The USB connector on your laptop has always been one of the most important and useful ports available. Its "universal" design allows you to connect an endless number of peripherals and accessories to your laptop. As device manufacturers reduce the number of ports on their laptops in an endeavor to make your device more desirable for mobile working, the only port found on many laptops is the USB-C port. How will your team connect to external displays while on road? Will you need countless adapters and cables to find a solution? Fortunately, the versatility of those few USB-C ports can save you from that reality. Today, the current USB Type-C iteration keeps users connected and productive while working from a mobile setting, including the ability to connect external displays. This is achieved thanks to the DisplayPort over Alt Mode, more commonly known as DP Alt Mode. What is DP Alt Mode Alt Mode is part of the USB-C protocol. As the name suggests, it allows alternative data types to be transmitted via the USB-C port on your laptop. In this case, the DisplayPort protocol is transported via Alt mode from the laptop to the display. Unfortunately, not all laptops support DP Alt Mode. The easiest way to confirm support for DP Alt Mode is to look at the icons next to the USB-C ports on your laptop. If the ports show the Thunderbolt or DP icons seen below, your device supports DP Alt Mode. If your USB-C ports are not indicated with either icon, unfortunately, you won't be able to take advantage of this feature. Note: If you do not have a DP Alt Mode capable laptop, USB Display Adapters powered by Display Link chipsets will allow for the additional displays to be used. Benefits of DP Alt Mode Supportability Unlike the USB-C and USB-A display adapters mentioned above, which are powered by DisplayLink chipsets, an adapter that uses DP Alt Mode to function does not require any additional drivers to be installed to work. This driverless solution is an IT Managers' dream, as it does not require them to dedicate valuable resources to support users who may encounter issues installing drivers due to lack of administrator privileges or other software issues. Convenience The convenience of DP Alt Mode-enabled products is most obvious in the context of a mobile worker. You have a port-limited laptop but need the flexibility to connect the peripherals you need when you need them, external or secondary displays being a primary target. This is where the benefits and power of a USB-C Multiport adapter are realized. USB-C multiport adapters come in all shapes and sizes, with each one offering an array of different connectivity options from USB-A & C ports to SD card readers. One port that is common across all multiport adapters, however, is a display port of some sort, typically HDMI or DisplayPort. The benefit here is only needing one adapter to take care of all your connectivity needs, including displays. Your team, and their laptop bags, will thank you for a simple, yet powerful mobile connectivity solution. Need help picking the best multiport adapter? Download our helpful USB-C Multiport Adapter grid to determine which adapter will best suit your needs. Performance DP Alt mode-driven displays will also offer users higher performance than DisplayLink-based adapters since they use the laptop onboard graphics to drive the display. Lag and other performance-related issues won’t be a concern. How Can I Use DP Alt Mode Thanks to its driverless plug and play design, there is not much involved to get up and running using a DP Alt mode supported adapter. Simply connect your USB-C Multiport adapter to your USB-C port, make the connection between display and adapter using your DisplayPort or HDMI cable and your second display will be up and running in seconds. Like any other display, the settings can be adjusted from your operating system settings. Note: The maximum resolution of displays driven by DP Alt Mode will be dependent upon the version of DisplayPort supported by your multiport adapter. DP 1.2 multiport adapters can support up to 4K 30HZ, while DP 1.4 supported adapters can display up to 4K 60Hz due to an increase in overall bandwidth offered by the more recent version. Looking for more Mobile Performance working solutions? Visit our Mobile Workforce Solutions Portal. Mobile Workforce Solutions Portal Want to learn more about leveraging the power of multiple monitors? Visit our Multi Monitor Solutions Portal Multi Monitor Solutions Portal