Has anyone compiled a diagnostic procedure to reveal why neither of my docks will charge my brand new Librem11 tablet?
Or why the L11 fails to put any content on a dock-connected USB-C 4K display (despite being detected)?
There was a similar issue posted to the L5 category, with a response to check the compatibility chart. I don’t see one for the L11, nor an indication of whether Crimson (shipped on the L11) would be any different than Byzantium.
Thanks to everyone who contributes here!
Crimson with L11 works fine. Dock make and model depends on if it’s supported or not.
Does the behaviour differ if you connect the display directly to the Librem 11, bypassing the dock?
Can you clarify the type of connection to the display? Does the display take actual USB-C input? So the dock supports video-in and video-out via USB-C? Or the dock takes video-in via USB-C and outputs it as e.g. HDMI, so the display has an HDMI input? (It may help to specify the make and model of monitor and to provide a product link.)
Dock 1 is a Dell WD19TB (thunderbolt 3); I don’t see specifics about the output, but the input is 19.5V@9.23A, and the docs say non-Dell power delivery up to 90W. (https://www.dell.com/support/manuals/en-us/dell-wd19tb-dock/wd19_tb_userguide/docking-specifications?guid=guid-cd615eef-5015-4931-bf9b-e19f9cf50c4d)
The monitor is a brand new Dell S2725QC 27" USB-C (displayport on USB-C). The Librem11 does not even detect the monitor when connected directly. It detects the monitor only through the dock (without being powered by the dock), but does not use it (windows stop at the tablet screen boundary), and the display reports “No USB-C signal detected from your device”.
The new monitor is detected and functions expected when plugged directly into my Lenovo Yoga laptop running Windoze 10.
More weirdness: A wireless (dongled) mouse functions through the dock. When I click on the monitor-specific menu in the Settings-Display dialog, none of the dropdowns function, and the dialog becomes unresponsive to all mouse clicks (can’t go back, can’t even close the settings dialog, although the hover-highlighting is active).
I see a flood of ‘g_’ and 'gtk_’ assertion failed messages in syslog, and a few “stack trace for context 0x…” messages implicating resource:///org/gnome/shell/ui/ponterAllyTimeout.js
This new monitor has only a USB-C (Displayport) connection and an HDMI connection. When connected only through HDMI, it functions as expected, through the dock or through a 9-in-1 hub, but only if I manually change the refresh rate to 30 Hz (on detection, the Librem11 sets it to 60 Hz).
[EDIT] AHA, then if I reconnect the monitor through the dock’s USB-C connector, the displays dialog now allows me to downgrade the refresh to 30Hz and the display functions as expected (although apparently the Librem11 is not willing to drive 60Hz 4K externally).
The other dock is a Kensington SD5550T, input 20V@6.25A and claims 60W power delivery throught a Thunderbolt 3 usb-c 3.0 connector.
This dock does not have a USB-C Displayport output, only Displayport native, which has a 27" ASUS HD monitor connected. This monitor is detected and used correctly with the Librem11.
@nerd7473 I was hoping there was a compatibility list somewhere, or better yet a discussion of how I might hack the OS to enable the device(s).
There are other threads with comprehensive diagnostics and such, as well as workarounds.
You need specifics about the output. The specifics would list each supported voltage and the maximum current that it can supply at that voltage. As an example, here’s what’s written on a random laptop USB-C power adapter for a laptop that I have here:
5V max 3A
9V max 3A
12V max 3A
15V max 3A
20V max 5A
That’s the kind of information that you are looking for.
So from this I can tell that it is capable of powering the laptop that it is used with (you would hope so!) but I can also tell that I could use it with a Librem 11 (if I had one) and I could use it with a Librem 5 - if for some reason I had mislaid the supplied charger for one of those Librem devices. (In other words, this is useful information to have for any USB-C PD device that can supply power.)
One of the voltages listed must be the voltage that the Librem 11 documentation specifies and, realistically, the USB-C PD supply needs to have a maximum current at that voltage that is greater than or equal to the required current that the Librem 11 documentation specifies.
The Librem 11 documentation that I linked to specifically notes
Not all USB Type C PD power adapters support this mode.
so my guess is that your dock does not support the required mode.
For clarity, the maximum power output of a USB-C PD power supply could be used to eliminate the power supply as “not usable” but it can never be used to confirm the power supply as “usable”.
Glad you have made progress on the display side of things.