I bought an i-tec CA6MONITORDOCKPD docking station, but it has been unusable since day one. When I connect it to my laptop over USB-C, either external monitor repeatedly connects and disconnects. The problem occurs with DisplayPort, HDMI, and USB-C connections, even when only one monitor is attached.
I have already updated the dock and GPU drivers, replaced the laptop-to-dock and monitor cables, tried different dock ports, disabled USB selective suspend and PCIe link state management, and power-cycled the dock. I am using an 8K/40Gbps-certified USB-C cable, shielded DisplayPort 1.4 cables, and certified HDMI 2.1 cables, so the supplied cables do not appear to be the issue.
I have also seen similar problems with a couple of other i-tec docks, although using a higher-quality USB-C cable helped in those cases. Has anyone managed to get this model working reliably, or could the dock's power adapter be the actual cause?
2 Answers
Try checking the power brick before spending more time on drivers. An unstable or underperforming adapter can cause the dock to reset, which would make the monitors repeatedly connect and disconnect. If you can borrow a compatible adapter with the correct voltage, current rating, and connector polarity, testing it would help isolate the problem.
I have had very mixed experiences with i-tec docks. Some organizations use hundreds of them without trouble, but the failures can be frustratingly inconsistent. If the cables, drivers, and single-monitor test have all been ruled out, the dock itself may simply be defective rather than misconfigured.
I would prefer not to replace it yet, so I am still looking for a way to make this particular unit stable. It is hard to believe they would be widely deployed if every unit behaved this way.