Nice to know, thank you!
I think @Hristo’s point is that … that is the situation today but with a lot of the plugin hardware that he has tried, it is unreliable. Which goes to my point that we can hope that in the timeframe that Purism might deliver Librem 5v2, the market will mature.
I think that only someone actually attempting to design a phone can answer. It may not be “that bad” or it may actually be quite difficult to fit in, necessitating more redesign and/or a bigger device.
While you have a monitor that does not supply power over usb-c, I would like to mention the Lenovo Thinkvision M14: a 14" portable that has two usb-c ports with displayport alt mode. Once I have received my Librem 5 I’ll verify the M14 can both act as a display and power supply for the Librem 5 (I expect it will).
3 Likes
This would be awesome. I am looking forward to your review.
3 Likes
2 Likes
I would be surprised if that works - but keep us posted.
Today I decided to do some new tests on this set-up.
To my huge surprise it actually works.
Last time I tried I was not aware about the commands for checking the negotiated current and so when I saw the Librem 5 discharging I decided that it does not work.
But in fact I get negotiated 5V 1A and depending on the work load on the Librem 5 the battery either discharges or charges.
So when I watch a video in Clipper the battery discharges, but when I listen to music in Myuzi the battery charges.
Currently this is the only set-up that works for me with perfectly stable video picture without any interruptions. And this is the most travel friendly set-up. No need to carry around a USB-C dock. So I think I will use it often in the future.
The limitation is that thus I don’t have free USB ports for additional devices, but I can live with this.
8 Likes
If you don’t mind my asking, what monitor is that (make/model)? Is it a touch screen? If so, does the touch screen work with the Librem 5?
Anyway, looks like a cool setup. 
1 Like
It is a portable monitor without touch function and without integrated battery (Chineese brand Cocopar).
So I use the Bluetooth keyboard in order to use applications on the external monitor.
1 Like
The ThinkVision M14 works out of the box with the Librem 5. The Librem 5 powers the display on it’s own with no external power supply, and also accepts power supplied through the M14.
I’ll post photos later this week.
5 Likes
Please report here as well how much power does the Librem 5 get from the ThinkVision M14.
2 Likes
Yet not longer than couple of minutes (I guess). Anyway, M14 monitor is having two USB 3.1 Gen2 (I guess) Type-C ports and this makes it quite different device (if I’m getting this right). Those two USB Type-C FHD60Hz (5.4 Gbit/s), while having official DisplayPort Logo, ports might easily be independent from each other (for example that user can connect two different computers to it and switch over through monitor menu to that particular source)? Just asking while I do not think everything will work out-of-the-box with Librem 5 (either/or):
https://p4-ofp.static.pub/fes/cms/2021/10/01/ecv7iaw1ffne7bouqtdvpto08098s8658820.jpg.
Is this or other similar cable something to get for M14 monitor and use it with docking station (hub) of your choice? Please let me know what you think about such small HDMI to USB-C cable (as I’m focused last few days to understand how things might work together, if so). Although my thoughts more related toward some touchscreen solution (probably USB-HID related). My thoughts adding touch capability yet both of your M14 monitor USB-C ports are of very special kind and I wish you to start using it with your Librem 5.
Either left side or right side USB-C port is used to power M14 monitor, yet might be that opposite one used with connected Librem 5 is not charging it sufficiently. Am I having wrong? Asking while do not know, not familiar with.
Power delivery with a Dell laptop charger through the M14:
POWER_SUPPLY_NAME=tps6598x-source-psy-0-003f
POWER_SUPPLY_TYPE=USB
POWER_SUPPLY_USB_TYPE=SDP DCP CDP C [PD]
POWER_SUPPLY_ONLINE=1
POWER_SUPPLY_PRESENT=1
POWER_SUPPLY_CURRENT_MAX=3000000
POWER_SUPPLY_VOLTAGE_MAX=5000000
Power delivery with the Librem 5 charger through the M14:
POWER_SUPPLY_NAME=tps6598x-source-psy-0-003f
POWER_SUPPLY_TYPE=USB
POWER_SUPPLY_USB_TYPE=SDP DCP CDP C [PD]
POWER_SUPPLY_ONLINE=1
POWER_SUPPLY_PRESENT=1
POWER_SUPPLY_CURRENT_MAX=1500000
POWER_SUPPLY_VOLTAGE_MAX=5000000
3 Likes
Power delivery through the M14 seems stable. Why would it not be?
Connecting it to two devices and switch between them seems not supported.
I cannot tell, but what I can tell is that dp alt mode is tricky. My usb hub does not support dp alt mode, and the M14 does not relay usb signals if I use the hub as a power source. This means that I can only connect the M14 to the Librem 5. Keyboard and mouse would have to go via bluetooth. Or maybe this expensive hub will work: https://www.delock.de/produkt/64157/merkmale.html
The M14t is the touchscreen variant of the M14.
I’ve switched the connections, the Librem 5 charges at the same rate at either port on the M14.
1 Like
Fantastic, thank you very much for the review. It seems like a very good option for L5 owners. You are really lucky with both your monitor and hub.
Quarnero meant the situation when you don’t power the M14 externally. This means the L5 battery powering both the L5 and M14 and for that reason one could expect that such case it would not work for long until the L5 battery is down.
2 Likes
IMO, you should at first place try to bring your 3 port USB hub to life, in order to charge Librem 5 when connected to some monitor. See on how (approach-wise) here:
Actually this one: https://www.artwizz.com/en/smartphone-accessories/technics/powerplug-usb-c-15w_28421_15850/ is slightly more advanced option to provide enough power to your Librem 5 over Delock 64062.
Short answer and only one would be: don’t even consider to buy it (if not USB-IF USB4® certified/compatible).
In order to have M14 (without touchscreen) monitor working you would need either Club 3D CAC-1332, CAC-1336 or latest CAC-1504. Actually just asking for your opinion on those or such adapters (those need 5V/1A, for integrated micro USB port there, from some external power source), general opinion. Do you “see” them working with M14 monitor?
1 Like
Ah of course, thank you.
This works just fine: Librem 5 -> usb-c -> hub -> hdmi -> 43" 4k monitor
as can also be seen in What is the smallest USB-C hub
What does not work with the products I have is either:
Librem 5 -> usb-c > M14 -> usb-c -> hub
or
Librem 5 -> usb-c -> hub -> usb-c -> M14
This seems because the M14 does not relay keyboard/mouse from the hub, and the hub does not relay dp alternate mode.
A portable configuration would be to use a bluetooth variant of the Thinkpad keyboard with the Librem 5 and Thinkvision M14.
The Delock 64157 is thunderbolt 4 certified and specifies:
Two 4K monitors or one 8K monitor can be connected, as the Thunderbolt™ port supports DP Alternate Mode.
These adapters all seem to have hdmi. That will not work as neither Librem 5 nor M14 have an hdmi port. And as these are just adapters (not a hub or a docking station) there are options to connect keyboard and mouse.
1 Like