HP G2 Universal Dock with HP Zbook laptop - display problems

[MultipleX]

I am having difficulty getting my Iiyama display working via the HP G2 dock on my HP Zbook laptop. The display has a maximum resolution of 2560x1440. The best i can get is when I connect it directly to the HDMI-0 port, which gives me full HDMI resolution of 1290x1080. When I connect the dock and the display via one of the DisplayPort connections on it, I get absolutely nothing on the display, not even the light turning blue to acknowledge connection.

When I connect the dock and plug the display into one of the DisplayPort sockets and run xrandr I see the following output:

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$ xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 1920 x 1080, maximum 32767 x 32767
DP-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-1 connected 1920x1080+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 344mm x 194mm
   1920x1080     60.01*+
DP-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
  2560x1440_60.00 (0x259) 311.830MHz -HSync
        h: width  2560 start 2744 end 3024 total 3488 skew    0 clock  89.40KHz
        v: height 1440 start 1441 end 1444 total 1490           clock  60.00Hz

I initially thought that DP-1 was one of the ports on the dock, but I have reason to think now that it is, in fact, the laptop display. I think the dock ports are DP-0 and DP-2. Its anyones guess why the HDMI port on the dock is not showing. HDMI-0 is the built-in HDMI port om the laptop.

I have tried adding a high-res mode:

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xrandr --newmode "2560x1440_60.00"  311.83  2560 2744 3024 3488  1440 1441 1444 1490  -HSync +Vsyncxrandr

This command works fine, but when I try to add the mode to a port I get:

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$ xrandr --addmode DP-0 "2560x1440_60.00"
X Error of failed request:  BadMatch (invalid parameter attributes)
  Major opcode of failed request:  140 (RANDR)
  Minor opcode of failed request:  18 (RRAddOutputMode)
  Serial number of failed request:  35
  Current serial number in output stream:  36

I tried adding the mode to the HDMI-0 port as well, but got the same error.

The dock works fine in Windows so I know that the hardware is capable. I also have Dell dock for work and connecting the laptop to that dock brings up the display automatically. So it seems like the HP dock needs a driver or something? Any help with this would be appreciated as I will have to give back the Dell dock soon and having spend a not insignificant sum on the HP dock, I don't want to have to buy another one if i can help it!

[j2mcgreg]

Please post the complete model name for the Liyama monitor.

[MultipleX]

Iiyama Prolite XB2779QS, model no. PL2779Q

[j2mcgreg]

There is a note at the very end of the monitor's manual:
https://iiyama.com/gl_en/products/prolite-xb2779qs-b1/
that says that a resolution of 2560x1440 is only attainable with a display port or DVI-D connection. I think that you should test with a DP cable before you do anything else.

[MultipleX]

Thanks. That does explain the resolution I get over HDMI. However, I am using a DisplayPort cable between dock and monitor. It does work at full resolution in Windows 11. Just won't work with Linux.

Having spent most of the day messing around with it and various xrandfr commands, I think the simplest solution might be to get a used Dell K20A001 dock off eBay which I already happen to know does work.

BTW, I did also find this:

https://www.synaptics.com/products/disp ... ads/ubuntu

and installed the driver from the MX repository, but unfortunately it didn't help.

[CharlesV]

A lot of resolutions are 'discovered' by drivers and you may have to test and setup some special config's for that dock. I would suspect that interrogating the 'monitor' when your in the dock means that the dock is responding.

Did xrandr give you the proper res when you checked it?

And did you try creating and forcing xrandr to use higher res settings?

If the answers to those two question 1) No, and 2) yes, then probably a different dock would be in order.

[MultipleX]

A lot of resolutions are 'discovered' by drivers and you may have to test and setup some special config's for that dock. I would suspect that interrogating the 'monitor' when your in the dock means that the dock is responding.

