Genie Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 I’m upgrading my WFH setup but need something that will also work with my wife’s laptop. I will probably go into the office and pick up a Dell Thunderbolt Dock like the one below. It connects to my work laptop via USB-C. My wife’s laptop doesn’t have USB-C, will it all still work if I get a USB-C to (regular) USB converter? Actually, might be a silly question but as my wife’s laptop isn’t dell will it not work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tegis Posted February 1, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted February 1, 2021 (edited) In theory yes (apart from charging), but it depends on both the dock and the laptop. I've done usb-c docks to usb-a on laptops but that dock might not accept it. They can be iffy at the best of times. Getting a sure answer here will be difficult. edit: If that is a Dell TB16 dock you need Thunderbolt on the laptop. No way around it edit2: The Dell D6000 dock can perform the things you want Edited February 1, 2021 by Tegis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted February 1, 2021 Author Share Posted February 1, 2021 15 minutes ago, Tegis said: In theory yes (apart from charging), but it depends on both the dock and the laptop. I've done usb-c docks to usb-a on laptops but that dock might not accept it. They can be iffy at the best of times. Getting a sure answer here will be difficult. edit: If that is a Dell TB16 dock you need Thunderbolt on the laptop. No way around it edit2: The Dell D6000 dock can perform the things you want Cheers, not sure what the model is that we use. If I can see some variety I’ll try and nab a D6000. So will my wife’s laptop output video via USB-A, then out to 2 monitors via the dock? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tegis Posted February 1, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted February 1, 2021 5 minutes ago, Genie said: So will my wife’s laptop output video via USB-A, then out to 2 monitors via the dock? Depends a little on the age. If it has USB3 it will be fine. USB2 might lag 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted February 2, 2021 Author Share Posted February 2, 2021 9 hours ago, Tegis said: Depends a little on the age. If it has USB3 it will be fine. USB2 might lag It’s only about 12 months old, but fairly budget spec. I’d assume it has at least 1x USB3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenm Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 Just Google the model number. A 12 month old laptop really should be USB 3 yes. It should be a blue socket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted February 2, 2021 Author Share Posted February 2, 2021 I tried it today and it just wasn’t having it at all, even my very expensive work laptop (with USB3) didn’t want to know. When I put the thunderbolt into the USB-C It lights up and everything connects. Via the USB-C to USB-A adapter it didn’t light up and nothing happened. Could it be the adapter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tegis Posted February 2, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted February 2, 2021 Which dock did you end up with in the end? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share Posted February 3, 2021 (edited) On 02/02/2021 at 19:41, Tegis said: Which dock did you end up with in the end? Looking it’s a TB16 I should have shopped around the other desks a bit more. Looking at the D6000’s on eBay I’ve never seen those at work. Edited February 3, 2021 by Genie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tegis Posted February 3, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted February 3, 2021 (edited) 20 minutes ago, Genie said: Looking it’s a TB16 I should have shopped around the other desks a bit more. Looking at the D6000’s on eBay I’ve never seen those at work. Ah, shame that. Another option could be the Dell WD15 dock. That is a pure USB-c dock, not thunderbolt. That might work with the converter you have for the missus laptop. Edited February 3, 2021 by Tegis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share Posted February 3, 2021 (edited) 36 minutes ago, Tegis said: Ah, shame that. Another option could be the Dell WD15 dock. That is a pure USB-c dock, not thunderbolt. That might work with the converter you have for the missus laptop. Oh nice, that looks better. Half the price of the D6000 and has HDMI and VGA ports. I might buy myself one, just wish there was a confirmation that USB-C to USB-A works. Edited February 3, 2021 by Genie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted November 15, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted November 15, 2021 Does anybody have any experience of any laptop docks that work with both a windows laptop and a macbook? With my home office set up now I've got monitor, keyboard, mouse, webcam etc all plugged into my work laptop. I can use my Macbook with all that stuff but it's a bit of a faff unplugging everything and plugging it all back in. Ideally I'd like a docking station that I can just swap them both in and out of with ease and everything would work. The perfect solution would be something like this, but one that would work with both laptops But I doubt I'll get something like that that would work with both laptops. So something like this would also work, but there are so many out there I was hoping someone on here used one and had a recommendation This is very similar to the one work provides me with, but it doesn't support a macbook so I'm looking to swap it out for one that does Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tegis Posted November 15, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted November 15, 2021 Make sure the PC has a thunderbolt port and you are all set with whatever at full tilt. Macs are a bit picky if you want two external monitors but othervise its usually plug and play. Dell TB16 or WD19TB are excellent but pricey. We did try a belkin one that worked fine but I don't remember which one Thread at your service 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limpid Posted November 15, 2021 Administrator Share Posted November 15, 2021 I use USB-C docks for all this (with Chromebooks). Monitors and all other devices plugged in and I just connect the dock to a USB C port and it provides power, network, etc, etc. They cost £20-£30. Don't buy any Dell dock. Most only work for windows and bizarrely need you to install drivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted November 16, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted November 16, 2021 13 hours ago, limpid said: I use USB-C docks for all this (with Chromebooks). Monitors and all other devices plugged in and I just connect the dock to a USB C port and it provides power, network, etc, etc. They cost £20-£30. Don't buy any Dell dock. Most only work for windows and bizarrely need you to install drivers. Yep the one I've got is Dell (it's what work gave me) and it has USB-C dock which connects to the MacBook, but it only charges it, it doesn't connect everything else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted November 16, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted November 16, 2021 15 hours ago, Tegis said: Make sure the PC has a thunderbolt port and you are all set with whatever at full tilt. Macs are a bit picky if you want two external monitors but othervise its usually plug and play. Dell TB16 or WD19TB are excellent but pricey. We did try a belkin one that worked fine but I don't remember which one Thread at your service Cheers! Didn't realise there was another thread. Apologies @limpid, feel free to delete this if necessary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviramsey Posted April 6, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted April 6, 2022 I've used the ThinkPad Thunderbolt 3 Dock (Gen 2) and lent it to coworkers with Macs for whom it just worked. There are a couple of ThinkPad only features (MAC address pass-through, mirroring the power button on the dock to the laptop, and Wake On LAN), but otherwise "Universal Compatibility: This dock works with Lenovo, ThinkPad and any other brands’ Thunderbolt™ or USB-C™ enabled laptops". The specs do manage to say both: "OS Requirements: Win10, Win11" and "Supported operating systems: OS independent", but I can attest that it works with Linux and Chromebook as well as Windows and Mac. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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