Hey everyone! I'm dealing with a bit of a tricky situation with my setup. I'm using a Dell D6000 Dock to connect all my USB devices and two monitors through a single USB 3.0 port. My main monitor is directly connected, but I switch between my personal and work computers using this dock. The problem is that whenever the workload increases—like when I'm on a video call with my webcam while both monitors are active—my USB devices and monitors tend to disconnect for short moments. I didn't face these issues when using Windows. Here are the devices connected: a mouse, keyboard, USB dongle for my headset, two monitors (one 1080p and one 2k), a USB microphone, and a webcam. I'm currently running Pop!OS. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
4 Answers
I have a similar setup with the Dell WD19 dock, and I experience issues too! I think it might be related to the firmware or how Linux handles the dock compared to Windows. I switched to the open Nvidia driver, and that did help a bit. If you have an Nvidia GPU, maybe that could resolve some of the issues for you, too!
I had a similar problem where my USB Wi-Fi stick would drop out under heavy load, especially on hot days. Have you noticed temperature affecting your devices? It could be a heat issue causing your setup to falter when it gets too hot.
First, check the power supply of your dock and the power requirements of all your devices. If your dock isn't providing enough power for everything connected, that could be causing the disconnects. Also, devices like monitors can draw a lot of bandwidth. Make sure your dock can handle the load you're putting on it.
I use a different approach with multiple laptops; each has its own screen, and I control them with software like Barrier. It keeps my workspace tidy and avoids USB issues altogether. Worth considering if space is tight for you!
I double-checked! The requirements are met, so I’m not overloading it based on specs.