(02-16-2022, 08:05 PM)frankt Wrote: No, I am just reporting what has worked for me so far.
Yesterday I got another software update. I decided to try a USB-C to USB-C cable from the PPP to the Nexdock 360 lapdock and it worked for a little while. Again when I opened a program it filled the screen with no way to close the program without disconnecting the cable. When I plugged it back in it would not work again.
However, I had installed Evolution, and the other day when the Nexdock 360 was working for a few minutes,, that program switched from full screen to a window just by clicking on the top bar. I was able to resize it and open another program, and close Evolution. That doesn't seem to work for many other programs so far. I haven't been able to get it to work consistently yet.
Sorry for rambling, just trying to be clear.
Ah, good info. After reading this I decided to plug mine in again and try with a few different distros. One thing I did notice is that my keyboard, mouse and sound are all working even though the display never does. That might be a good sign.
I am going to do a little reading about getting DP Alt Mode working on Linux. Hopefully it is just software and not a hardware limitation.
Reminder: What the PinePhone Pro sends out, is "USB-C alt mode DisplayPort".
There are simple devices that take "USB-C alt mode DisplayPort" and give you a DisplayPort video connector.
Their are more complex devices that take the USB-C and turn it into USB 2.x hub, some peripherals, (like Ethernet), AND give a video connector(s). That video connector can be VGA, DVI-D, HDMI or DisplayPort.
If the output of the device is NOT DisplayPort, then their is an active converter in the device, to go from DisplayPort to whatever is used to the monitor, like HDMI.
(02-17-2022, 09:19 AM)Arwen Wrote: Reminder: What the PinePhone Pro sends out, is "USB-C alt mode DisplayPort".
There are simple devices that take "USB-C alt mode DisplayPort" and give you a DisplayPort video connector.
Their are more complex devices that take the USB-C and turn it into USB 2.x hub, some peripherals, (like Ethernet), AND give a video connector(s). That video connector can be VGA, DVI-D, HDMI or DisplayPort.
If the output of the device is NOT DisplayPort, then their is an active converter in the device, to go from DisplayPort to whatever is used to the monitor, like HDMI.
I have a Dell U2721DE monitor with an internal hub. I have no way of knowing what is happening internally to this device because it is a single USB-C cable connection from monitor to the phone.
The disappointing thing in my case is that all the hardware/ OS's below work flawlessly with this hub but the PPP does not.
HP Laptop with Windows 10
Macbook with MacOs
System76 Laptop with Pop!_Os
02-17-2022, 03:02 PM (This post was last modified: 02-17-2022, 03:05 PM by talpa.)
(02-05-2022, 07:35 PM)frankt Wrote:
(02-02-2022, 03:31 PM)frankt Wrote: I'm not getting any video output from the PPP either. If I connect it to the original Pinephone Convergence HDMI dock, the USB keyboard & mouse work, but no video and the external monitor shows "no signal". When I connect it to my NexDock lapdock via USB-C, the PPP screen expands in to a desktop mode, but no signal goes to the NexDock. When I disconnect the USB-C cable from the PPP, the phone screen shows "An output has been removed. Settings have been rel" and the message continues off the right side of the screen.
My original Pinephone displays video and works with the Convergence dock as well as the NexDock lapdock. I know that they use different hardware, but at least I'm sure the dock and NexDock are working.
I keep getting an error when trying to update the PPP, so I don't know if any of the updates might solve this issue.
Update: I finally got the PPP software updated, and still no video out to an external monitor or Nexdock 360 lapdock. Also tried a j5Create HDMI dock with no luck. Anyone have any ideas? No video out is a deal breaker for me, and I only have 20 days left on the 30 day warranty.
I also played around with the PP Conv. Dock.
On mobian (upgraded to unstable) I got an output both on Phosh and sway.
I did however have to switch to a different VT and back for the image to appear.
Also 4k@30Hz had "random" noise on roughly 1/3 of the screen to the right, regular FHD seems fine.
And the orientation of the USB-C matters just like it does with the PineBook Pro.
After switching back and forth between the PP Dock and another USB Dock the PPP refused to recognize that any of the docks had a monitor attached.
A power cycle fixed that issue.
(02-02-2022, 03:31 PM)frankt Wrote: I'm not getting any video output from the PPP either. If I connect it to the original Pinephone Convergence HDMI dock, the USB keyboard & mouse work, but no video and the external monitor shows "no signal". When I connect it to my NexDock lapdock via USB-C, the PPP screen expands in to a desktop mode, but no signal goes to the NexDock. When I disconnect the USB-C cable from the PPP, the phone screen shows "An output has been removed. Settings have been rel" and the message continues off the right side of the screen.
My original Pinephone displays video and works with the Convergence dock as well as the NexDock lapdock. I know that they use different hardware, but at least I'm sure the dock and NexDock are working.
I keep getting an error when trying to update the PPP, so I don't know if any of the updates might solve this issue.
