A field technician is setting up a workstation that requires connecting a laptop to an external docking station supporting dual 4K monitors, gigabit Ethernet, and high-speed storage. The technician notices that while the laptop charges when plugged into the dock using a spare USB Type-C cable found in storage, the external monitors and network connection fail to detect any signal. Which of the following best explains why this issue occurs despite using a physically fitting cable?
- The physical USB Type-C connector shape is standardized, but the cable used lacks the internal wiring needed to support USB 3.2/Thunderbolt data lanes and DisplayPort Alternate Mode.Answer
- BUSB Type-C physical connectors are restricted to charging devices and require a separate DisplayPort cable to transmit video signals.
- CThe cable requires a T568B Ethernet crossover adapter installed on the connector head to transport network packets over USB.
- DDual 4K video streams exceed digital bandwidth limits and can only be transmitted over analog VGA or DVI-D dual-link cables.
Answer
The physical USB Type-C connector shape is standardized, but the cable used lacks the internal wiring needed to support USB 3.2/Thunderbolt data lanes and DisplayPort Alternate Mode.
The correct answer correctly identifies that USB Type-C describes the physical connector form factor, not the underlying protocol capability of the cable. Basic or cheap USB Type-C charging cables only carry wire pairs for USB 2.0 data and power, lacking the high-speed differential lanes necessary to carry DisplayPort Alternate Mode video signals and high-speed docking station data.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Physical USB-C Form Factor vs. Supported Protocol Standards & Cable Capabilities