I recently got a new MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt 3 ports. These ports are great because they can carry power, USB and output to an external display simultaneously. Not a lot of accessories are available on the market yet though besides simple adapters from USB-C to things like USB, HDMI, VGA, Thunderbolt 2, or Ethernet. Belkin has announced the Belkin Thunderbolt 3 Express Dock HD, but it seems like it will be priced upwards of $300. Dell's XPS 13 and 15 series however has included Thunderbolt 3 for a year now and Dell makes some nice docking stations for them:
It is certified to work with MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air,. DELL UNIVERSAL DOCK – D6000 WITH UP TO 65W POWER DELIVERY. RECOMMENDED ACCESSORIES. Based on Dell internal analysis of competitive products using publicly available data as of February 2019. 4 Based on Dell internal analysis, February 2019. The Dell D6000 Universal Dock is the best USB-C laptop docking station that you can buy right now. It brings back the legacy ports and more to your brand new Dell XPS or MacBook Pro, with a total of 11 ports. Whether you want to connect your old USB drives or add multiple monitors to enhance your workflow, the Dell D6000 is the right laptop.
Appreciate the dual-display ports. Using with two 2K Dell P2421 displays and my Dell Inspiron laptop. USB-C is able to both connect and charge the laptop too. No need for the separate barrel cable charger. Use that for travel now. Would highly recommend but if you use a MacBook is skip as MacBook Pro doesn't support Display ports through this Dock. With the Dell Universal Dock - D6000. Enjoy universal compatibility with a wide range of PC brands and operating systems supported by DisplayLink technology. Whether you're at your desk or in a shared workspace, you can easily connect to displays, a mouse, keyboard and audio devices from your compatible system of choice. Macbook Pro 2016 and Dell TB16 only works with one monitor. I have tried a combination of hdmi with display port and mdp. Both screens flicker and eventually the mbp is unable to keep a stable image. I have tried this with tb3 enabler. I haven't tried audio but can verify that it does charge the laptop, ethernet connection works and usb 3.0.
Dell DA200: small portable device with Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3, VGA and HDMI.
Dell WD15: stationary device with a size similar to a paperback book, with a 130W or 180W power brick. Over the DA200, it adds mini-DisplayPort, 2x USB2, 2x USB3, Speaker and Headset outputs. It also passes power through to the computer.
Dell TB15: This model appears to have been recalled because it didn't run stable and replaced with the TB16.
Dell TB16: stationary device shaped like a stack of a dozen CD cases, with a 180W or 240W power brick. Over the WD15, it adds DisplayPort. Note that it connects to the computer via Thunderbolt 3 instead of USB-C, which means it can deliver higher screen resolutions (see below).
First of all, the DA200 just works. VGA and HDMI run up to a resolution of 2048×1152 pixels at 60 Hz (even though Dell says it only supports 1920×1080), Ethernet works without installing a driver (it contains the same Realtek chip, PCI ID 0bda:8153, that the official Belkin USB-C adapter uses). HDCP-encrypted HDMI works fine, as confirmed by starting a Netflix video.
Next up, the WD15. I first hooked it up via mini-DisplayPort and was disappointed to find that it only runs up to 2048×1152 pixels. Switching to HDMI alleviated the problem and my screen ran at its native 2560×1440 pixels — though the colors were all messed up because the computer was outputting YCrCb while the screen was interpreting that as RGB, but that is easily fixed by creating an EDID override. HDCP works just fine — even though Dell says the dock doesn't support it. Dell also says that the dock can do 4K resolutions (3840×2160 pixel) only at 30 Hz, so if you want to hook up a 4K display, don't get this dock. The dock has a power button, but it didn't surprise me to find out that it didn't power up the Macbook. The Macbook did, however, automatically turn on when plugging in the USB-C cable, even in clamshell mode. One oddity I found was that the front left USB 3 port would only deliver power, not data, while a device was plugged into the rear USB 3 port — while I did not find this documented anywhere, it seems likely that this is a hardware limitation and not a Mac issue — see below for more information. Audio works fine too (it's a Realtek chip, PCI ID 0bda:4014), but you need to use Audio MIDI Setup and click the 'Configure Speakers' to assign left/right either to the first stream (headphone output on front) or the second stream (audio output on the back):
Finally, the Dell TB16. I didn't have this one for testing because the WD15 suffices for my application. Dell says that you can run two 4K displays or one 5K (5120×2880 pixel) display, all at 60 Hz. I assume everything else will work just as it does with the WD15. For USB purposes however, I believe this dock contains a PCIe-attached USB 3.1 chip as the USB-C Alternate Mode Partner Matrix shows that a superspeed USB signal cannot be carried if high-resolution video is transferred. According to one of my readers, it doesn't work out of the box unfortunately.
USB 3 problems
It seems like I can't reliably use all USB 3 ports on the WD15 simultaneously. Sometimes they all work, but after the next reboot or unplug/replug cycle, once ceases to work. I had initially believed this to be a hardware limitation, but it appears to be a bug in Apple's USB 3 drivers. sudo dmesg shows messages like these:
So the OS shuts down the USB hub. If you google these messages, you'll find a large number of reports of it occurring with all kinds of USB hubs, but no solutions. So Apple just needs to get their drivers fixed.
https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/dell-universal-dock-d6000/apd/452-bcyt/pc-accessories reviews indicate it will work with the Mac. You might want to see if any give details about what makes it work.
Dell D6000 Macbook Pro 2019 Specs
Note, this hub is only 65W. Others are 100W and depending on the power of the device, may need that extra power.
Dell D6000 Macbook Pro
The USB-C cable that comes with the power brick from Apple is a power only cable, and does not do video or data transfer. Be sure to use a different USB-C cable if your computer only has USB-C. SIIG makes some really good 100W pass through USB-C hubs.
Dell D6000 Macbook Pro 2019 Price
Aug 28, 2020 12:50 PM
