OWC USB-C Dock

I bought the OWC USB-C Dock from Amazon to use with my Google Pixelbook and received it on February 13, 2019.

One connects the dock to a personal computer that has a USB-C port. The dock has its own power supply and provides power to the personal computer via the USB-C computer link.

My plan is to re-arrange my desk to remove the HP Chromebox that I no longer use and put the OWC dock in its place. I will connect my HP S240ml monitor to the dock using a HDMI cable and a Mini DisplayPort adapter because the dock only has a Mini DisplayPort.

One problem that I have is the USB-C cable that ships with the dock is only 16" long, which is a bit too short for how I want to arrange my desk. I tried using other USB-C cables that I own, including one that came with my Pixel 2, but when i use then there is no display on the monitor.

OWC says the dock requires a USB 3.1 Gen 1 or Gen 2 cable and apparently the ones I own are not of that ilk, so I ordered the 36" cable directly from OWC that I am now using.

On February 29, 2019 I tried using the dock with my Pixelbook and for some reason the display refused to work. The only resolution was to remove the power cable from the dock and then plug it back in.

The problem persists even after swapping the USB-C cables. Unfortunatley, it is intermittent and not repeatable. It seems to be related to whether I have something actually displaying on the monitor. Hard to tell whether it is the OWC dock or something else causing the problem.

The I describe above continues to persist. I've ordered a new HDMI switch, but I tested a direct connection between the dock and the monitor and that did not resolve the issue. It acts as though the dock shuts down the port if it doesn't detect a monitor after some period of time.

I've observed that when I have the Google Pixelbook plugged in to this dock that the microphone is not accessible.