Update: I finally got the PPP software updated, and still no video out to an external monitor or Nexdock 360 lapdock. Also tried a j5Create HDMI dock with no luck. Anyone have any ideas? No video out is a deal breaker for me, and I only have 20 days left on the 30 day warranty.
I also played around with the PP Conv. Dock.
On mobian (upgraded to unstable) I got an output both on Phosh and sway.
I did however have to switch to a different VT and back for the image to appear.
Also 4k@30Hz had "random" noise on roughly 1/3 of the screen to the right, regular FHD seems fine.
And the orientation of the USB-C matters just like it does with the PineBook Pro.
After switching back and forth between the PP Dock and another USB Dock the PPP refused to recognize that any of the docks had a monitor attached.
A power cycle fixed that issue.
So, I have tried 4 different USB-C hubs, connecting to 2 different monitors (HDMI and DP), multiple OS iterations and got nothing as far as video out. This does not seem to be a software issue.
03-03-2022, 05:28 AM (This post was last modified: 03-03-2022, 05:29 AM by magdesign.)
Did you try connecting it after the system booted up, is running and you are logged in?
I figured out that if you connect a large screen (bigger than hd) convergence will not work when connect while booting.
(03-03-2022, 05:28 AM)magdesign Wrote: Did you try connecting it after the system booted up, is running and you are logged in?
I figured out that if you connect a large screen (bigger than hd) convergence will not work when connect while booting.
using a cheap usb-c to hdmi adaptor.
(PinephonePro, KDE plasma mobile stable)
Yes, I only connect it to a dock or cable after I have logged in. If I connect the cable before logging in, the phone screen goes into desktop mode but you cannot log in or do anything with it. The keypad and navigation buttons all go off the visible screen. Trying to swipe or slide doesn't work.
03-03-2022, 08:11 PM (This post was last modified: 03-04-2022, 12:33 PM by frankt.)
(03-03-2022, 05:33 PM)frankt Wrote:
(03-03-2022, 05:28 AM)magdesign Wrote: Did you try connecting it after the system booted up, is running and you are logged in?
I figured out that if you connect a large screen (bigger than hd) convergence will not work when connect while booting.
using a cheap usb-c to hdmi adaptor.
(PinephonePro, KDE plasma mobile stable)
Yes, I only connect it to a dock or cable after I have logged in. If I connect the cable before logging in, the phone screen goes into desktop mode but you cannot log in or do anything with it. The keypad and navigation buttons all go off the visible screen. Trying to swipe or slide doesn't work.
Huge progress!
I checked for updates today and got a big upgrade to Manjaro KDE Plasma 5.24.2. I rebooted the phone, connected it to my NexDock 360 with a USB-C to USB-C cable and it popped right up in Desktop Mode. There are now navigation buttons at the bottom left, so you can close programs without having to disconnect the phone.
The only program that allows me to resize its window is Evolution (by clicking or dragging the bar at the top of the window). Hopefully this will be worked on as well.
When I disconnect the phone from the NexDock, the phone's screen comes back, but without the navigation buttons. I have to reboot it to get it fully back to phone mode.
I am very excited and grateful that so much progress has been made for Desktop Mode.
Hopefully this will allow more users to connect to their existing hubs and monitors.
* Edit 3/4/22:
After the success with the NexDock 360, I connected it to the j5Create USB-C/HDMI hub and it also worked in desktop mode for the first time with USB-C to HDMI - using a full HDMI to HDMI cable from the dock to my 24" Acer monitor.
On the NexDock 360 using the Angelfish browser, the URL bar was cut off. But on the Acer monitor it did appear at the bottom left, just above the navigation buttons. I will see what resolution is being displayed the next time I connect to the NexDock & the monitor.
* Photos attached showing the new desktop background and navigation buttons, browser with URL bar at bottom left, and Evolution in windowed mode. Plus the NexDock with the URL bar hidden on the Pine64.com site (the dark photo).
03-20-2022, 11:42 AM (This post was last modified: 03-20-2022, 11:53 AM by scoulber@protonmail.com.)
So I finally got some video out via one of my hubs!
But...
Only when I had the USB-C cable in a certain way. When I inverted the orientation of the cable into the PPP, the functionality went away. That was repeatable multiple times.
I am pretty sure I also read early on in one of these forums, that charging had a similar issue.
Now, I thought that USB-C should work right side up and upside down, equally. But this seems not to be the case.
Does this make sense to anyone, or am I off base?
Thanks
I should expand:
I was talking to one of the hardware guys at work, as we are moving to USB-C hubs for the Hotel stations, and he told me that when the peripheral devices, specifically, display devices were connected or disconnected from a plugged in hub, things got problematic, but if the peripheral devices stayed connected to the hub, and just the hub was connected / disconnected from the computer things were far more stable.. I got similar info from one of the hub manufacturers. This is what I was testing with a few different hubs, and finally got one of them to mostly work.
