Various factors can affect the performance of displays when using a DisplayLink-based Plugable docking station or USB graphics adapter. Some of these factors include the connection quality, USB bandwidth, driver versions, and display settings. The details below highlight some common causes of poor performance, but this is not an exhaustive list. If you are experiencing sub-optimal performance, try the following steps as a starting point.

1. Use the Original Host Cable

If your Plugable product has a detachable host cable, ensure that you are using the original cable that came with the product. Third-party cables may not support the necessary speeds or may be of lower quality, leading to performance issues.

2. Connect to an Appropriate USB Port

Connecting a product that requires higher speeds, like 5 or 10Gbps, to a lower-speed USB port (such as USB 2.0) can reduce available bandwidth and negatively impact performance. For best performance, ensure that your DisplayLink-based Plugable product is connected to a USB port on your computer that supports the required speed. For example, if using a USB 3.0 docking station (5Gbps), connect it to a USB port that supports 5Gbps or higher.

The required USB speed for each Plugable product is listed as the Version and Link Rate in the Connection to Host section of the product specifications on Plugable’s website.

3. Install the Latest DisplayLink Driver

Ensure that you have installed the latest DisplayLink driver from Plugable's website. While Windows Update can provide DisplayLink drivers automatically, they may not always be the latest version. If your driver was installed some time ago, a newer version that includes performance optimizations may be available.

• The latest DisplayLink drivers are available on the Downloads tab of the product page for your Plugable product, or at www.plugable.com/displaylink 
• It’s recommended that you update the DisplayLink driver through a “clean” reinstallation. This involves removing the existing driver from the system using a specialized cleaning tool from Synaptics before installing the updated driver.
  • Windows Clean Reinstallation steps can be found here.
  • macOS Clean Reinstallation steps can be found here.

4. Set Display Refresh Rates to 60Hz

Most DisplayLink-based products support a maximum refresh rate of 60Hz. While other refresh rates may appear as options in your operating system, selecting them may lead to reduced performance. We recommend keeping refresh rates for connected displays set to 60Hz.

How to Change Display Refresh Rates

Windows:

1. Right-click on the desktop and select Display settings.
2. Select the display you want to adjust from the display arrangement diagram at the top of the window.
3. Click Advanced display settings.
4. Under Refresh rate select 60Hz from the dropdown menu.
5. A prompt will appear asking if you want to save the setting change. Select Keep changes
   
   

macOS:

1. Click on the Apple menu and select System Settings.
2. Click Displays in the sidebar.
3. Select the display you want to adjust from the available options.
4. Click the Refresh Rate dropdown and select 60Hz.
   
   

5. Connect Your Laptop to Power (If Applicable)

If your laptop is not able to charge from the DisplayLink device (i.e., if the device or your laptop does not support USB-C Power Delivery), ensure that your laptop is connected to a power supply. Some laptops reduce CPU performance when running on battery to conserve energy. Connecting a power supply allows the laptop to run at full performance, which can help improve the performance of the DisplayLink-based product.

6. Apply System Updates

Outdated BIOS, graphics drivers, or operating system versions can sometimes lead to reduced performance of DisplayLink-based products. Ensure that your system has the latest updates from its manufacturer to help maximize the performance of your DisplayLink-based device.

7. Reduce Dynamic Content On Screen

DisplayLink-based products are mainly intended for productivity applications like word processing, web browsing, and typical office tasks. If you use a DisplayLink-based dock or adapter for demanding applications with a lot of dynamic video content such as video games, CAD software, or video editing, you might encounter performance issues. These applications require higher graphical processing power and lower latency than DisplayLink technology is designed to support. For the best experience with these types of applications, a direct connection to a system's native graphics output is recommended.

If using multiple displays and/or a laptop screen, try keeping static content (like documents, emails, or spreadsheets) on DisplayLink-powered screens while reserving more dynamic applications for your main display.