My dad recently got a new laptop after his last one was damaged by water. He also purchased a third 1080p monitor to enhance his office space. He mainly uses the laptop for tasks like Excel and browsing, and doesn't game or perform GPU-heavy activities.
He's using a Dell docking station that should support three 1080p monitors, but we're running into an issue. Only the two original external monitors are working— the new third monitor is blank even though it appears in the display settings but says 'Not active.'
The laptop specs state it can handle up to three displays, but I'm starting to think that might include the laptop's own screen. If that's the case, it could explain why we can't get the third monitor to work.
Can anyone confirm if this laptop and dock setup can support three external displays at the same time? If it can't, we're considering exchanging the laptop since we're still within the return window. What should we look for in specs or features to make sure a triple-monitor setup will work?
For reference, here are the details of the setup:
**Laptop:** Dell 16 Plus DB16250, Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, 32GB RAM, Intel Arc 140V Integrated Graphics, Windows 11 Home.
**Dock:** Dell WD22TB4.
**Monitors:** Two ASUS VA279 (working) and one ASUS VY279HGR (not working).
2 Answers
Considering your laptop's specs, it might support three displays, but that likely includes the built-in screen. To truly ensure triple-monitor support, look at the graphics capabilities. If the integrated graphics can handle three outputs, you should be good, but sometimes that depends on the dock as well. Just double-check the specs of both the laptop and dock to confirm.
Have you checked if the new monitor is set to the correct input source? Some monitors need you to select the HDMI input manually instead of auto-switching. That could be why it’s not getting a signal from the dock.
Yeah, I found it switched to VGA by default. We switched it to HDMI, but it’s still not receiving a signal.