Linux usb display adapter

USB to VGA on Linux

I’ve been offered a Macbook Pro mid-2012. Although it wouldn’t have been my first choice it’s still a great piece of hardware, only problem for me is that it only has a single Thunderbolt port allowing me to plug only one external monitor by default. I use Debian 64-bit on it and I’ve been looking for solution to add a second external monitor (third total). My only option seems to be using a USB to DVI/VGA adapter. I’m aware of the limitations, it will be for basic coursework and office stuff. I’ve been Googling for a while and can’t seem to find any reliable information on using these kind of devices on Linux. I’m adventurous so I don’t mind getting dirty in config files, although I don’t have much experience with these things on Linux. Has anyone had any experience in getting these to work? Which device would you suggest? Any help/pointers/personal experiences. NOTE: I’m not asking for information for the particular device linked, my question is mainly, does anyone have any experience in getting any USB to VGA device working on Linux and if so, which device? Perhaps a comment on the particular configurations used, as setting them up on Linux appears to be non-trivial.

3 Answers 3

The UltraVideo device

If you look at the specs for that particular device it doesn’t support Linux.

Support Windows XP,Vista, Winodws 7,Windows 8, windows 8.1, Mac OS up to 10.9.4 (**Does NOT support XP 64bit and Windows Server**) 

System Requirements

Does NOT support XP 64bit and Windows Server/Linux

Other compatible devices?

In general USB to (HDMI,DVI,VGA) devices either work or don’t. But there are devices that are known to work under Linux, such as this one: UltraVideo® USB 2.0 to DVI-I or VGA Video Adapter

Does it work with Linux?

An open source driver is available, for DL-1×5 devices which is now built into the Linux kernel. Linux support for DL-3×00 or DL-41xx is not currently available.

The Linux kernel 3.4 also contains a DisplayLink driver, but current generation USB3 chips are not supported as of Sep 2014. It looks like no current DisplayLink-chip will ever work under Linux [17] due to intended encryption.

• Windows 8/7/XP drivers installed automatically via Windows Update (Internet connection required)
• Mac is not supported due to significant limitations in the operating system. -Linux configuration for advanced users only

The Pluggable website even has a page devoted to Linux, titled: DisplayLink USB 2.0 Graphics Adapters on Linux – 2014 Edition. The article had this to say on the issue:

The short story

Multi-monitor on Linux, especially with multiple graphics cards and USB graphics adapters, remains problematic. You can find many distros and configurations where it just won’t work. We’d recommend staying away unless you’re an advanced Linux user who is willing to play with different distros, install optional components and do hand configuration. Unfortunately, it’s just not plug and play yet today, as it is on Windows

The long story

That said, it is possible to get things working in limited scenarios for USB 2.0 generation DisplayLink-based adapters. We used all Plugable products in the tests for this post. Our test systems included Intel, Nvidia, and AMD primary graphics adapters. For Nvidia and AMD, we tested both the open-source and proprietary drivers.

Intel is the most compatible, providing decent results under all configurations. Nvidia graphics cards, when running the open source nouveau driver, only work in Multi-Seat mode. Attempting multi-monitor setup with a DisplayLink adapter and an Nvidia graphics card results in garbage graphics being displayed on your DisplayLink-attached monitor. The Nvidia proprietary drivers do not work under any scenario.

The AMD open-source drivers work under both multi-seat and multi-monitor setups, but the performance, at least in our tests, is significantly worse than with the Intel drivers.

The AMD proprietary drivers are unavailable in any easy to install package under Fedora 20, but we installed them in Ubuntu, and were unable to get any results, they simply do not work with DisplayLink graphics..

TL;DR

As I’ve shown, it isn’t a simple answer, it’s very hit or miss, which devices will work with which particular distros of Linux. If it were me, I’d likely go with option #3, but your mileage will vary. Also, prepare yourself for spending a fare amount of time messing with options to get things working, or potentially having to switch to a different distro.

We don’t recommend or support USB graphics on Linux yet, because of the problems above — but if you do have questions, please feel free to comment below. We want to get as much information out as possible about what works and doesn’t, so things can improve here. There’s no reason Linux can’t have the same or better multi-monitor support as any other platform in time!

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Connect a Second Monitor to Linux Mint with a USB to HDMI Adapter

Having a second or even a third monitor attached to your PC gives a helpful increase in screen space. Being able to have more windows and applications visible at once improves productivity and can reduce the stress of computer usage.

Generally, the number of screens is limited by the number of PC interfaces. Especially for laptops, which often have fewer ports than desktop/tower systems. Fortunately, the number of monitor ports can be increased by the addition of a simple adapter. For Windows users it’s easy. For Linux users, well it is quite easy too, as this article explains.

USB to HDMI Adapter

An adapter can “change” a spare USB port into HDMI port. I bought this Cable Matters USB 3.0 to HDMI Adapter from Amazon for £51. Although it is entitled “…for Windows“, it operates fine with Linux. I got it working as detailed below. By the way, I am using Linux Mint 21.1 MATE on a laptop made by MSI, model cx61.

The adapter model number is 103046.

