Dell monitor connection via DisplayPort to USB-C cable

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Trying to connect a Dell E1715S as external display to Surface Pro 7. Only available ports are one USB-C and one USB-A. Surface documentation said the USB-C port could be used for a monitor connection. Purchased a DisplayPort to USB-C cable, which doesn’t work. Found by searching Microsoft site that SOME (undefined) monitors do not support USB-C. I’m looking for another option. I currently have a USB hub connected to the USB-A port. Connected to the hub are: mouse receiver, external USB HDD for File History and external keyboard. One hub port remains. Perhaps could connect monitor to that if I can find a DisplayPort to USB-A cable and if that is supported by the monitor. Unable to contact Dell Community to ask if the monitor supports USB-C or A.

Any assistance will be appreciated!
Don E.

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doneager wrote:

Purchased a DisplayPort to USB-C cable, which doesn’t work.

Er, I’ve seen some that were labeled as though they were direction-specific. It’s fairly universal that image data moves FROM computer TO display… so you might have better luck with a “USB-C to DisplayPort” version.

(Really asking for trouble to make one-way-only conversion cables for this in my opinion…)

USB-A to DisplayPort is wholly nonstandard and I’ve seen some pretty nasty bugs there, please take care to have the right driver versions if you do that.

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Thanks for the thought, but I ordered a USB-C to DisplayPort cable, so that wouldn’t seem to be the issue. Need to find out if the monitor is capable of receiving signal from USB-C.

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USB-C “alt mode” DisplayPort functionality with a correctly build adapter cable should produce a standard DisplayPort 1.4 signal, not needing any special support from a standard-compliant DisplayPort monitor.

Theoretically.

I’m sure we all know where that goes…

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Is there a connector that goes from USB C to HDMI? Is it even worthwile?

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Those do exist. They’re really USB-C -> DisplayPort -> HDMI internally… some of them also have a VGA output.

All the travelling salesmen and such who do presentations with someone else’s video projector or whatever want to pack one of those if they only have USB-C output otherwise.

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DriftyDonN

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I think this monitor’s input selection defaults to “auto select” which should work.  You could try setting it to “DisplayPort”.

Win 11 home - 24H2
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Found input set to auto select. Changed it to DisplayPort. Still not working. Get error message on monitor stating that no input signal received. Tells me to set monitor to correct parameter, which is DisplayPort. Anymore suggestions. I read somewhere that some monitors will not accept DisplayPort input from a USB-C. Do I have an expensive doorstop here?

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Have you looked in Control Panel\Device Manager with the monitor hooked up and turned on? Under Monitors (or anywhere else), is there a yellow exclamation? If so, it may be a matter of a driver.

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The only display listed in DM appears to be the internal Surface one. I guess I need to go to Dell.com and try to download and install a driver. I thought Windows was supposed to be plug and play?

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There is a menu item in Device Manager to scan for hardware changes. See if it recognizes the monitor (hooked up and turned on).

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DM scan didn’t work. Went to Dell.com and downloaded driver file. Tried to install, but did not work. I read somewhere that some monitor will not accept input from a USB-C port via a cable to a DisplayPort, but can’t confirm. Impossible to reach Dell tech support.  It worked fine on my old Surface Pro 4 which had a mini-Display port. More ideas are sought, else this fairly new display goes to scrap.

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doneager wrote:

It worked fine on my old Surface Pro 4 which had a mini-Display port.

So we know the Dell E1715S monitor’s DisplayPort input works.  The adapter cable could be at fault.

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Is there a key combo to switch to the display port? Via the screen setup?

cheers, Paul

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[JohnW]

If you have an Intel graphics processor onboard, there should also be an Intel control panel utility installed that shows available features that may help troubleshoot.

MS Article: Set up a Surface USB-C to display adapter

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/set-up-a-surface-usb-c-to-display-adapter-96658bd9-c5f3-7897-6e60-cb7ebbec0909

MS Article: Troubleshoot connecting Surface to a second screen

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/troubleshoot-connecting-surface-to-a-second-screen-bc8f5121-a4cb-cf0b-5770-2df7a66a3b28

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

• This reply was modified 4 years, 5 months ago by JohnW.

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Is your Surface Pro 7 set to project to an external monitor?  Windows key+P.

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About to forget about the keyboard toggle – Fn+(some)F key.
Internal monitor only
External monitor only
Both monitors

PKCano

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Thanks for the suggestion, but still no go. Plugged in display power, turned it on and connected the USC-C to DP cable. Used Windows key + P. Switched to second screen only. Monitor displayed “No DP cable.” I have some other thoughts on this for later.

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Here is a summary of the issue I’m facing with connecting a Dell E1715S display to my Surface Pro 7 which I’m providing in order to elicit some additional information and suggestions.

I purchased the monitor to use with my now defunct Surface Pro 4. That tablet had a mini-Display Port jack specifically for this purpose. I purchased a mini-DisplayPort (male) to DisplayPort (male) cable and connected it. Worked perfectly.

