Dock Compatibility (AMD) - USB-C / Thunderbolt

@dimitris Did you ever solve your issue? I’m facing the exact same problem, but in my case with a Razer Thunderbolt 4 dock. It worked perfectly with the 11th Gen board and a M1 Pro Mac but both external displays are stuck at 640x480 on Linux (Ubuntu 22.04). Working flawlessly on Windows 11

No, still pending, Not much updated on the tracking issue upstream (see my previous post here). You might want to follow that and/or open one for your particular dock.

I suppose there will be some traction after the holidays etc as people get back online.

The fact that things work on Windows is good, means it’s not a “deep” firmware issue but more likely a Linux driver thing.

Hello everyone,
I also have a similar problem with a Kensington docking station model SD5560T.
Using the 13" Framework with AMD 7640U and any linux distribution (I’ve tried the latest Endeavour Galileo 11, Ubuntu LTS 22.04, and Fedora 39) it detects my monitor only when I connect it to the docking station’s dedicated usb-c port (via an HDMI > usb-c converter) and sets it to a resolution of 640x480 (despite being a 4k).
When I connect the HDMI cable directly to the docking station, it freezes everything connected to it.

Using windows 11 on the framework everything works perfectly, and everything also works perfectly using my work laptop (with Intel) with any linux distribution.

I have a Kensington SD5760T and it originally ran the monitors connected to the HDMI outputs only at 640x480, as well (AMD Framework, Arch Linux). No freezes, though.

I could get my monitors to run at full resolution by forcing the correct EDID of the monitors via kernel parameters (see Kernel mode setting - ArchWiki for a short outline). Actually, reading out the EDID of the monitors via get-edid was successfull even when the monitors were connected through the dock, but I did it via an HDMI expansion card directly on the Laptop.

Not the most satisfying solution, and this might cause problems when changing the monitors at the dock, but it works for now.

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Wonder if we should compile some sort of list for docks that are updateable within Linux/Windows here as well

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I’ve been using a framework 13 AMD with a SteamDeck Dock sucessfully for a few days now.

1 external screen at 2560x1440 144hz running great.

I did run into the charging issues described in other threads with the original steamdeck 45w powersupply. But I switched to the framework power supply (through the dock!) and it’s all working pretty good now.

Updating steamdeck dock: I go here once in a while and check the steamdeck dock firmware. you can download and update from command line. I updated a few times in the past and it fixed some oddities. Index of /archlinux-mirror/jupiter-main/os/x86_64/

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I have been using the SteamDock as well, but suffered from occasional issues with the 2 monitors coming back up properly after a while of screen-out time (no suspend/hibernate, just lockscreen and going black).
I tried 2 different SteamDocks, same issue.
I also had the same issue with the SteamDeck running Ubuntu, so most likely SteamDock issue.

Last week I switched to a HP USB-C G5 Dock, and so far it seems to work better.

Or modify the existing list to include model specific support/notes?

I can speak to the uni USB-C 8 in 1 Hub. It’s my daily driver and does what it says it can on the AMD FW13 running Fedora 39.

Do you use a USB extension cable with the Steam Deck Dock so as to not bend it in odd ways, or does it reach fine with the laptop on a short stand?

I do not use a usb extension.

I simply have the laptop to the side of the dock and the cable doing an inverse “U” from the dock to the laptop.

I do plan on trying with a short-ish extension soon when I move desk, to try and tidy things.

Note, I never use the laptop screen when using the dock. Just a single monitor by preference.

Just had the laptop at the edge of the desk, then you can plug it in :sweat_smile:

I have the Lenovo 40B0 Thunderbolt 4 dock, and I am running Windows 11, but rolled back to FW drivers because the December AMD drivers were causing crashes. I didn’t notice it specifically with playing Youtube videos in Chrome, but was having issues with wake from hibernate.

I have a different problem in that the windows 11 taskbar since mid-December doesn’t switch to the window when I click on the icon for a window, and the hover icons disappear nearly instantly when trying to hover, so you have to click on the app icon in the taskbar to see the open windows. This only happens when I wake up from hibernate with the thunderbolt dock plugged in (same symptoms with a Dell WD22TB4), but if I unplug and replug the thunderbolt cable when this happens, the taskbar works perfectly when the monitors are re-connected. This wasn’t happening in November, and I have tried to roll-back AMD drivers and Windows Updates without success in fixing the issue.

My problems with playing videos in different browsers was only in combination with Winamp running at the same time with an USB type C or Thunderbolt dock attached. Since I don’t use it anymore, I don’t have any problems.

Here’s how I’ve been connecting the steamdeck dock for as long as I’ve had it. Works fine. At some point I had cut some rubber off the end of the connector. But since i’ve jerry rigged a cooler/stand the clearance helps.

I’ve been trying to get my two ThinkPad docks to work with the 7040 framework 13, with scarce success. Here are the two models I have as reported by boltctl:

weebey ~ 19:01:52 % boltctl     
 ○ Lenovo ThinkPad Universal Thunderbolt 4 Smart Dock
   ├─ type:          peripheral
   ├─ name:          ThinkPad Universal Thunderbolt 4 Smart Dock
   ├─ vendor:        Lenovo
   ├─ uuid:          10a08780-0006-ca14-ffff-ffffffffffff
   ├─ generation:    USB4
   ├─ status:        disconnected
   ├─ authorized:    Mon 05 Feb 2024 06:54:21 PM UTC
   ├─ connected:     Mon 05 Feb 2024 06:54:20 PM UTC
   └─ stored:        Mon 05 Feb 2024 06:33:22 PM UTC
      ├─ policy:     iommu
      └─ key:        no

 ○ Lenovo ThinkPad Thunderbolt 3 Dock
   ├─ type:          peripheral
   ├─ name:          ThinkPad Thunderbolt 3 Dock
   ├─ vendor:        Lenovo
   ├─ uuid:          c9030000-0070-6708-23b4-0e31c950891c
   ├─ generation:    Thunderbolt 3
   ├─ status:        disconnected
   ├─ authorized:    Sun 04 Feb 2024 04:24:10 PM UTC
   ├─ connected:     Sun 04 Feb 2024 04:24:10 PM UTC
   └─ stored:        Sun 04 Feb 2024 01:43:34 PM UTC
      ├─ policy:     iommu
      └─ key:        no

I want to connect one or possibly two (but one would be enough) 4K monitors to it. Connecting one sometimes works, although it doesn’t always work. Connecting two never worked, and often causes kernel panics. Here’s dmesg from the time I plug in the dock to the panic, right after I insert the second monitor. This is with a recent kernel:

weebey ~ 19:01:57 % uname -a 
Linux weebey 6.7.3 #1-NixOS SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Thu Feb  1 00:21:21 UTC 2024 x86_64 GNU/Linux

@Mario_Limonciello I see you’re working on this, I’d be very happy to provide any kind of output you need to contribute to this issue. It’d be great to have the docks to work properly.

Ah! Yes I think this is the same issue that a patch was recently posted for in AMD’s Gitlab.

Try this patch. If you can still reproduce it, raise it in AMD’s Gitlab.

Great, I’ll recompile and report how it goes. Thank you so much!

Unfortunately it still panics – I’ve posted on gitlab.

Dang ok, it’s slightly different then unfortunately.

I also opened another issue related a single display not working either (no kernel panic though).

I also get crashes just when disconnecting two 4K monitors (which were connected directly into the laptop USB-C ports). Overall the experience is extremely rough so far if you want to take advantage of those ports, to the point where I’m considering buying an Intel mainboard. Hopefully things will be fixed in due time though…