First, be aware that the lower priced D1000 docks all seem to be discontinued models. I've ordered dozens now from various sources and the Dell site sells the current version, of course...and discounted options like here on Amazon have been one of 2 discontinued models. As of this review, the current model is Manufacturer Part# : N6C1X and on Amazon, I've received part number JCJWD.
Amazon is not listing this with the manufacture's part number, so you don't know which version you will be getting...but I would assume the cheaper ones will be older releases.
That being said, I only know of one dud so far in the 20 or so I have ordered so far on Amazon. It got USB power surge messages when plugged in and nothing worked.
Outside of that, these generally have worked out well for setting all employees up with dual monitors for their laptops. We were getting the D3100 model, but if you don't need a 3rd monitor, then using the D1000 will save you a few bucks on each dock. Also, not by intent, we have been using the older versions of the docks and they do seem to be working fine. Going with the older models will save you $20-$30 per dock, too.
Note, the USB 3 version of this DOES NOT power your laptop! The only way you can power your laptop from these docks is if you have a USB-C port on your laptop and you buy the USB-C version of this dock, which does cost more. Even with that, the USB-C port's power limit is 100 watts, i think...so your laptop must be using a power adapter below that level. Just check the laptop's capabilities for powering over USB-C before you order. I know some people seem to be disappointing by not being able to power a laptop off these docks, but that is not a feature of the dock.
Also, if you want to plug a closed laptop into the USB dock and press power button on the dock to turn the laptop on...you are also looking for the USB-C version and need a laptop with a USB-C power port.
I hope that helps prevent some people form ordering the wrong thing or ordering with the wrong expectations of the device.
Besides all that, we've been generally happy with these docks. We switched to these from the lenovo USB docks, as they were somewhat unreliable too often and the newer ones used the proprietary plug for the laptop.
Well, I have been using one of these docks for almost a year now, and I have been extremely impressed. The picture quality is great, and the functionality is very reliable. I do, however, have two complaints.
Firstly, the setup is not as simple as it should be. There is firmware available on the Dell website, as well as on the DisplayLink website, but no native software application for managing the displays once installed. You are forced to use the Windows display management software, which is absolutely not user friendly, especially if you are running triple monitors or more. It takes some time to get everything set up and working properly, but once you get it done, you should not have any further issues.
Secondly, this dock has a DisplayPort output. If, however, you own or intend to purchase monitors, like my three Dell U2414H flat panels, with MST (Multi-Stream Transport) capability (aka Daisy Chaining) you will be disappointed to learn that this dock does NOT support MST. Rather than connecting multiple monitors to one display output, you have to run a separate video cable for every single monitor. What's worse, the dock only has one DisplayPort output, the other two outputs are HDMI, so if your monitors came with DisplayPort cables like mine did, you will have to buy additional HDMI cables as well...
None of these issues is a deal breaker, and now that I am set up, I am EXTREMELY happy with the end result, but just a little bit of info I wish I had known prior to making my purchases.
I purchased this dock with the mind that its not for video processing/video playback or gaming(but, I'm able to have two 1080p video's running on different screens with no issues.)
This type of box makes it easy for telecommuting, when all I need to do is connect a single USB 3.0 cable to my laptop to connect everything up (and makes it easier to switch to my own personal laptop at the same time)
I am using three monitors @ 1080p for each monitor.
Bad thing I just found: Audio - I couldn't just plug in a set of speakers (Wouldn't detect) and had to use a splitter cable to allow me to plug in regular speakers. I used the following one and it worked fine for audio out - StarTech.com Headset adapter for headsets with separate headphone / microphone plugs - 3.5mm 4 position to 2x 3 position 3.5mm M/F
Update: three things to be aware of - 1) check the Dell web site for monitor resolutions the WD15 supports. While it worked fine for my current monitor at 1920x1200, it will not support the higher resolution monitor that I plan to get in the near future. Therefore, I had to return this and get the TB16 instead; 2) the TB16 has a MUCH shorter USB-C/Thunderbolt cable attached to the dock which may be good or bad depending on your situation; 3) USB and sound output from the dock didn't work until I rebooted and received a prompt stating I needed to go through a couple steps as Administrator to allow the Thunderbolt connection to the dock. Until I got that prompt I was concerned the ports were not working for some reason.
After many years with a Dell E-Port dock as the foundation of my home office setup which lasted through many Dell laptop upgrades, I was mildly surprised to find that the Latitude 7480 did away with the legacy E-Port connector. I was then dismayed to see inconsistent if not poor reviews of the WD15 and the TB16 as well as the WLD15 wireless dock. I decided to give this WD15 a try since it was the least expensive and has the ability to be mounted behind certain Dell monitors freeing up desk space. First, Amazon Prime delivered it in less than 16 hours! Second, upon plugging in power, monitor, and laptop, everything works fine. I don't know what to make of the complaints others have posted. Power, video (I've tried both VGA and HDMI-to-DVI with an Amazon Basics cable successfully), audio, Ethernet, and USB devices (wireless keyboard and mouse, USB microphone) all "just work". To me this is better than the wireless dock since the wireless can't provide power meaning you still need to plug the laptop into its own power supply. With the WD15, the USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 connection provides power and device connectivity more or less like the old E-Port dock used to do.