The Pro 7 replaced the mini-DisplayPort jack with a USB-C. I ordered a USB-C to DisplayPort cable and connected it. Did not work. Examined the display internal settings and changed input selection from auto-select to DisplayPort as recommended earlier in the thread. Did not work. Are there any more things I could try before giving up on this cable?

Other suggestions and results. Checked Device Manager>Monitors and found only the Surface display listed. Scan in Device Manager for new hardware was unsuccessful. Windows key + P didn’t work.

A link to a Microsoft article titled “Set up a Surface USB-C to display adapter” was posted earlier to this thread. The article recommends purchasing a Surface USB-C to DisplayPort adapter from the Microsoft Store. However, the item is currently unavailable. This adapter has male USB-C and female DisplayPort connectors. If I went this route, in addition to the adapter, I’d have to buy yet another cable, DisplayPort male to male. I have found such a cable and adapter from sources other than the Microsoft Store.

What I’m not understanding is why using this adapter would this work when a USB-C to DisplayPort cable won’t?

I also found a USB-C (male) to mini-DisplayPort (female) adapter. Buying this would allow me to use the mini-DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable I used with the Pro 4.

I need to know with some degree of confidence if any of these options is likely to work:

1. Wait for the USB-C to DisplayPort adapter offered by the Microsoft Store to become available again. Purchase it from them and a new cable elsewhere.
2. Purchase a USB-C to DisplayPort adapter and a new cable.
3. Purchase a USB-C to mini-DisplayPort adapter.

Thanks in advance!

 

1. Eager

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[Bob99]

@doneager –

From what you describe, it sounds to me like you either have a non working USB-C port or you have a defective USB-C to DisplayPort cable.

I had originally suggested that you may have had a defective USB-C to DisplayPort cable, but now I’m not so sure. Please see below

EDIT–After reading the MS support article for connecting an external monitor to a Surface, seems like they DO want you to use a USB-C to DisplayPort adapter, then a DisplayPort cable. They recommend doing so in the following order:  1. Connect the DisplayPort cable to the external monitor and make sure the monitor is turned on ready to receive a signal from the Surface.  2. Connect the adapter to the DisplayPort cable. 3. Connect the adapter to the USB-C port on the Surface. See below for their exact wording:

If your external screen has a DisplayPort
Depending on which Surface you have, you’ll need the following:

A USB-C to DisplayPort adapter and DisplayPort cable (sold separately)

and further down the page:

Set up your TV, monitor, or projector
Make sure you have the correct cable(s) and adapter(s) for your devices. When you’re ready, here’s how to set it up:

1. Plug one end of the video cable into the port on the external screen. Make sure that your TV, monitor, or projector is turned on.
2. Connect the other end of the cable to the video adapter.
3. Connect the other end of the adapter to your Surface. Make sure you’re plugging in the right part of the cable to the right input.

 

The MS page can be found here.

I hope this helps without adding too much to any confusion.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 5 months ago by Bob99. Reason: Added info from MS support page

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Bob99 wrote:

From the sounds of what you’ve done so far, the USB-C port of the surface 7 should be working, but trying to use it for data transfer of some kind will say for sure.

Unfortunately data transfer won’t be conclusive for the graphics side. Lots of ways for data to work but graphics to fail.

There are 5 possible categories of publicly known USB-C alt modes that can transmit video. Some of them have multible subvariants in protocol versions… hardware manufacturers are allowed to use any or none of these, and hardware-specific USB-C dock solutions may be the latter (none of the publicly documented but something different…)

Sane manufacturers will use something standardized like DisplayPort, but, well.

Bob99 wrote:

I hope this helps without adding too much to any confusion.

“without adding too much to any confusion” certainly has not been a consideration the USB-IF has had with the Type C…

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As noted above, I edited the post to remove the reference to the testing of the port. MS seems to recommend using an adapter as shown above, instead of a plain USB-C to DisplayPort cable, so maybe that’s where things went south.

Good to know about the 5 different modes for USB-C to transmit video, though. Maybe MS is using one and the monitor is expecting another! After all, we ARE talking about Microsoft here!

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In a recent case of searching for video adapter cables, I found out that some of them are “one-way” only type of cables.

I am not suggesting this specifically for your case with a type C connection, but just check to be sure that the cable is designed to work in the direction that you will be using it.

I was looking for a display port to VGA adapter, and they were specific in that it only worked from the display port on a computer, to a VGA port on a monitor. It was not to be used for a computer VGA port to a display port monitor.

In other words if there is an active display protocol “conversion” taking place that is more than just pins and connectors, it may not be bi-directional.

This article explains how USB-C is just a physical interface spec. It is versatile and can carry various protocols. https://gizmodo.com/why-more-and-more-video-monitors-are-relying-usb-c-1844110486

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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doneager wrote:

Wait for the USB-C to DisplayPort adapter offered by the Microsoft Store to become available again. Purchase it from them and a new cable elsewhere.

IMHO, this has the highest chance for success.  As an alternative, if you have a VGA cable, the Surface USB-C to VGA adapter seems to be avaliable in the Microsoft Store.

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Thanks to all! Ordered, received and installed a new cable. It works! Paid about twice what the first one cost. I guess you get what you pay for. I highly recommend cablematters.com.

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mledman

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