth and colour space coding used (chroma subsampling)
  • Information on whether the laptop is operated with the original power supply in addition to the docking station.
  • Exact details of the specific problem. If, for example, the signal on the display fails only sporadically, please state how often and in which situation this usually happens. If the problem is difficult to put into words, please record a short video with your mobile phone and make it available to us, e.g. via streamable.com.
  • Please indicate which of the above tips have already been tried and how they have affected the behaviour of the device.