Macbook 2015 12inch Retina with USB-C
 

I purchased with a Starch USB32DP4K to work with my LG Electronics UM95 34UM95C and Macbook 2015 12inch Retina with USB-C and El Capitan.

I does not work with my Apple Macbook, tried with DisplayLink 2.5 driver.

I tried with Windows machine, same adapter, same monitor, everything works fine.

Any suggestions? Is this product compatible with a Macbook 12m using USB-C?

Thanks

Ashley

Hi Ashley,

The debug information should tell us quite clearly what the problem is.
Please follow the instructions here: http://support.displaylink.com/knowl...to-displaylink

Cheers,
Carlo

Debug Files
 

Sorry - Not sure what I am looking for.

I have attached the debug files.

Can you help?

Thanks

Ashley

The SW seems to be crashing for an unknown reason.

Can you please check in /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/ if there is any DisplayLinkManager*.crash file? In case please send to us.

Thank you!
Carlo

Here is crash file
 

Does this help?

I am using El Capitan 10.11.4 (15E65).

Whoops here is the crash file
 

For some reason I missed it off the previous post. Attached is a crash file.

Thank you this definitely looks like an issue we know about. We have a fix and we "just" need to put it in a release for you.
Can't get you any dates sorry we'd like to do this ASAP.

Kind regards,
Carlo

Happy to test fix
 

Thanks for the update.

This is a big issue, Apple called me requesting some system info. We have 10 people in our office who can no longer use their USB Display Adapter. This doesn't bode well for StarTech and DisplayLink.

Happy to test, something is better than nothing!

Anyone there?
 

Is this the right place to get support on a product, if so anyone there?

Any progress after update?
 

I have been interested in purchasing a 12" MacBook, so this thread is of interest to me. Have you tried the new software/driver update to see if it has solved your problem?

All working
 

New 2.51 driver update did fix it.

I am now running 2 of these monitors on a 12inch MacBook.

http://www.amazon.com/LG-Electronics.../dp/B00JR6GCZA

2MyCloud does version 2.5.1 work for you?
For paultzirides, this crash is a problem connected to the monitor, not the specific laptop.

About the MB12", if you are using a DisplayLink product without a USB-C port, we've seen issues with the multiport adapter but the smaller USB-C to USB adapter is behaving well.

Kind regards,
Carlo

Carlo, what about power? As I understand it, the USB-C port will allow power into the laptop while data flows in/out. I was hoping for DL dock > Apple Multi-port adapter > 12" MacBook. The issues are that I will need to use the laptop for many hours while "docked", and I need to make sure that I don't run out of juice halfway through. Additionally, the locations in which I use the DL docks both require a wired network connection for stability. Currently, I have a DL dock > MacBook Air, which works flawlessly. If the issues are minimal/negligible on the 12" MacBook, then I really won't worry about picking one up if my employer will spring for it.

If the issues will impact work or make using that setup unstable, then it seems like I may need to stick with my MacBook Air until these issues get sorted out, since I really do need the absolute lightest Mac I can get my hands on that is DL-capable (with all the bells and whistles).

Either way, I feel like the DL team has really done a phenomenal job of getting DisplayLink functioning on Macs with close to 100% parity to Windows. Great job.

Hi Paul,

Thank you for your support. Unfortunately there is still much to do to get where we'd like to be. Unfortunately it's not all in our control.

About the type-C I see the problem, I think the best solution would be a USB-C dock with power delivery and DisplayLink. So you can also save the eye-watering cost of the multiport adapter.

The first docks with power and DL over type-C are going to be available this May as far as I know, but I can't recommend any specific brand.

Regards,
Carlo

Hey Carlo,

I have a Macbook 12" 2015 and I'm having problems with DisplayLink v2.6. The keyboard and mouse connected to the dock are working, but no monitor or LAN. The adapter I'm using it an 8Ware brand with usb3 type c charge port, LAN, HDMI and usb 3 regular port.

