Headset not working in Docking station – Realtek Audio Codec

[AITpro Admin]

Symptoms:

Headset does not work in a Docking station, but works when connected to a laptop USB port.
Headset works in a Docking station, but intermittently disconnects and stops working.
When a headset is connected to a Docking station it causes all other devices that are connected to lose connection with the Docking station.
Moving the person to a different cubicle and the headset works in the Docking station at that cubicle, but does not work at that person’s cubicle.

Environment:

Dell laptops (primarily Latitude laptops) and Dell Docking stations (D6000, WD19TB, WD22TB4).  DDPE (Dell Encryption).

Cause of the problem:

Outdated version of DDPE, which causes catastrophic failure for some Realtek High Definition Audio Codec Device Driver versions:  10.0.66.126, A04, 10.0.207.1, A36.  After DDPE encrypts the device driver the problem causes Dock USB disconnects as well as overall OS catastrophic failure.  ie the OS will not complete a restart when choosing restart and will instead shutdown.  You need to disconnect the USB-C dock cable from the laptop and hold the power button on the laptop in order to boot up.

Workaround Solution (this is for a Dell Latitude 9520 laptop):

Install the Realtek High Definition Audio Device Driver: version: 10.0.66.191, A10 > https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-aw/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=p00dt&oscode=wt64a&productcode=latitude-15-9520-2-in-1-laptop Note: This Realtek High Definition Audio Device Driver: version: 10.0.66.160, A04 appears to work as well.

Important Note: This link points to a specific Dell Latitude 9520 laptop model. Use the Dell search feature for your specific Dell laptop model as there are different device drivers for each different Dell laptop models.

Permanent Solution:

Upgrade DDPE to a current version (in our case we are moving to Bitlocker).  Note: I assume upgrading to a current version of DDPE will fix the problem.  Since we are moving to Bitlocker disk encryption vs DDPE system level encryption then the root cause of the problem caused by DDPE encrypting system device driver files will be non-existent.

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