OnePlus 7 USB-C Dock Advice

[06.nico]

ok the dock you mentioned was not available in Germany so I gave a try to another one "USB C Hub ZOETOUCH 9 Ports USB Type C Adapter Docking Station mit HDMI 4K,Gigablit Ethernet RJ45,3 USB 3.0,SD TF Kartenleser,3.5mm Audio Ausgang mit T"

I did a quick test yesterday and ... HDMI + Ethernet + microSD card + 2 USB keys + wireless logitech k400+ plugged in and everything is working ! I used the oneplus dash AC adapter to power the USBC dock. The dock is getting a bit warm but nothing to worry about.

Now the bad news ....
- dash charge not working (ok nothing new there), phone show charging icon but I do have a doubt it is true. I need to try with a more powerful DC-in.
- I don't have any sounds through the HDMI cable. The phone show the headphone icon and I just don't know how to force HDMI instead. Hopefully I plan to use a BT headset which is working fine in this setup.
- keyboard / mouse response time is bad, laggy. I did try the same setup plugin-in my laptop instead of the phone (using the usbc hub, it works fine on my DELL BTW) and it is all good ! So it must be on oneplus side.
- playing a movie stored on a USB key, while displaying it on the TV through HDMI is also a bit laggy. There is noticeable freezes, playing the same movie from the internal storage is better. I doubt it is coming from my key, might be more related to a bandwidth issue on the usbc hub side.

On software side everything has been said already, it is not as good as DEX from Samsung, I hope OnePlus will provide an update to better benefit of this desktop mode. I have to give a try using a line-in cable from USBC hub to tv ... maybe this is the reason of the missing sound over HDMI...
Nico

 

[superac11]

Now the bad news ....
- dash charge not working (ok nothing new there), phone show charging icon but I do have a doubt it is true. I need to try with a more powerful DC-in.
- I don't have any sounds through the HDMI cable. The phone show the headphone icon and I just don't know how to force HDMI instead. Hopefully I plan to use a BT headset which is working fine in this setup.
- keyboard / mouse response time is bad, laggy. I did try the same setup plugin-in my laptop instead of the phone (using the usbc hub, it works fine on my DELL BTW) and it is all good ! So it must be on oneplus side.
- playing a movie stored on a USB key, while displaying it on the TV through HDMI is also a bit laggy. There is noticeable freezes, playing the same movie from the internal storage is better. I doubt it is coming from my key, might be more related to a bandwidth issue on the usbc hub side.

On software side everything has been said already, it is not as good as DEX from Samsung, I hope OnePlus will provide an update to better benefit of this desktop mode. I have to give a try using a line-in cable from USBC hub to tv ... maybe this is the reason of the missing sound over HDMI...
Nico

There dongle get hot after using for 5 hours but no performance degrade, the heating source is the Ethernet cable, using wifi will solve heat problem. Again the heat is expected but never cause any problem or performance penalty.

Dash charge will not work, which is expected but the phone will charge slowly.

Sound works fine with HDMI for me.

I use the desktop mode with linux deploy and VNC to get Linux desktop. Which is always smooth for my home. Although when I use that on university there is one time some choppy mouse movement which was by the HDMI cable noise. Tried on other and it works fine, try with other monitor and HDMI cable.

Look like your dongle does not gives full speed, try other if the above doesn't solve it.

 

[nemo136]

Anker 7 in 1 hub works great and transforms it into a full computer (hdmi, ethernet, usb, power delivery).

 

[quentin0]

Is there an app or something that can allow us to automatically switch to a desktop mode, sort of like DEX? Screen mirroring works in a pinch, but it'd be better if it could:
-rescale to match external display's aspect ratio and resolution
-adjust DPI to take advantage of the added real estate
-put the phone's display to sleep
-lock in landscape

 

[superac11]

Is there an app or something that can allow us to automatically switch to a desktop mode, sort of like DEX? Screen mirroring works in a pinch, but it'd be better if it could:
-rescale to match external display's aspect ratio and resolution
-adjust DPI to take advantage of the added real estate
-put the phone's display to sleep
-lock in landscape

Navigate to Setting->System-> Developer Option scroll until you find Force Desktop Mode. Turn on the switch which will enable something like Dex.
Use second screen from play store to change DPI Resolution and force Landscape. You can't put the phone display to sleep although set a black wallpaper, create a empty home screen, dim the brightness will save the battery consumption. I will suggest to use Linux Deploy and VNC Viewer to experience real linux experience which will be Cool AF and get the real work done.