Physical Installation

Start by physically installing the adapter. Disconnect your monitor from the HDMI port, if connected, and reconnected it to a USB 3 port, via the interface adapter.

Download the DisplayLink Driver

Download the Displaylink (who make the adapter’s chipset) driver from here:
https://www.synaptics.com/products/displaylink-graphics/downloads/ubuntu. Under “Latest Official Driver“, click the “Download” button, then “Accept” to accept the license agreement and save the file, which will be saved as “‘DisplayLink USB Graphics Software for Ubuntu5.6.1-EXE.zip‘” or similar. Note: By the time you read this article, which was last updated January 2023, the version and name of the file might have changed slightly, as might the download URL. If so, it should be quite easy to find it with a Google search of “Linux driver for Displaylink HDMI adapter”.

Driver Installation

Unpack the zip file to reveal a single runnable file. Run it. Example commands:

# unzip "DisplayLink USB Graphics Software for Ubuntu5.3.1-EXE.zip" # ./displaylink-driver-5.3.1.34.run Verifying archive integrity… 100% All good. Uncompressing DisplayLink Linux Driver 5.3.1.34 100% DisplayLink Linux Software 5.3.1.34 install script called: Distribution discovered: Linux Mint 20.1 .

Enter “y” in answer to the question “Do you want to continue? [Y/n]”

Much more stuff is printed at this point. Packages are installed from standard repositories, including dkms and libdrm-dev. A kernel module is built (evdi.ko). Finally a message appears:

Reboot your system to make sure the driver is properly picked up.

Troubleshooting

If errors happen with the installation, please make sure you downloaded the latest version of the driver. For example, I initially tried to install driver version 5.3.1 which failed with various compilation errors on Mint 21.1 (based on Ubuntu 22.04), although it had worked perfectly on Mint 20 (Ubuntu 20.04). Downloading the latest version fixed the problem.

Configure Monitors

If you have more than one monitor connected, it will probably be necessary to configure the layout. I am running Linux 21.1 “MATE” version. So I used the “Monitors” graphical application to arrange my monitors and desktop as desired. If you are using Mint Cinnamon, or even another distribution altogether, there will be an equivalent app, but I am not sure what it is called.

Performance Testing

An HP Pavillion 23 XI monitor was connected over the adapter, at a resolution of 1920×1080. There was no noticeable decline in performance versus a direct HDMI connection. I’m not a gamer and use the monitor for normal desktop work, such as web surfing and business applications.

Little CPU load was imposed by the adapter. For example, watching an HD video on the relevant screen, or just moving a window backwards and forwards (fully rendered), brought a “DisplayLinkManager” application to use 140% of CPU. On my powerful but ageing laptop (CPU: i7-4702 MQ, a fourth generation i7 with 4 cores/8 threads), that is engaging less than 1.5 out of 8 available cores. In fact watching the HD video usually imposed about 60% of one CPU.

I then switched the adapter to a new Dell U2719D 27″ Widescreen monitor, at a resolution of 2560 x 1440. That’s 2K, and the maximum resolution of the USB adapter. Again, there was no noticeable degradation in performance in normal “office” use. And watching this test 2K video stressed the CPU to, again, about 140% of one thread or less.

Not sure what difference it makes, but the laptop graphics card is an Nvidia GeForce GT 740M.

Performance should therefore not be an issue, except perhaps in base model PCs with 2 threads or less.

New Kernels

It might be expected that the driver would need to be rebuilt with every new kernel installed on the PC. This appeared not to be the case. A kernel install did not appear to trigger a rebuild.

Other Linux Variants

This DisaplayLink driver is likely to work on other Debian based distros, for example Ubuntu. Red Hat/Fedora based systems might need a slightly different approach.

Sound Issue

After installing the driver on Linux Mint 20 (and 21) MATE, there was an issue with no sound being produced from Youtube videos and applications like VLC.

Under MATE sound preferences -> “Output” tab, a new output had appeared, “USB3.0 to HDMI Adapter Digital Stereo (IEC958)”. It was activated, presumably directing all sound output to an imaginary audio device provided, somehow, by the adapter. Perhaps intended for monitors with built in speakers.

I clicked the radio button for “Built-in Analogue Stereo” instead. Sound started. Problem fixed. However, it reverted after a reboot. A permanent fix was to disable the “ghost” USB adapter sound device: Sound Preferences -> Hardware tab -> scroll down to “USB3.0 to HDMI Adapter”, highlight it, then click “Profile” followed by “Off”. Fixed.

Conclusion

Being able to connect a monitor via USB obviously increases the number of monitors you can have, and provides a useful upgrade path where existing ports are limited. By adding a USB 3 hub, and more adapters, it should be possible to connect many screens to a single laptop.

I didn’t use a hub, but had three monitors connected and running fine: one via the USB to HDMI adapter, another directly to the laptop’s HDMI port, and third, older monitor to the VGA port. All were different resolutions, and it all worked.

Disclaimer

This article is simply a record of a procedure carried out on my laptop. No guarantee or assurance of any kind is provided that the same procedure will work for you.

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