A corporate IT department is issuing laptops to remote sales engineers. When connecting a laptop via its physical USB Type-C port to an enterprise docking station, connected USB peripherals (keyboard and mouse) function correctly, but attached dual 4K external displays remain blank and report no signal. The docking station requires DisplayPort Alternate Mode (Alt Mode) or Thunderbolt compatibility to drive external video. Which of the following explains why video output is failing while USB peripheral connectivity works?
- The laptop's physical USB Type-C port supports standard USB data transfer but lacks DisplayPort Alternate Mode or Thunderbolt support from the host controller.Answer
- BAll physical USB Type-C ports natively encapsulate Thunderbolt bandwidth, indicating the issue is caused by corrupted monitor driver files.
- CThe Mobile Device Management (MDM) agent installed on the laptop has executed a corporate wipe policy that disables video port transport.
- DThe mobile operating system requires POP3 account synchronization to be active in order to negotiate high-resolution monitor stream protocols.
Answer
The host laptop's physical USB Type-C port supports standard USB data transport but lacks DisplayPort Alternate Mode or Thunderbolt hardware controller support necessary for video output.
The correct answer correctly identifies that while USB Type-C specifies a standard physical connector, optional features such as DisplayPort Alternate Mode or Thunderbolt protocol support must be built into the host motherboard controller. If the laptop's port only supports standard USB data channels, USB peripherals like mice and keyboards will function, but external video signals cannot be transmitted.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
USB Type-C Alternate Modes vs. Physical Connector Standards