NUC11PAHi5 USB-C port and losing audio issues

[GregW2]

I got a NUC11PAHi5 last week. I upgraded the BIOS from 0042 to 0048 using a USB stick and then installed Windows 11. I initially has it connected to a USB-C monitor Asus PA329CV and started noticing it would just have a black screen when I would come back to it. I then tried the USB-c port on the Asus PA279CV and the Dell U2720QM and same problem. Initially works but then when the computer turns off themonitor after not being used for a while - black screen. Only way to get it back was to reboot. 

So then I switched to a usbc to DP adapter to the DP in of a Benq 3200U 4k monitor and same problem with the black screen.

Then I switched to the HDMI port connected to a benq 3200U and have not seen the black screen problem again. Also the minidisplayport output has not had the black screen problem. Curiously while the Benq is connected, I have Dell HD (non 4k monitor) monitor connected via usb-c to DP and no black screen problem. 

The other problem I have been having is sometimes I come back to it and there are no audio devices. It loses the Benq as an HDMI or miniDP output. Only solution is to reboot. This actually happened to me last night when I connected an Elgato thunderbolt dock to the front usbc port. It found the elgato as an audio device but lost the benq, and the benq was still lost after disconnecting the TB dock. I cant remember if there was atrigger to losing the hdmi audio on prior occasions. 

I am a long time NUC user but am perturbed at the problems I am having with the usbc ports. I have looked extensively through these forums and see similar reports but on prior bios versions. I thought the 0048 bios corrected all these issues. I read in one post there is a 0049 bios forthcoming. I am keeping it because I dont need to run four 4k monitors right now and dont have to use the usbc ports but planned on potentially running it with 4 monitors in the future. I have attached the SSU info. Please advise.

[GregW2]

The only thing that I can think of that is different with this NUC build compared to my 10th gen and 8th gen NUCs is that I did take one of the two 16 GB DDR4- 2666 SO-DIMMs out of my 10th gen NUC and use it for the memory on this new NUC for the time being. I dont think that would be causing an effect on USBC port graphics but just mentioning it. I have read that using DDR4-3200 would not make much of a difference in speed, but if it could be affecting the USBc port functionality, I could get some 3200 memory.

[Jean_Intel]

Hello GregW2,

Thank you for posting on the Intel️® communities. I am sorry to hear that you are experiencing issues with your Intel® NUC 11 Performance kit - NUC11PAHi5.

In order to have a better understanding of your issue, please provide me with the following:

• Have you tried using a different high-quality USB-C cable?
• Are you using a straight USB-C to USB-C connection?
• Did you make sure you are running the monitor's latest firmware version?
• Are you running the latest Thunderbolt™ driver? The latest version available is 1.41.1193.0.

Also, I noticed that you are running the graphics driver 31.0.101.3790. This is part of our generic graphics drivers and has not yet been validated to work with your NUC11PAHi5. The latest graphics driver validated for your product is 31.0.101.3222. Please, install this driver following the clean installation process.

Best regards,

Jean O. 

Intel Customer Support Technician

[GregW2]

I was using the USB-C cable that came with each of my 4k USB-C monitors: Asus PA329CV, Asus PA279CV, and the Dell U2720QM. Each of thes emonitors is updated to the latest firmware available from the manufacturers. These USB-C cables have been confimred to work perfectly over the past year with 2 different laptops with thunderbolt ports.

For the Benq PD3200U 4k monitor which does not have a USBC input, I am using a cablematters usbc to DP adapter connected to DP cable previously confirmed to work with the Benq from a thunderbolt dock and from 2 different laptops with thunderbolt ports.

I do have the latest Thunderbolt driver. 

I was experiencing these black screen and audio problems on driver 31.0.101.3222, so in this community an Intel person had recommended the newer driver so I tried it out before sending the upload. But actually Windows automatically reverted me back to the 3222 driver so I am now on that driver. 

Interestingly, I have not experienced the black screen problem again, and my working theory is that as long as you have a full HD monitor connected to one of the ports, the problem doesnt occur as I only was having the problem when a 4k monitor was the only monitor connected to the NUC. 