That is true when booted into Windows for sure. Windows automatically installed a driver for it, at which point the display was recognized and appeared in the "projector" dialogue and operates at its full resolution. Dock is connected to laptop via USB-C and the monitor to the dock with a Displyport cable.

Did xrandr give you the proper res when you checked it?

No just exactly what I posted in the first message. The output is the same regardless of the dock is, or is not connected. I am struggling to understand this because the ;laptop has no Displayport connectors, just USB, USB-C and HDMI.

And did you try creating and forcing xrandr to use higher res settings?

Yes and unfortunately no dice. I can add the new mode to xandr, but can't apply it to any port. I did also find and install a firmware update for the dock, but still no difference. It does seem like its not actually being detected and maybe needs a driver to be recognized. On that front it seems that it might be supported in Ubuntu 22.04 but HP do not seem to be very big on Linux support. There is a slightly later Displaylink driver from Synaptic for Ubuntu 22.04, but I haven't been able to install it because a previous version of evdi-dkms is already present. Besides I am not sure whether installing that version would be appropriate for this distribution? For now, I have removed the synaptic repository and stuck with the version from the MX repository.

If the answers to those two question 1) No, and 2) yes, then probably a different dock would be in order.

Looks like I win!

I do know that the Dell dock I have from work functions with both Windows and Linux on this laptop and just works automatically without any persuasion being required, but I will have to give that back soon. I have seen them for sale as a used item on eBay for less that 40GBP so perhaps the sum involved to replace it may not be that prohibitive, but that's what I thought when I purchased this HP dock. I figured that I couldn't go wrong with a HP dock for a HP laptop... However, biting the bullet and replacing might be quicker and easier than tearing my hair out trying to figure this thing out!

[MultipleX]

Just thought I would add the dmesg output. There's lots of USB activity as might be expected, but about two thirds of the way down it does identify a DisplayLink device. I think the Realtek device might the the Ethernet port. There is a warning about the volume range, not nothing to suggest any kind of connectivity error.

