Monitor(s) Not Showing Any Display

If your monitor(s) are not properly displaying the desktop screen like they should be, there are a number of possible culprits that could be causing the monitors to not cooperate. Check the following few things to ensure that everything is as it should be.

If these steps do not resolve your issue, please contact your IT Department for more assistance.

        - Check power to dock / color of power button on top of docking station. 

Depending on the model of dock you use, you may use differing power cables. The dock's power light will turn yellow as long as it's receiving sufficient power. If the dock power light is black, it is not receiving sufficient power to operate.

For Thinkpad USB-C Hybrid Docks: You will need a 135W charger for the docking station.
For Thinkpad Thunderbolt 3 Docks: You will need a 230W charger for the docking station. 

There are two options for connecting power to the "Engineering" Thunderbolt 3 Docks:

    If you have a Y-Splitter cable, connect the end of your charger to this, and plug the 170W & 65W ends into their respective ports on the back of the dock.

    If you do not have a Y-Splitter cable, then you'll need 2 chargers for your dock. Plug your 230W charger into the 230W port, and find a 135W charger to plug into the other power port. If you don't have one, request one from your IT Technician if you need one.

If the dock light is stuck staying yellow, it is unlikely that a power issue is the culprit to the problem. If all other options have been exhausted, experiment with utilizing a 170W in conjunction with the 230W, instead of 135W charger.

    Picture of Y-Splitter cable shown below, for reference:

        - Check HDMI/DisplayPort connections.

You'll want to make sure that the data cables (HDMI/DisplayPort) are firmly connected into both the monitors, and the dock.

If you are unable to get the monitors to work and the cables are properly connected, try connecting one of those cables directly into your laptop (instead of the dock) to see if any display shows up then. If it works, then the dock could possibly be the issue. Let your IT technician know what you find out, as any information helps them pinpoint the cause of the issue.

        - Check input selection on monitors (ensure it's set to HDMI when connected via HDMI).

Although most monitors will automatically change input whenever you connect a new display source to it, not all do. If it's set to HDMI but you're connected via DisplayPort, then your monitor will act as if nothing is plugged into it at all.

Try utilizing a button that is either underneath the center of the monitor, or on the bottom right of the monitor; the button can be pushed in, left, right, up, and down to navigate through the monitor settings. If your button doesn't do that, the monitor likely has arrow buttons to navigate monitor settings instead.

        - Perform power cycle on the docking station.

In order to do this, you will want to perform the following steps in order:

1. Unplug the USB-C cable connecting the laptop to the docking station.

2. Disconnect all power cables from docking station.

3. Hold power button (button on top-left of dock) for ~15 seconds.

4. Once time has elapsed, let go of power button, plug power back in, and hold power button again for ~10-15 more seconds.

5. Reconnect the USB-C to the laptop, and confirm functionality.

        - Check Display Settings on computer and that 'Extend' option is used with multiple displays.

Using the bottom search bar, search "display" and click on the listing "Display Settings."

Once you're in Display settings, you may have to change the setting to 'Extend Desktop to this Display." To change that, there is a drop-down menu right next to the 'Identify' button that houses the setting we'll want to set it to (see below).

You can utilize the 'Identify' button to order your monitors in the proper layout so your cursor smoothly goes from left to right across all screens just the way you want.

        - Check Lenovo Vantage & Windows updates for driver updates.

Many times there are driver updates that don't get pushed through on our system because they're not deemed as critical, but unfortunately not installing these often leads to experiencing display issues such as flickering or even completely unresponsive monitors.

To check if there are any available updates in either or these locations:

1. Open Lenovo Vantage (accept terms and conditions if it prompts you), and click on the blue 'Check for Updates' button. If there are any, it will tell you and you'll want to go ahead and install all available updates.

2. Using the bottom search bar, type 'update' and click 'Check for Updates.' Scroll down and click on 'Advanced Options'. Under the 'additional options' section, click on the first listing 'Optional updates.' If there are any driver (or optional) updates to install, select all and then click the blue 'Download and Install' button. 

If you're prompted to restart your computer, you'll want to restart as soon as you are able.

        - Check that Dock drivers are installed to allow seamless compatibility with Thunderbolt Dock.

If you are still running into monitor issues, it is possible that you don't already have the proper drivers needed to work with your Lenovo Dock. This is something that you'll need to go to the Lenovo Support page to retrieve. If you aren't sure which driver to get, ask your IT Technician and they can help you with this.

For example, if you use a Lenovo Thunderbolt 3 Gen 2 Workstation Dock, then you can download your specific dock's drivers at this link here.