How to Fix DELL Docking Station Not Working on Windows 11/10

If you’re using a laptop, a docking station is an essential tool, which allows you to connect sorts of peripherals and gain a desktop-like experience. However, quite a lot of users reported that their Dell docking station isn’t working, and some common symptoms include the docking station not turning on or the attached devices (monitor or audio) not functioning correctly. If you’re stuck in the same situation, don’t worry. This guide will help you out.

Try these fixes:

Here are 4 simple fixes for the Dell docking station not working issue. You don’t have to try them all. Just work your way down the list until you find the one that does the trick.

1. Check the physical connection
2. Restart the docking station
3. Update your Dell docking station driver
4. Update the BIOS

Fix 1 – Check the physical connection

The first thing you need to do is check the physical damage to your docking station or the ports on your computer. Simply inspect the dock’s performance by plugging it to another laptop. If it works well and each device behaves properly, there should be nothing wrong with the dock and cables. Then try another device with the port you’re using or, if possible, plug the dock into another port to confirm the original one is intact. If these steps fail to identify the cause, continue to the next fix.

Fix 2 – Restart the docking station

The device glitches can sometimes be solved by a simple restart. Before you move on to anything more complicated, try restarting your Dell docking station completely to see how it works.

1. Plug all the cables out of the docking station, including the power cord.
2. Wait a couple of minutes for the docking station to auto-reset.
3. Connect the power adapter to the docking station and power it on.

Now connect the peripherals you need to the dock to see if it goes back to normal. If not, the problem may be related to the device drivers. You can check out the next method to troubleshoot.

Fix 3 – Update your Dell docking station driver

In most cases, the Dell docking station not working issue is caused by faulty or outdated device drivers. So you should update the Dell docking station driver to see if it fixes your problem.

To update your device drivers safely and easily, here are two options for you:

Option 1 – Download and install the driver manually

You’ll need some computer skills and patience to update your drivers this way, because you need to find the exactly right driver online, download it and install it step by step.

1. Go to the official Dell driver downloads page.
2. Enter your docking station model in the search bar and click Search.
   
3. Click the Download button next to the docking station driver you want.
   
4. Once downloaded, you can open the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions to install the driver manually.

Option 2 – Automatically update the driver (recommended)

If you don’t have the time and patience to update the Dell docking station drivers manually, you can do it automatically with Driver Easy.

Driver Easy will automatically recognize your system and find the correct drivers for it. You don’t need to know exactly what system your computer is running, you don’t need to risk downloading and installing the wrong driver, and you don’t need to worry about making a mistake when installing.

1. Download and install Driver Easy.
2. Run Driver Easy and click the Scan Now button. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.
   
3. Click the Update button next to the flagged driver to automatically download the correct version of that driver, then you can manually install it (you can do this with the FREE version).
   
   Or click Update All to automatically download and install the correct version of all the drivers that are missing or out of date on your system. (This requires the Pro version which comes with full support and a 30-day money back guarantee. You’ll be prompted to upgrade when you click Update All.)
   

After the driver update completes, restart your computer to fully employ the changes. Then test if your docking station works properly. If not, there’s one more fix to try.

Fix 4 – Update the BIOS

To let your Dell docking station works smoothly as expected, it’s also necessary for you to install the latest BIOS. Below we’ll show you how to update the BIOS in detail.

1. Type msinfo in the Windows search box and click System Information.
   
2. Check your BIOS Version/Date.
3. Type cmd in the search box and select Command Prompt.
   
4. On the Command Prompt window, enter the following command to get your serial number.
   

   wmic bios get serialnumber 

   
5. Go to the Dell Drivers & Downloads page.
6. Enter the serial number and click Search.
7. Scroll down to click Find drivers and select BIOS under Category.
   
8. Select the newer BIOS version compared with your current one and click Download.
   
9. Once done, open the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process.

After your computer restarts, the BIOS should be updated to the latest. So both of your BIOS and device drivers are up-to-date, the Dell docking station is supposed to run without issues.

Hopefully one of the fixes above helps. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to share your comment below!

• Dell
• laptop