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[ 3246.425513] usb 1-13: new high-speed USB device number 9 using xhci_hcd
[ 3246.574488] usb 1-13: New USB device found, idVendor=03f0, idProduct=096b, bcdDevice= 6.11
[ 3246.574501] usb 1-13: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
[ 3246.574507] usb 1-13: Product: HP USB-C/A Universal Dock G2
[ 3246.574511] usb 1-13: Manufacturer: Microchip
[ 3246.576305] hub 1-13:1.0: USB hub found
[ 3246.576372] hub 1-13:1.0: 5 ports detected
[ 3246.865626] usb 1-13.3: new high-speed USB device number 10 using xhci_hcd
[ 3246.966809] usb 1-13.3: New USB device found, idVendor=03f0, idProduct=0e6b, bcdDevice= 1.21
[ 3246.966822] usb 1-13.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
[ 3246.966828] usb 1-13.3: Product: USB2734
[ 3246.966832] usb 1-13.3: Manufacturer: Microchip Tech
[ 3246.967781] hub 1-13.3:1.0: USB hub found
[ 3246.967829] hub 1-13.3:1.0: 4 ports detected
[ 3247.045518] usb 1-13.5: new full-speed USB device number 11 using xhci_hcd
[ 3247.151163] usb 1-13.5: New USB device found, idVendor=03f0, idProduct=0a6b, bcdDevice= 0.00
[ 3247.151176] usb 1-13.5: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 3247.151181] usb 1-13.5: Product: HP USB-C/A Universal Dock G2
[ 3247.151185] usb 1-13.5: Manufacturer: HP
[ 3247.151188] usb 1-13.5: SerialNumber: 11AD1D0A705A3F0D0F1B0B00
[ 3247.167035] input: HP HP USB-C/A Universal Dock G2 System Control as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb1/1-13/1-13.5/1-13.5:1.2/0003:03F0:0A6B.0008/input/input49
[ 3247.225529] hid-generic 0003:03F0:0A6B.0008: input,hiddev2,hidraw6: USB HID v1.11 Device [HP HP USB-C/A Universal Dock G2] on usb-0000:00:14.0-13.5/input2
[ 3248.473041] usb 6-2: new SuperSpeed USB device number 6 using xhci_hcd
[ 3248.493399] usb 6-2: New USB device found, idVendor=03f0, idProduct=0c6b, bcdDevice= 6.11
[ 3248.493408] usb 6-2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
[ 3248.493413] usb 6-2: Product: HP USB-C/A Universal Dock G2
[ 3248.493417] usb 6-2: Manufacturer: Microchip
[ 3248.495032] hub 6-2:1.0: USB hub found
[ 3248.495084] hub 6-2:1.0: 4 ports detected
[ 3248.789135] usb 6-2.2: new SuperSpeed USB device number 7 using xhci_hcd
[ 3248.810238] usb 6-2.2: New USB device found, idVendor=17e9, idProduct=601e, bcdDevice=31.02
[ 3248.810247] usb 6-2.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 3248.810251] usb 6-2.2: Product: HP USB-C Universal Docking Station
[ 3248.810255] usb 6-2.2: Manufacturer: DisplayLink
[ 3248.810257] usb 6-2.2: SerialNumber: 43A5B8E0FB1
[ 3248.823149] usb 6-2.2: Warning! Unlikely big volume range (=767), cval->res is probably wrong.
[ 3248.823156] usb 6-2.2: [4] FU [Mic Capture Volume] ch = 2, val = -4592/7680/16
[ 3248.824437] usb 6-2.2: Warning! Unlikely big volume range (=672), cval->res is probably wrong.
[ 3248.824441] usb 6-2.2: [7] FU [HP USB Media Audio Playback Volume] ch = 6, val = -10752/0/16
[ 3248.908994] usb 6-2.3: new SuperSpeed USB device number 8 using xhci_hcd
[ 3248.929543] usb 6-2.3: New USB device found, idVendor=03f0, idProduct=0d6b, bcdDevice= 1.21
[ 3248.929552] usb 6-2.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=2, Product=3, SerialNumber=0
[ 3248.929557] usb 6-2.3: Product: USB5734
[ 3248.929560] usb 6-2.3: Manufacturer: Microchip Tech
[ 3248.931135] hub 6-2.3:1.0: USB hub found
[ 3248.931195] hub 6-2.3:1.0: 4 ports detected
[ 3249.013081] usb 6-2.4: new SuperSpeed USB device number 9 using xhci_hcd
[ 3249.033935] usb 6-2.4: New USB device found, idVendor=0bda, idProduct=8153, bcdDevice=30.01
[ 3249.033943] usb 6-2.4: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=6
[ 3249.033946] usb 6-2.4: Product: USB 10/100/1000 LAN
[ 3249.033948] usb 6-2.4: Manufacturer: Realtek
[ 3249.033950] usb 6-2.4: SerialNumber: 000001
[ 3249.117419] r8152-cfgselector 6-2.4: reset SuperSpeed USB device number 9 using xhci_hcd
[ 3249.141818] r8152 6-2.4:1.0: firmware: direct-loading firmware rtl_nic/rtl8153a-4.fw
[ 3249.159426] r8152 6-2.4:1.0: load rtl8153a-4 v2 02/07/20 successfully
[ 3249.185752] r8152 6-2.4:1.0 eth1: v1.12.13

[CharlesV]

Since that dock has a thunderbolt port and what I am seeing is that is works on linux if there is a thunderbolt driver ?

Try installing bolt (mx Package Installer )

[MultipleX]

There are two versions, the Thunderbolt G2 dock and the Universal G2 dock. I have the latter. I will double-check to make sure when I get home, but I am fairly certain it does not have a Thunderbolt port. I will install and test with the bolt package anyway.

EDIT: No, this one does not have the Thunderbolt port. I have also updated the thread title.