I am going to try running the 4k monitor by itself on a USBC port to see if the problem recurs. And then the full HD monitor by itself to see if any problem arises.

The lost audio device problem did occur again yesterday but this time I didnt reboot and when I came back to the computer it recovered the Benq as an audio device. 

[GregW2]

I didn't have any problems with the miniDP and HDMI outputs so I went back to the usbc to DP adapter with cable and found that the black screen problem recurred. I decided the cable might be the problem as the adapter was cablematters usbc to DP 1.4 whereas the cable was cablematters DP 1.2. Switching to a different DP 1.2 cable from a different manufacturer has resolved the issue. This morning I also reconnected it to the USBC inputs of both Asus monitors, and I was unable to get the black screen problem to recur after several times of putting the NUC to sleep or letting Windows turn the monitors off. So I think the black screen problem is resolved for now. I also have not seen the "No audio device" problem since I made the last report.

I think the issues with USBC monitors must have been related to not having the latest firmware and drivers as they occurred when I first got the NUC and was installing everything. 

And with the Benq, I think it was the cable. Seems like a rookie mistake but that cable has been perfectly fine on other setups. 

Will report back if either problem comes up again. Thanks for the help. 

Two questions: is the HDMI port 2.1 or 2.0b? In one of the BIOS documentation, I saw a reference to an update of the HDMI 2.1 firmware. It would be useful to know if it is capable of VRR with an HDMI 2.1 monitor.

And what is the latest intel graphics driver for with Intel Arc and Xe support for 11th and 12th gen processors? I always thought I had to use those latest one linked to the processor in the NUC, but I think from now I will just use the driver referenced on the NUC model product page. 

[n_scott_pearson]

It is certainly true that 90% of all reports come down to an inferior cable/adapter issue - and losing audio is a common symptom of this.

My rule is that, if a cable comes with a monitor, it is likely junk and should be discarded. Think about it: if you were shipping a ton of monitors, wouldn't you include the cheapest cable you can possibly get away with?

Just saying,

...S

[GregW2]

It's surprising about this Cable Matters cable. Again it worked well for many years for many different products. Maybe I tugged it too hard at some point and didnt realize:

Amazon.com: Cable Matters 4K DisplayPort to DisplayPort Cable (DP to DP Cable, Display Port Cable) 6 Feet - 4K 60Hz, 2K 144Hz Monitor Support : Electronics

As far as cables included with monitors, I think on the other hand if I were a monitor manufacturer I would not want the cable to be the cause of a product problem or product return, so I would make sure the cable I included was a good one. 

I agree though, so many display issues are caused by cables not being up to snuff. 

Btw, Scott to this day I am using your NUC custom fan settings. Intel should just adapt it as the pearson profile in official NUC bios. 

[Jean_Intel]

Hello GregW2,

Thanks for your response. I appreciate your patience.

I am glad to hear that the issues seem to be solved. I would keep this thread open for a few days to monitor if the problems reappear. Please, let me know if you face any inconvenience.

About your questions, I can confirm that your Intel® NUC 11 NUC11PAHi5 has an HDMI 2.0b. This information is listed on the product specifications page.

Regarding the drivers, the Intel® Arc™ & Iris® Xe Graphics drivers are part of the Intel generic drivers. These could be installed on your system since they are supported by your processor. However, they have not been validated, and it is always recommended to use the latest driver for your Intel® NUC, as they have been fully tested to work with your Intel® NUC.

Best regards,

Jean O.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[n_scott_pearson]

LOL! I couldn't agree more. I was in charge of environmental monitoring and fan speed control (FSC), and referred to as Mr. FSC, for a large part of my career at Intel. In addition to my duties in the Desktop Boards group, I architected a feature called Intel Quiet System Technology (QST), which was implemented in the Intel Management Engine (ME) firmware of the 965 and 3, 4 and 5 Series chipsets. I had similar responsibilities in the Intel NUC group, which was formed from the Intel Desktop Boards team when that business was shuttered, and owned it through the delivery of the 5th gen NUCs (at which that point I retired).