This is my first review on Amazon after using this site for the last 7 years. I figured I would start here since after buying this product I had to do some research to get it working the way I wanted.
I bought two ultrawide LG 29UM58 monitors (resolution: 2560x1080) to connect my Dell XPS 13 (9350) through this dock. Upon arrival I connected both monitors and to my dismay, the resolution was stretched out and I couldn't adjust it beyond 1920x1080. After researching I realized that I would not be able to achieve 2560x1080 for both monitors through HDMI. Make sure to reference the support on Dell's site to see the maximum resolution possible for the combination of ports that you are using (just Google search "Supported resolutions Dell D3100 USB 3.0 Docking Station"). I realized that if I connected just one monitor via HDMI then I could achieve the native resolution of 2560x1080, but this was not possible using two HDMI inputs at once.
But according to the chart on their support site, I would be able to use both monitors at their native resolution if I used one HDMI input and one DisplayPort (rather than both being HDMI). So I purchased an DisplayPort to HDMI adapter that supported DP 1.2a (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MZ6UT21/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and they are both outputting at full, native resolution (no more stretched out screens)!
In terms of functionality - it's not perfect but it works. Sometimes my monitors will freeze, but it's nothing too major (so far). For this price and for using a laptop to display to two ultrawide monitors: I am satisfied with my overall purchase.
Feature Product
- 2 x USB 2.0 - 4 pin USB Type A, 1 x Headphone input and output 3.5mm
- 3 x SuperSpeed USB 3.0 - 9 pin USB Type A, 1 x network - RJ-45. Designed for Inspiron 15 7567 Gaming, 5459; Latitude 13 7350, 3350, E5270, E5460, E5470, E5570, E7270, E7470; XPS 13 (9343)
- 1 x display / video - DisplayPort output - 20 pin DisplayPort, Super Speed cable
- 2 x display / video - HDMI - 19 pin HDMI Type A, 1x HDMI-DVI Adapter included
- Allow for a triple monitor setup, see compatible Dell Models in the Description
Description
Full HD displays. The Dell Docking Station allows you to spread out your desktop on up to three external displays, increasing productivity and making it easier to manage multiple applications.Compatible with Latitude 3330,Latitude E6540,Latitude E6440,Precision M3800,Latitude 3340,Inspiron 15 5000 Series (5547),Inspiron 14 5000 Series (5447),Inspiron 15 3000 Series (3542),Inspiron 17 5000 Series (5748),Inspiron 15 3000 Series (3541),Inspiron 14 3000 Series (3442),Inspiron 15R (5545),Inspiron 13 (7347),Inspiron 15 5000 Series (5542),Latitude E5250,Latitude E5450,Latitude E5550,Inspiron 15 7000 Series (7547),Latitude 14 Rugged 5404,Latitude 7350,Inspiron 14 3000 Series (3443),Inspiron 15 3000 Series (3543),Latitude 3450,Latitude E7250,Latitude E7450,Latitude 3550,XPS 13 (9343),Inspiron 14 3000 Series (3451),Inspiron 17 5000 Series (5749),Inspiron 15 5000 Series (5548),Inspiron 7348,Inspiron 17 7000 Series (7548),Inspiron 15 3000 Series (3551),Latitude 3150,Inspiron 15 3000 Series (3558),Inspiron 14 3000 Series (3458),Inspiron 14 5000 Series (5458),Inspiron 5558,Inspiron 5551,Vostro 3558,Vostro 14 (3458),Inspiron 7558,Inspiron 5755,Inspiron 5758,Inspiron 5555,Latitude 3160,Inspiron 3552,Inspiron 14 3000 Series (3452),Inspiron 15 5000 Series (5552),Latitude 3570,Inspiron 14 5000 Series (5459),Inspiron 15 5000 Series (5559),Inspiron 17 5000 Series (5759),Inspiron 11 3000 Series (3153),Inspiron 13 7000 series (7353),Inspiron 13 7000 series (7359),Inspiron 15 7000 Series (7568),Inspiron 11 3000 Series (3158),Inspiron 7559,Vostro 3459,Vostro 3559,XPS 13 (9350),XPS 15 (9550),XPS 12 (9250),Latitude E5470,Latitude E5570,Latitude E7270,Latitude E5270,Inspiron 15 3000 Series (3559),Latitude 3470,Latitude 7275,Latitude E7470,Inspiron 15 5000 Series (5568),Inspiron 13,7000 Series (7368),Inspiron 15 7000 Series (7569),Inspiron 17 7000 Series (7778),Vostro 3549,Vostro 3449. Inspiron 14 (1440) , Inspiron 14 (1464) , Inspiron 14 (3437) Inspiron 14 (N4050) , Inspiron 14 3000 Series (3421) , Inspiron 14 7000 Series (7437) Inspiron 15 (1525) , Inspiron 15 (1526) , Inspiron 15 (1545) Inspiron 15 (1564) , Inspiron 15 (3520) , Inspiron 15 (3521) Inspiron 15 (3537) , Inspiron 15 5000 Series (5565) , Inspiron 15 5000 Series (5567) , Inspiron 15 7000 Series (7537) Inspiron 17 (1750) Inspiron 17 (1764) Inspiron 17 (3721) Inspiron 17 (3737) Inspiron 17 5000 Series (5767) Inspiron 17 7000 Series (7737) Inspiron 17 7000 Series (7746) Latitude 12 Rugged Extreme 7214 Latitude 14 Rugged Extreme 7414 Latitude 3379 Venue 11 Pro (7140)
