[gerlin2010]

I made an account just to share _my_ experiences with a Dell XPS 9300, Dell WD19TB and one Dell U2719x Display, running the latest Linux Mint, in Cinnamon flavor. There's a reason, I'm spelling out Dell so many times here, because my expectations were that such an all-company-x setup would work out of the box with the least amount of problems. Sadly it did not. Currently the setup is workable, but what I've experienced in the half year I'm running it was nightmarish. The thing wouldn't power up, screen would black out and not come on again during meetings, display must stay on all the time (no power safe), sleep is impossible because the system won't come up again or go to sleep again after a few seconds of waking it up. Web research has lead me to believe, that I'm not the exception, but rather the rule and there might be a reason Dell is still sending out firmware updates for the XPS and the dock (which in general is greatly appreciated). I have to add, the Laptop sits closed in a stand behind the screen, which might contribute to my problems, but I just couldn't let this 100% recommendation stand here without an opposite experience ... I hope this it's working out better for everyone else, but this is my "story". Dell support is no great help either and a time investment I am not happy to make anymore after several tries.

[LeonM]

I've had similar issues with my Lenovo second gen (AN40) thunderbolt 3 dock, which are mostly fixed with firmware updates.

The thing is: TB docks are _very_ complicated devices, consisting of multiple subsystems each running their own firmware. With the Lenovo dock (and I assume the Dell's are not much different) there have been numerous firmware updates over the past years. Updating them usually requires a windows application, the Linux fwupd can only do some (but not all!) firmware updates for the dock.

Anyway, what I am trying to explain here is that you should check if you have updated all parts of the dock's firmware. I recommend to use the Windows tools for that, don't trust fwupd to be able to update all parts of the dock.

I also suffered from the screen randomly going black, but that turned out to be a firmware issue with my display (LG 43" 4k). As it turns out: firmware on a display can also be updated. I needed to connect my laptop through a USB-C cable to the monitor, then run an update tool from LG. The update tool was of course windows only, and even buggier than the Lenovo dock firmware updater, but it did work! No more screen blackouts.

[gerlin2010]

I am regularly checking for updates using fwupdmgr. Did a few updates and things improved a bit. Did not try and firmware-update the display yet ... because I didn't know that was a thing. Thanks for the hint, will check that.

EDIT: I'll also check for a Windows tool, to see if it offers more updates.

[psds2]

Have you tried another operating system? I have used Cinnamon on an XPS 9360 with an external display hooked up via thunderbolt to displayport adapter. I had some of the issues you described, especially the sleep issues.

I asked about this because I'm not sure your issue is totally related to using a thunderbolt dock. Laptops generally require a lot of OEM developed drivers to fully function. It is very possible you would not experience these issues with Ubuntu which is fully supported by Dell on the XPS.

[gerlin2010]

My understanding is that Mint is heavily based upon Ubuntu and assumed there might be none such differences. Thanks for the suggestion -- I will definitely investigate in that direction.

[extr]

Have you tried the official DE edition Ubuntu distro to see if any of your issues are fixed? My experience is it's pretty good, one of the better linux laptop experiences you can get on a machine with comparable industrial design. Now, perhaps tellingly, I still use Windows 10 on my own 9300. While I appreciate Dell's efforts, I have yet to work with a linux distro on any laptop that does "laptop" things well, like docking/undocking seamlessly, autodetecting docks and USB hubs, having sensible power management settings, etc. So I just run windows now and get my linux fix with WSL.

With my 9300 I use the dell U2720Q monitor (27" 4K with built-in USB C hub). It does 4K@60Hz along with USB 3.1 data over the single USB C, non-thunderbolt cable provided (via HBR3/DP1.4 as mentioned elsewhere) in the box and basically everything worked perfectly immediately and I've had zero issues. Dell/Windows is still "not fantastic" at other laptop things, or at least not as good as apple, but one of the better experiences on the windows side in my opinion.

Relevant to the OP, I would add that when I did go to get a longer cable to connect the 9300 to the monitor, I ran into all of the insane issues described. "WTF, every cable looks identical but support wildly different features???" You have to become an mini-expert in USB technology to know what the hell you're looking for, no idea how non-technical people can even do it.

[gerlin2010]

I haven't really given Standard Ubuntu a chance yet, because I don't like the direction they're going in recent years (different topic). But will definitely consider it, if my issues persist. My XPS is a work laptop and I haven't used Windows for work in over a decade or so, which makes switching a potentially bigger undertaking ... which I might avoid, if possible.

Thanks for the cable length tip! Hadn't considered this and am using a 1,20m+ cable -- will definitely try a shorter one.

[paco3346]

Thank you for pointing this out- as individual stories our experiences are anecdotal but combined they paint a different picture. I was hesitant at first when I ordered mine and expected to have problems as others did.

I should also point out that I use an XPS 9570.

[gerlin2010]

I am happy for you, having a positive experience -- and partly because of that, slightly optimistic that Dell might improve my and my peers' situation.

And of course you are right: A single anecdote is just that, but a few more may paint a rather well-rounded picture.

Cheers

[paco3346]

To build on what someone else had said- firmware updates may play a roll here. While I do think any manufacturer should test things before they ship I am grateful that Dell does seem to keep pushing updates for them.

I did install the latest firmware when I bought mine (early 2020) and was able to through Linux. I also had a few BIOS updates I had applied before I even bought the dock and do recall a few of the change log entries mentioning TB dock fixes. Perhaps the same will be true for your machine.

[gerlin2010]

>To build on what someone else had said- firmware updates may play a roll here.

Yes, I am checking those.

Also with you on the firmware development process. Just wished I hadn't been such an early adopter ...