Dell Docking Station and AC Adapters

Created by Joe Stillman, Modified on Fri, 1 Sep, 2023 at 4:03 PM by Joe Stillman

Wycliffe USA

Dell Docking Station

and

Dell AC Adapters

v20230901.JS

Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this document is to explain the differences between the various Dell docking stations and Dell AC adapters. This will aid in understanding the piece of equipment that you are looking at, and what version of each device you have.

This article will also explain how to “reset” the docking station, which fixes many common issues.

What is a docking station?

While on the go, you want your computer to be as portable as possible. But with portability comes a price. With today’s thin and light laptops, you may find that you are not able to plug all of your devices in at the same time when you are at your desk.

Laptops only come equipped with a few ports

This is where a docking station (or a dock for short) is useful. It is a single device that contains more ports than your laptop has. It allows you to plug all of your extra devices into the dock, including power, without having to constantly plug and unplug those devices from your laptop when you leave or return to your desk.

A dock even allows for wired internet connections, as well as power delivery.

Docking stations provide more port options

A dock can remain on your desk with all of your devices plugged into it. When you leave with your laptop, you only need to unplug the one cable coming from the docking station. You don’t need to unplug all of your devices before leaving.

When you return to your desk, you only need to plug in the single cable from the docking station to the laptop in order to reconnect with all of your desktop devices.

Dell USB-C docking station Model WD19

Dell USB-C Docking Stations

Wycliffe currently has two Dell USB-C docking stations in circulation.

Model WD15 - smaller and square
Model WD19 - larger and rectangular

Wycliffe HelpDesk technicians may often ask which dock you have when troubleshooting with you. They may refer to each dock as a square or a rectangular dock. The photo below shows the difference between the two models.

Dell USB-C docking station size and shape comparison

When in doubt, the model numbers are always listed on the bottom of the dock.

Dell USB-C docking station model number locations

My docking station is not working!

You may have experienced returning from a meeting or a trip to find that your dock is not functioning properly. Symptoms may include: no display on monitors, keyboard or mouse connection issues and even low-wattage charging messages.

The dock itself is a simple small computer that controls all the devices you have plugged into it. Sometimes it needs to be reset, just as you would your laptop.

How To Reset a Dell USB-C Docking Station

The following steps will explain how to reset a Dell USB-C docking station. Doing so is safe to do any time, and will often eliminate the issues you may be experiencing while using a dock.

Below you will see a Dell dock plugged into a laptop with a USB-C cable.

Dell USB-C docking station and laptop

Step 1 - Unplug the dock’s USB-C cable from your laptop.

Step 2 - Unplug the power cable from the back of the dock.

Step 3 - Wait 10 seconds. This gives the dock a chance to fully power off.

Step 3 - Wait 10 seconds.

Step 4 - Plug the power cable back into the dock.

Step 5 - Wait 10 seconds. This gives the dock a chance to fully power back on.

Step 5 - Wait 10 seconds.

Step 6 - Plug the dock USB-C cable back into the laptop.

Your devices should be working properly now.

Further Docking Station Troubleshooting

If resetting the dock doesn’t take care of your issues, the following suggestions may help.

Reboot your laptop

Sometimes you just need to reboot your laptop. Give this a try before contacting the HelpDesk.

Is my dock locked up?

One quick way to see if the dock needs a reset is if the light on the USB-C cable is lit or not.

If not, perform the reset procedure above.

USB-C dock cable light - off vs. on

Laptop not charging while docked or USB-C plug has no light on it

Check that the AC adapter is plugged into the back of the dock. The AC Adapter barrel plug should have a blue ring light around it. If it doesn’t continue checking the AC adapter’s power cords all the way to where it’s plugged in. It may have been pulled out of the outlet or a power strip may have been turned off by accident.

Note: Some very old dock AC adapters may not have a light on the plug. If yours does not, just check to make sure that both ends are still plugged in properly. The AC adapter itself may have a small light on it too.

AC adapter barrel plug light - off vs. on

Dell AC Adapters

There are a few different types of AC adapters that are in circulation within Wycliffe.

Some of these AC adapters are for your laptop, some are for your docking station. Some work interchangeably between devices, while others only fit one specific device.

Plug Types

There are two types of plugs found on the AC adapters in use within Wycliffe.

Barrel Plug (Coaxial power connector)
USB-C Plug (USB Type-C connector)

USB-C plug vs. barrel plug

Barrel plugs have been around for many years, and you may still be using an old one from many laptops ago on your current laptop. Since all of these plugs are the same size, any of them will fit in all but the latest models of laptops that Wycliffe currently issues.

Because there are so many different sizes and shapes of AC adapters over the years, how do you tell which ones to use for which device?

Many sizes and shapes of Dell AC adapters

Laptop vs. Docking Station AC Adapter

While most of these adapters will power your laptop, only one has enough wattage to power your dock and all of the devices plugged into it.

How do you tell them apart?

Laptops - Smaller AC adapters, typically states 65W power rating on the label.
Docking Stations - Larger AC adapter, typically states 130W or higher power rating on the label.

Here is a visual comparison of them:

Laptop adapters = smaller. Docking Station adapters = larger.

Notice how the docking station AC adapter is much larger than the other three smaller laptop AC adapters. This is a good way to tell which one is for your dock and which one is for your laptop if you mix them up.

The other easy way to tell is by looking at the labels. At the top of each label, next to the Dell logo, you will see the wattage. The smaller laptop AC adapters are rated at 65W, while the much larger docking station AC adapter is rated at 130W.

Laptop adapters = 65W. Docking Station adapters = 130W

Which AC adapter do I use?

Laptops

For all laptops, you will want to use the smaller 65W AC adapters. Your laptop will charge using the larger 130W docking station AC adapter, but you should reserve the larger dock AC adapter for plugging into your docking station.

If you notice in the photo below, the laptop on the top only has a USB-C port. For this laptop, you can only use the USB-C AC adapters.

Notice that the second and third laptops have both a USB-C and barrel plug port on them. Each of these laptops may use either the USB-C plug or the barrel plug.

Note that if you are using a docking station, and it is plugged into the USB-C port, you do not need to also plug in the barrel plug AC adapter.

Some laptops have a single charge port, others can use multiple types of charging plugs.

Docking Stations

The docking stations use the larger 130W AC adapters.

The smaller 65W laptop AC adapters won’t provide enough wattage to power both the dock and charge the laptop at the same time. They will work, but your laptop battery may eventually drain or your devices plugged into the dock may stop working.

If you see a message on your laptop screen about not having enough power to charge the laptop, the cause is often that you have plugged the wrong AC adapter into the dock. If this happens, check to make sure the proper AC adapter is plugged into the dock.

Some of the Dell docking stations have a USB-C port on the back or front of them, but these are not for powering the dock. Do not plug your laptop’s USB-C AC adapter into the USB-C port on your docking station, as it may damage it.

The only AC adapter you can safely plug into the docking station is the larger 130W AC adapter with the blue ring light on the plug.

Both docking stations use the same larger 130W barrel plug AC Adapter only.

We’re Here to Help!

If you have any questions about the various docking stations and how to reset them, or laptop and dock AC adapters, please contact the Wycliffe HelpDesk. We are here to help!