Am I in the right place to request support?

Thanks,
Curtis

Just an update, this works upon restart. If I disconnect and reconnect it often fails, but sometimes works. The only way to fix it is to restart. Ideally it would be good if I didn't have to restart almost every time I reconnect to the dock. Is anyone else having a problem like this?

Thanks,
Curtis

I think this is a separate issue to the one mentioned in this thread. I suspect the issue you are having is that the DisplayLink chip is not always appearing on the USB bus, and only the USB 2.0 devices are being enumerated (which is why your keyboard and mouse work).

This can be debugged using the article below:

http://support.displaylink.com/knowl...at-all-when-co

Wim

I had a look at that link and it didn't really help. I've attached some information when the drivers are working compared to when they're not.

Working:
https://i.imgur.com/6k00952.jpg

Not working:
https://i.imgur.com/wB9dWn1.jpg

Here's the full set of system information on the USB buses:

Like I said, it will always work after a restart but once unplugged and plugged back in the LAN and monitor will not work; looks like the USB3 bus becomes undetected.

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Hey all, has there been any updates on this issue?

I imagine the number of support tickets is going to go through the roof is this issue isn't fixed soon since all the new Macbooks only have USBC ports.

If you can please refer to my post(s) above.

Basically upon restart, USB2 and USB3 devices work. If unplugged and replugged then only USB2 devices work.

Hi Whafield,

It's not clear to me what the USB topology is.
You mentioned DisplayLink Ethernet but it looks like a RealTek USB to Ethernet product is connected.
Also, the DisplayLink device connected is a Targus dock and I'm not sure the 8ware device has actually a DisplayLink chip in it: I have found no reference to DisplayLink drivers in their website.

So I'm wondering how the monitor is connected.
Can you please clarify how everything is connected? Logs would help too: http://support.displaylink.com/knowl...to-displaylink

Best regards,
Carlo

Alright, see below links for some photos of the setup. Plus, I've attached logs from that DisplayLink tool in the working and not working scenario. Let me know if you want me to do anything else.

http://i.imgur.com/AdQJT0X.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/p7w0Cg6.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/t0XNpwB.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/joZxn73.jpg

Thanks Carlo!

Thank you,

OK so the USB-C device is used as a C-to-A adapter and everything is connected to the Targus dock, which is handy so there's only one cable to connect.
The main issue is visible in both the DisplayLink and the system logs: at some point the USB 3 part of the hub in the Targus dock disappears.
In the DisplayLink logs this is shown as transfer errors and device unavailable. In the system log you can see transfer and wake errors in both USB2 and USB3 devices and then only the USB2 part of the hub is reset while the USB 3.0 part of the hub is longer there, together with the DisplayLink device.

USB 3 is difficult hardware-wise because of both higher speed and more advanced power management so looks like something is borderline in your use case and fails.
I'd think about the USB-C adapter as the first thing to try and replace, but you may also want to try with a different, shorter, USB cable between the Targus and the adapter.

A separate issue is with the monitor. I'm seeing 8 different monitor description files so unless you are trying eight different monitors it is likely that there is a problem connecting to the monitor. Most likely the connection, I'd check the DVI cable.

Bes regards,
Carlo

Hey Carlo thanks for the quick and detailed reply,

Just as a bit of context, I work in an office environment with hotdesks - some desks have two monitors and some have one. But all desks have the same peripherals and LAN connection. A colleague of mine has recently started using a Macbook Pro 13" (older model) and she hasn't had any of the issues I'm having which is why I thought it's either a problem with drivers or the USB-C adapter.

I'm sure you understand that these adapters aren't cheap, so I'm a bit reluctant to go out and buy another one just for testing. I might have to wait until I come across someone else with a different adapter to try.

EDIT: Unless I get something like this?
EDIT2: Bought an Apple USB-C to USB adapter this morning and it doesn't work either (see attachment + link below)

http://i.imgur.com/hn8ZtQW.jpg

Out of interest, do you know if others are having problems with their adapters? Any of which using the newest Macbooks?

