Cannot connect/detect external monitor using a DisplayLink [solved]

[StickyTongue]

Hi all,

I am unable to connect my computer to an external monitor. Although I have had my computer for a while, I have never been able to do this even when I got the computer new and freshly installed linux mint (which was Mint 19 at the time).

I have a DELL XPS 13 9370 with three USB-C ports. I am currently running Linux Mint 20.1. I have a DisplayLink adapter from DELL D3100 (although I have tried other adapters which did not solve my problems). I have tried multiple monitors and the current one I am using is an Acer. I have tried googling and trying multiple recommendations such as this one: viewtopic.php?t=294856 and had no success.

Any suggestions how I could connect my system to an external monitor?

Many thanks!

This is my system specs:

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inxi -Fxxxrz

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System:    Kernel: 5.4.0-70-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.3.0 Desktop: Cinnamon 4.8.6 wm: muffin 4.8.1 
           dm: LightDM 1.30.0 Distro: Linux Mint 20.1 Ulyssa base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:   Type: Laptop System: Dell product: XPS 13 9370 v: N/A serial: <filter> Chassis: type: 9 serial: <filter> 
           Mobo: Dell model: 0F6P3V v: A00 serial: <filter> UEFI: Dell v: 1.0.2 date: 12/06/2017 
Battery:   ID-1: BAT0 charge: 34.1 Wh condition: 34.6/52.0 Wh (67%) volts: 8.8/7.6 model: SMP DELL G8VCF6C type: Li-poly 
           serial: <filter> status: Charging 
           Device-1: hidpp_battery_0 model: Logitech Unifying Device. Wireless PID:101a serial: N/A 
           charge: 5% (should be ignored) rechargeable: yes status: Discharging 
CPU:       Topology: Quad Core model: Intel Core i7-8550U bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Kaby Lake rev: A L2 cache: 8192 KiB 
           flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 31999 
           Speed: 793 MHz min/max: 400/4000 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 793 2: 799 3: 798 4: 791 5: 795 6: 775 7: 795 8: 798 
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel UHD Graphics 620 vendor: Dell driver: i915 v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:5917 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.9 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa Intel UHD Graphics 620 (KBL GT2) v: 4.6 Mesa 20.2.6 direct render: Yes 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel Sunrise Point-LP HD Audio vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:1f.3 
           chip ID: 8086:9d71 
           Device-2: DisplayLink USB3.0 Hub type: USB driver: snd-usb-audio bus ID: 2-1.3:5 chip ID: 17e9:436e 
           serial: <filter> 
           Device-3: DisplayLink type: USB driver: cdc_ncm,snd-usb-audio 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-70-generic 
Network:   Device-1: Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter 
           vendor: Bigfoot Networks Killer 1435 Wireless-AC driver: ath10k_pci v: kernel port: f040 bus ID: 02:00.0 
           chip ID: 168c:003e 
           IF: wlp2s0 state: up mac: <filter> 
           IF-ID-1: enx9cebe861c43e state: down mac: <filter> 
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 476.94 GiB used: 431.75 GiB (90.5%) 
           ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Toshiba model: KXG50ZNV512G NVMe 512GB size: 476.94 GiB speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 
           serial: <filter> rev: AADA4102 scheme: GPT 
Partition: ID-1: / size: 467.96 GiB used: 431.74 GiB (92.3%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 36.5 C mobo: N/A 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A 
Repos:     No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list 
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list 
           1: deb http://packages.linuxmint.com ulyssa main upstream import backport #id:linuxmint_main
           2: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal main restricted universe multiverse
           3: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
           4: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-backports main restricted universe multiverse
           5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-security main restricted universe multiverse
           6: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ focal partner
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/skype-stable.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] https://repo.skype.com/deb stable main
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/spotify.list 
           1: deb http://repository.spotify.com stable non-free
           Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/teams.list 
           1: deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/ms-teams stable main
Info:      Processes: 265 Uptime: 17m Memory: 15.36 GiB used: 2.59 GiB (16.9%) Init: systemd v: 245 runlevel: 5 Compilers: 
           gcc: 9.3.0 alt: 7/9 Shell: zsh v: 5.8 running in: gnome-terminal inxi: 3.0.38

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lsusb

(adapter connected):

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Bus 002 Device 005: ID 17e9:436e DisplayLink 
Bus 002 Device 004: ID 2109:0813 VIA Labs, Inc. 
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 17e9:436e DisplayLink USB3.0 Hub
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 2109:0813 VIA Labs, Inc. USB3.0 Hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 0489:e0a2 Foxconn / Hon Hai 
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0bda:58f4 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. Integrated_Webcam_HD
Bus 001 Device 007: ID 045e:0750 Microsoft Corp. Wired Keyboard 600
Bus 001 Device 006: ID 046d:c52b Logitech, Inc. Unifying Receiver
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 2109:2813 VIA Labs, Inc. 
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 2109:2813 VIA Labs, Inc. USB2.0 Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

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lsusb

(adapter disconnected):

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Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 0489:e0a2 Foxconn / Hon Hai 
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0bda:58f4 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. Integrated_Webcam_HD
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

[Moonstone Man]

... DisplayLink ...

DisplayLink's support for Linux is notoriously bad. FWIW, I have 3 different docks from three different manufacturer's, all have DisplayLink, and they sit in a pile of unusable equipment that will go out with the rubbish collection one day soon.

https://support.displaylink.com/knowled ... -available
https://support.displaylink.com/knowled ... buntu-20-0

I don't know if that will work. I gave up and bought a cheap plastic USB C dock with HDMI output for under $10 on ebay and it works well.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/DisplayLink

That link is fyi only. We often link to the Arch wiki because it can provide some very good background.

At the first link there is a search box on the right of the screen. Type 'ubuntu' into it to see all the Ubuntu related articles.

Finally, https://www.displaylink.org/forum/ is probably the best place to get help.

[SMG]

First I suggest you update the BIOS/UEFI. The latest is 1.14.3 according to Find a driver for your XPS 13 9370, which means your system is missing nearly all the updates.

Machine:
Type: Laptop System: Dell product: XPS 13 9370 v: N/A serial: <filter> Chassis: type: 9 serial: <filter>
Mobo: Dell model: 0F6P3V v: A00 serial: <filter> UEFI: Dell v: 1.0.2 date: 12/06/2017

Install the DisplayLink driver then take a look at getting the patch described in this post.

But maybe you'll want to clean up your root partition first, because you are soon going to have problems logging in. Here are some tips How to Clean Linux Mint Safely

Partition: ID-1: / size: 467.96 GiB used: 431.74 GiB (92.3%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2

[StickyTongue]

Many thanks for your quick reply SMG and Kadaitcha Man! I will try out your suggestions and if all else fails than I will go for a cheap plastic USB C dock with a HDMI output. I will let you know how it goes. Cheers

[StickyTongue]

Many thanks! I followed SMG suggestions and followed the steps from this link: https://www.displaylink.org/forum/showp ... ostcount=2 I only had to do steps 1 and 2 and I am now able to connect to an external monitor.

[SMG]

Glad all is working. I will keep in mind your feedback that not all steps of the patches may be needed when future DisplayLink questions arise.