Dell is love, dell is bae, I think I'm becoming a dell fanboy. I recently bought a Dell Inspiron 15 7000. I was quite disapointed that it only had one hdmi output. So I decided to get this docking unit. I saw this product in dells website. I was quite scared that it would give me stupid problems and stuff but no! It was just plug and play with my Dell laptop. After playing with it for a while I decided to try it with my ASUS N56VZ (has usb 3.0) . I plugged in the usb cable and turned on the computer. I had two HD displays connected to the dock. Nothing appeared on the screens. But interestingly usbs were working fine. I just went to the device manager and saw that the there were yellow triangles! I clicked on them and chose updatee software. BAM everything works. I CAN EVEN USE THIS WITH NON DELL COMPUTERS. DELL IS BAE. Im so happy!
Cons
Works plug and play
has 5 usb ports
ethernet
2 hdmi
1 display port
and other ports... just look at the desc
quite small.
comes with two hdmi cables and one hdmi to dvi adapter
Has a sound card inside which is better than my laptop's realtek one.
Cons
Plastic kinda looks cheap
I heard that it cant output 4k at 60fps. But didnt try yet.
I'm definitely going to buy a dell product again since they didn't make this hardware support only dell computers. This kinda stuff builds trust to the brand.
I honestly don't see why everyone is having so much trouble with this dock. There are very clear instructions that come with it stating you must update your computers BIOS before using this. Just head to the Dell website and download the BIOS update, as well as the wd15 Firmware Update Utility driver, and the Realtek usb audio driver. After i installed those 3, this thing works exactly as it's advertised to. I use it to connect 2 external hard drives, a usb receiver for wireless mouse and keyboard, headphones, and 2 monitors. It has worked flawlessly for the month that I've used it, and to my surprise, it also charges my dell XPS 15 while powering everything else connected to it. I can't be the only person who received a working unit, just follow the instructions and you should be fine..
This device works exceptionally well, very small, light weight, and well done. I tried a few others in the past, one that had a pass through power, which didn't have enough juice to power 3 monitors, and another that was basically a conglomeration of cables and cable adapters. This box has the juice to drive 3 standard monitors using 2 HDMI and one Display port. I also (just for fun) plugged in 2 Asus USB3 Side Monitors as well, driving 5 monitors in total off this little box, and it did not overtax my laptop in the least bit. Very impressive! The unit will heat up a bit when driving many monitors, but nothing scary, just warm to the touch. When I drive the two side monitors with my other laptop directly, the videocard goes haywire trying to keep up and the fans sound like a jet engine. But this is running on a small Lenovo Yoga with only an I5 and standard Yoga video card, which I believe is an Intel on board card. Teh Triple Display box does all the video card heavy lifting. I would not try this for gaming as I believe it will render best only at low performance given the internals, but it is GREAT for standard business use when you just need additional displays for work.
I recently purchased a few Windows 10 Dell 7480 laptops and these are now the norm, since Dell has come away from the standard docking station that you set your laptop down onto and it attaches. This now plugs right into a port on your PC. Pretty simple. I am using the PC now with two monitors and the laptop display all open and using them separate from one another (extended desktop mode). I had to perform an update after installing the driver from the supplied USB stick that they give you and the screen blinked a few times and then started working just fine. I've been using this for a little over 2 months with only that one weird initial instance. Works good!
Ok no 5 stars here. The description cleverly says is has a displayport cable but the "what's in the box" does not. So you DO NOT get the cable you need to run 4k out the box. I'm about to pull the trigger for a 4k monitor since I set this up this weekend. Boom. No cable so you need to buy one. In these days I would expect Dell, a company I hold in high regard, to get the product description clear.
Other than that, I hook up the box to my inspiron 15 7559 4k laptop and then download the DisplayLink software. Adjust where the monitors go (in the win 10 settings). It auto-grabs the audio and pipes it to any hdmi device on it with speakers. I put it back to the laptop speakers to get computer control over sound.
However, it just works fine. I have a standard HD 32", 28" and my laptop screens all going at the same time. I'm going to order a 4k display and will need to order a cable for it. No big deal, but something to order when you order this box. You pay extra to route the 4k which is specifically the reason to buy the box.
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