Thanks,
Curtis

Hi wahlfeld,

In my tests with the first-gen MacBook the adapter with video from Apple was flaky with some devices but the simpler C-to-A one you just got worked well.
We are also testing with the current MacBook and we're not seeing these issues.
So it is likely something specific with your setup... the Targus dock is a known entity, has been in the market for ages and since you are hot desking you have quite a lot of these around and I assume you don't see different behaviour with specific ones.

Could be a batch of longer USB3 cables that IT put in to hide the dock and cable mess behind the desk maybe?

We have this dock model in our lab, we'll give it a go with a MacBook8,1 and USB C-to-A adapter to double check.

Best regards,
Carlo

Appreciate all the effort Carlo and others.

You're correct about not seeing different behaviour depending on the desk. Every desk is the same, where the dock will work the first time after a restart every time. As soon as it's unplugged from my Mac, none of the docks work until I make a restart.

I don't quite understand how the length of the cable could play a part here. My colleague with a Macbook Pro doesn't have any issues, and I don't have any issues with the dock when it's working. Like I said, the problem is that the USB3 devices like LAN and any monitors will fail after I've disconnected and reconnected.

If I'm getting the same outcome regardless of the dock (and cable) or the USB-C/A adapter, and the docks are working consistently with non-Macbooks, then surely that must mean it's software related or specifically my Macbook, right?

Ah I dunno, let me know how you go in the lab.

Thanks again,
Curtis

How did it go Carlo? Any updates?

Curtis

Hi,

Well the same SW is running on most Macs with the possible notable exception of the host controller driver. So SW is unlikely.

Unfortunately both our MacBooks are being used for urgent work for the next release, we have a task up to check this use case ASAP. Apologies for the delay!

Carlo

Apple USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter
 

So I was gifted with a new MacBook from work (thanks boss!), and decided to try my luck with the following setup:

1. DVI monitor > Anker USB 3.0 Dual Video dock > USB port on Apple USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter
2. Monitor > HDMI port on Apple USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter
3. Apple USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter > MacBook

I tried it two ways

1. Everything connected and plugged in, then turning MacBook on.
2. ONLY Monitor > HDMI port, turning MacBook on, THEN connecting USB 3.0 Dock.

The first way (everything connected BEFORE turning on MacBook) yielded some inconsistent results. Sometimes everything would light up great and performance would be fine. Other times, the internal display on the MacBook would remain dark and performance would be flaky, with lots of horizontal "tearing" occurring with any interaction.

The second method produced much more reliable results. Apparently, having everything plugged in FIRST makes the OS behave strangely.

I tried the same experiment with a Plugable USB 3.0 Dual-Head Graphics and Gigabit Ethernet Adapter (Amazon link here), and it worked fine either way (or maybe it worked fine the few times I tried it, I don't use that one very often).

Either way, I can confirm that it generally does "work" the way I expected, but not consistently enough to feel 100% confident.

Additionally, we have been using this Dell USB-C dock at the office for all of the XPS laptops that we have, and it behaves very strangely. The MacBook recognizes the device, and the displays light up, but both external displays are mirrored, no matter which port they are connected to. I believe this is due to some proprietary Dell software that they are using to divvy up the displays properly. I will test to see if the following setup works as expected:

1. Monitor > Dell Dock > USB-C port Apple USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter
2. Monitor > HDMI port on USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter
3. USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter > MacBook

There's a lot of circuitry in there, and I don't have high hopes that it will work properly, but I will test anyway.

Let me know if you need anything from me in re: testing/logs, etc. to help out.

Thank you Paul,

Very useful information.
This is not dissimilar from my experience with the multi port adapter. It's not behaving consistently and in my case was quite picky on the power output as well.

From what I've seen so far, USB-C with alternate mode and power delivery is very tricky to get right. We'll continue to run tests but the first hand experiences from the forum as invaluable.

