X1 Carbon 6th gen HDMI not working

[tommypoulsen]

Hi community

I just received my new X1 Carbon 6th gen laptop, and all drivers are fully up to date.

My problem is that the HDMI port does not seem to work - I've tried connecting multiple external screens to the HDMI port, but nothing happens (no screen-flickering either, as I experience on other pc's when connecting a remote display).

Any ideas?

Regards

Tommy

[lenardg]

Have you tried different HDMI cables? As stupid as it sounds, I had an HDMI cable that did not work with all computers. Some computers worked fine, but not all. Try a different cable, and see if it helps!

[tommypoulsen]

Thanks for your fast reply - I did, however, try several cables, and btw they all worked with other pc's/laptops

[lenardg]

Ok, it is probably not the cable then.

Did you try to switch the display over? Sometimes Windows will refuse to put out anything on other displays unless you tell it to. Meaning that simply connecting will not be enough.

So hit Windows+P, and choose Extend or Second screen only.

Also, could you check if your other display shows up in the Display settings page of the settings app?

Or if you open Device Manager, do you see the connected display shown under Monitors?

[tommypoulsen]

Right - I tried both Extend, Duplicate and Second Screen Only - without luck.
Also the monitor does not appear in the Device Manager / Display settings page

[lenardg]

Could you check if you have installed the Thunderbolt firmware update:

https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/fi/en/products/LAPTOPS-AND-NETBOOKS/THINKPAD-X-SERIES-LAPTOPS/THINKPAD-...

Also, if you have the latest Thunderbolt software installed:

https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/fi/en/products/LAPTOPS-AND-NETBOOKS/THINKPAD-X-SERIES-LAPTOPS/THINKPAD-...

And while you are it, check the Graphics card driver version as well :-) Sometimes the Lenovo Vantage updater does not recommend updates that are available on Lenovo's support site. 

Latest graphics driver is version 23.20.16.5018, can be found at:

https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/fi/en/products/LAPTOPS-AND-NETBOOKS/THINKPAD-X-SERIES-LAPTOPS/THINKPAD-...

[tommypoulsen]

The Thunderbolt software and latest graphics driver installs ok (still no luck with th HDMI, though), but when installing the Thunderbolt firmwate I get an error about "No active Thunderbolt controller found in the system..." - see attached screenshot.

Honestly I don't know what Thunderbolt is...

[lenardg]

Have you tried a BIOS update?

Thunderbolt 3 is a connection technology, which uses the usb type-c port on your notebook. And has its own firmware and software. On some notebooks the HDMI function is also through this subsystem. That is why I asked. For example the P50 had HDMI problems and a Thunderbolt firmware upgrade fixed that.

[tommypoulsen]

Hi - regarding BIOS update, the BIOS installer informs me that I'm up to date with BIOS updates, so I think I'm good there also.

[lenardg]

I am almost out of ideas now  

Could you try the following two things, although I think you might have tried at least one of them already 

1. Shut down your computer. Now connect your external display with HDMI and then turn the computer on. Check if you see the boot image on the other display or not.

2. Again, shut down your computer. This time try to connect your HDMI cable as soon as you have logged into Windows. (Some users reported with the X1 Yoga 3rd gen - if I remember correctly - that the HDMI connection worked only for a little while after booting).

If you see no picture in either case, I would suggest you contact Lenovo Support next. 

And also, are you using a Lenovo preload or did you install Windows from scratch by yourself?