...S

[Jean_Intel]

Hello HaraldStoerrle,

I hope you are doing fine.

Since I have not heard back about whether or not your issue reappears, I will close this thread. If you need additional information, submit a new question, as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Best regards.

Jean O. 

Intel Customer Support Technician.

[GregW2]

I have not had any further problems. And I recently updated to BOS 0050. I was happy to see that now I can have Display functions on POST which wasn't working before.

Before you close, I found the reference to the HDMI 2.1 firmware. It's under known errata. Why does every bios update talk about the HDMI 2.1 firmware if the specifications say it is HDMI 2.0b?

BIOS Update Release Notes (intel.com)

For the HDMI 2.1 firmware to be updated properly: If the BIOS
was updated from version 0040 or earlier, to version 0042 or
version 0046, then you must update to version 0042 or 0046
twice.

[n_scott_pearson]

I was told that what is happening here is that the HDMI forum has eliminated the 2.0/2.0a/2.0b designations and moved everything under the 2.1 umbrella (as subsets). As you can imagine, this has created all sorts of confusion and inconsistencies - and not just for Intel. In this case, there are two issues, (1) the documentation has not caught up with the forum's changes and (2) the solution offered here is not 100% compliant with the 2.1 specification (missing Full Rate Link (FRL) support, which I think means only 8K30, not 8K60).

Hope this helps (though I think it will generate more questions),

...S

[GregW2]

It would be great if the only thing it doesnt support is FRL. I would be happy if it supports VRR and quick media switching. I dont have any HDMI 2.1 monitors or TVs to test it out but if anyone does and can confirm it supports all the hdmi 2.1 specs except 8k60, that would be awesome. Or if Intel can confirm, that would be helpful

[MUC]

Please refer to this:

community.intel.com/t5/Intel-NUCs/NUC11PAHi3-No-Display-via-AVR/m-p/1451882#M97449

Please note that the mentioned cable may require a firmware update. Yes, it contains a chip named Synaptics VMM7100 that can be updated. Firmware less than 7.02.120 may lock maximum resolution to 1080p60. I had this myself but was able to fix it with the firmware update provided by Cable Matters on their website.

With this cable I successfully tested:

• 8K @ 60 Hz YCbCr 4:2:0 8 bpc (FRL4, 32 Gbps)
• 4K @ 120 Hz RGB 4:4:4 10 bpc HDR  (FRL5, 40 Gbps)
• Dolby Atmos/DTS:X are supported

No VRR, no QMS !

[Jean_Intel]

Hello GregW2,

Before closing this case, we will do further research on this matter and post the response to your questions on this thread once available.

Best regards.

Jean O.

Intel Customer Support Technician.

[Ronny_G_Intel]

Hello GregW2,

With the release of the HDMI 2.1 specification, the authorized organization HDMI Licensing Administrator has stated that there is no longer a certification against the HDMI 2.0 spec so as n_scott_pearson previously explained, this situation created all sorts of confusion, refer to the following URL for further information: https://www.hdmi.org/blog/detail/139.

For practical purposes for our NUCs, please use the Technical Product Specification (TPS) as the main source of information and I would say that if you need to understand what features are supported by the HDMI, please assume that it is HDMI 2.0b.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Ronny G

[Jean_Intel]

Hello GregW2,

I hope you are doing fine.

Were you able to check the previous post?

Let us know if you still need assistance.

Best regards, 

Jean O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician

[GregW2]

Yes thank you. The HDMI 2.1 specification is definitely confusing that it now can include 2.0b.

I did look for a firmware update for my cable matters cable but didnt see anything.

My NUC has been functioning perfectly now.  You can close this thread. 

[Jean_Intel]

Hello GregW2,

We're glad to know the information helped. Hopefully, it will help other community members. Since the thread is now solved, we will close it.

If you need additional information, submit a new question, as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Best regards.

Jean O.

Intel Customer Support Technician.