Carlo

Update on adapters
 

So maybe I spoke too soon. I've been using the Plugable dual-display adapter connected to the Apple adapter for a couple days now, and I have some updates on expected vs. observed behavior.

My MacBook is set NOT to sleep, but the displays turn off after 5 minutes. After coming back, the internal display does NOT light up as expected, but the external displays do (Monitor > HDMI on Apple adapter, as well as monitor > Plugable adapter). Unplugging the Apple adapter and plugging back in again causes everything to go back to normal. This is keeping in mind that the Plugable adapter is connected to the USB port on the Apple adapter.

Based on what I have experienced in the past, this is new behavior. Typically, when everything comes flooding back at once, things get weird, but it looks like simply unplugging the Apple adapter (and thus the connected Plugable adapter) and plugging it back in sets everything right again. Thankfully, this is a super easy fix, and not really a nuisance since we would have to do this constantly with the Dell docks anyway.

I will most likely be picking up a Plugable triple-display adapter based on my experience with their other products, and because it seems to strike the best balance between convenience and function. Based on my experience with the Apple adapter, I feel confident that this one will work consistently enough to not be a bother.

Thanks for all your support and hard work! Keep the updates coming :)

We have run tests with a number of USB-C adapters and USB products with a 2016 MacBook without encountering particular USB issues.
We're going to test the 2015 MacBook next: the USB host controller is different.

We've observed the same issue Paul found: in systems with recent Intel GPUs sometimes the internal screen does not resume from sleep when USB screens are connected.
The same happens sometimes on warm reboots and we've seen a similar behaviour logging out and in again.
This is a Sierra issue not depending on USB-C but since all MacBooks have a single recent Intel GPU, they are all potentially affected.

If you see this issue please open a bug with Apple: this is the last severe issue not yet fixed in the latest Sierra beta!

Best regards,
Carlo

Not good that you're seeing issues too but it does make me feel better than it's a genuine problem and not something wrong with my device. It's great to see you and team working on this Carlo! I managed to get my hands on another USBC adapter to USB3/HDMI/SD card etc (forgot to check the brand) but I experienced the exact same behaviour as mentioned in my previous comments.

Keen to hear how you go with the 2015 Macbook testing.

Curtis

OK so this has not been too easy for Kamil who tested here. This configuration is quite flaky in our tests.

There is definitely an issue. What we see happening connecting a USB 3 device to the Apple adapter connected to the MacBook is that sometimes only the USB2 part of the USB hub in the dock is enumerated.

Interestingly the OS then tries to re-enumerate and sometimes succeeds after 1-2 minutes. And sometimes the whole USB bus hangs. By inserting "slowly" the USB 3 cable in the adapter the chances of success increase (probably the adapter is sensible to the VBUS timing).
After noticing this, we went back to the 2016 MacBook and saw that the same was happening but the recovery is always succeeding for that model.

This is reproducible with other USB 3 devices so I'm not sure Targus could do something about it.

So not great unfortunately.

In your situation a possible workaround could be to use a USB 2 cable between the Apple adapter and the dock. This would be more reliable.
You would lose bandwidth but up to two 1080p screens it should be fine: we don't needlessly waste bandwidth as other technologies do (ahem...).

Best regards,
Carlo

Damn, not good. Happy to try what you suggested Carlo, but I'm curious as to what is the root cause here? Is this a limitation of USBC? Are there any Windows devices with USBC that exhibit the same behaviour?

In theory everything should be working OK. And it does even with this MacBook for many use cases.

However I can imagine that USB C, especially when the new "alternate modes" are used to carry other completely unrelated signals like video or Thunderbolt, is very new and may have teething issues for some use cases.
In this case the issue may be in the USB C adapter, in the MUXes that separate video out or on the host controller. The next step would be to connect a USB analyser between the adapter and the machine but I suspect the issue is probably in the MUXes and relative logic.

This is just my personal theory given the evidence so far.

Regards,
Carlo