Connecting HP USB dock to Mac mini for dual displays

TimBobJo wrote:

Sorry all I probably should have given the doc details in the post.

It is the HP G5 doc. LINK TO INFO

"HP USB-C Dock G5- Suitable For Up To 3 Additional Monitors"

That appears to be a plain USB-C dock that uses DisplayPort Alt Mode, and MST, to drive multiple video outputs.

HP says "This dock works with both HP and non-HP USB-C and Thunderbolt-enabled laptops", but that may not mean that the dock actually uses or understands Thunderbolt. A lot of times vendors will use terms such as "Thunderbolt-compatible" to describe a device that actually uses USB 3.* and DisplayPort Alt Mode protocols … and that doesn't use or understand how to take advantage of Thunderbolt.

A footnote on the HP page says "[1] For USB-C® functionality, host PC must support the DisplayPort™ Alt mode protocol through its USB-C® port. Thunderbolt™-enabled notebooks will function at USB-C® speeds. Charging and port replication is supported on notebooks that have implemented USB-C® industry specifications. Power button to turn on or wake the system, on HP notebooks. HP does not provide Ethernet and audio drivers on Mac PCs."

Note that "G5" might be a brand line, with there having been multiple "G5" docks, some of which are plain USB-C ones, and some of which are Thunderbolt ones. That seems to be true of the HP "G6" dock lineup.

The usual symptom of trying to connect two displays to a Mac using a dock that is using MST is that

• The Mac only detects one of the displays
• The displays appear to mirror each other because the dock is feeding both of them a copy of the single video signal from the Mac

The monitors are two HP E243i.

HP – HP EliteDisplay E243i 24-inch Monitor

These are 24", 1920x1200 pixel monitors. Based on the description of the included cables, they would appear to have DisplayPort, HDMI, and VGA inputs. They also have USB3.0 hubs - you can connect one upstream 3.0 link, to get two downstream USB 3.0 ports. It looks like at the 1920x1200 setting, they run at 59.950 Hz (not at some super-high refresh rate that might require special consideration).

I am hoping to have split displays with the Mac connected, although I may have to use HDMI from one monitor and leave one connected to the doc. That way I could get a monitor, mouse and USB though the Hub and the other monitor direct to the Mac via the HDMI port.

I think you will need to limit yourself to connecting a single monitor to this dock, if you want to be able to have the two monitors show different things (extended display mode).

Macs that support multiple monitors – like the current Mac minis – can only drive

• One monitor from a plain USB-C dock, hub, or adapter
• Up to two monitors from a Thunderbolt, hub, or dual-display adapter. (The M4 and M4 Pro Mac minis can drive up to three displays via USB-C or Thunderbolt – but not three displays over a single USB-C / Thunderbolt port.)

USB-A was never designed to carry video, so if you have a so-called "universal" dock that has a video output and that works with USB-A hosts or USB-C ones, that is a sure sign that it uses a second-class workaround – such as DisplayLink – at least some of the time.

HP has released a number of docks with varying specifications, so without details about the dock (preferably the exact model, so we can look up its specifications on HP's site), it's hard to say more.

+1 As mentioned, you will most likely need to connect one display directly to the Mac mini and one display to the HP dock for Extended Display mode.

I have the same questions as the others have asked.

What model is the HP Dock..?

It might or might not work for expanding the USB ports and 1 display.

What make and model are the displays..?

The new M4 Mac mini supports 1 display on its HDMI port and 1 or 2 displays on its TB/USB-C ports.

for ref: see > Connect a display to Mac mini - Apple Support

What ports are on the dock and what ports are on the display?

Please tell us the model of the dock and the makes and models of your monitors.

Do you hope to use your work laptop as a display also? What is that computer?

Without details we can only guess.