The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Dell XPS 9560 - strange electrical noises from thunderbolt/usb port

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by Epanastasis, Oct 22, 2017.

  1. Epanastasis

    Epanastasis Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    6
    I have noticed some strange electrical interference noises emanating from my unit when using docks (and a mouse connected to the dock).

    I have two set-ups, my home and my work set-up. At work, I use a TB16, with all peripherals connected to the dock, and only the thunderbolt usb-c cable connected to the XPS. Whenever I use the mouse scroll, I can hear these weird electrical interference noises that coincide perfectly with the scroll function.

    At home, I use a USB 3.1 Dock, with keyboard + mouse plugged into that, and a monitor connected to the XPS via DisplayPort -> usb-c adapter. I get exactly the same thing with that set up.

    Any ideas what is causing this? Is it cause for concern?
     
    Epanastasis, Oct 22, 2017
    #1
  2. don_svetlio

    don_svetlio In the Pipe, Five by Five.

    Reputations:
    351
    Messages:
    3,616
    Likes Received:
    1,825
    Trophy Points:
    231
    Probably coil whine - if the machine functions normally, I'd just ignore it.
     
    don_svetlio, Oct 23, 2017
    #2
  3. Epanastasis

    Epanastasis Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    6
    Cool, thanks for the reply! Wasn't sure if cause for concern or not.
     
    Epanastasis, Oct 23, 2017
    #3
  4. anytimer

    anytimer Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    302
    Messages:
    2,160
    Likes Received:
    321
    Trophy Points:
    101
    Do you get the same thing with the mouse plugged directly into the laptop?
     
    anytimer, Oct 24, 2017
    #4
  5. Epanastasis

    Epanastasis Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    6
    Oddly no - just if I have multiple peripherals plugged in via a hub.
     
    Epanastasis, Oct 25, 2017
    #5
  6. anytimer

    anytimer Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    302
    Messages:
    2,160
    Likes Received:
    321
    Trophy Points:
    101
    1. Is the sound still there if you turn off the speakers? Sometimes a poor design will inject noise into the audio path.

    2. Is there an option to power the dock externally? If so, do you still get the noise if the dock is powered externally, not drawing power from the laptop?
     
    anytimer, Oct 25, 2017
    #6
  7. Epanastasis

    Epanastasis Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    6
    1. Sound is there independent of speakers

    2. Both docks are powered externally already

    It also seems to get louder the longer I'm using mouse/keyboard... If I come back to the machine after a while away, it takes a few scrolls to get the sound to return.
     
    Epanastasis, Oct 26, 2017
    #7