Continuum setup

[anon(9603734)]

Hi all.

The only monitor I have in the house has a VGA cable. If I was to purchase an adapter like as follows in the photo below, would I be able to hook it up to my 950 and use Continuum?

I also have a wireless mouse and keyboard, for which I have a USB 2.0 receiver. If I was to plug said receiver into the USB 3.0 port on the adapter then I could use the mouse and keyboard in Continuum?

My understanding is the answer to both my questions above is yes, but thought I'd ask you knowledgeable lot to confirm before spending money and finding that, actually, my understanding is wrong..!

Kind regards,
Paul

 

[Drael646464]

yeah I think it should work. Assuming the above is indeed usb-c based.

I brought a cheap usb-c hub with hdmi and it works. It does seem to need the external power from the usb-c charging port in order to power devices in the USB 2 port though.

 

[anon(9603734)]

I've bought one from Amazon, and it's due to arrive tomorrow.

Sent from mTalk

 

[kaktus1389]

Mouse and keyboard with USB receivers work just fine, although I switched to Bluetooth mouse and keyboard recently since I want to keep the USB ports in case I bought an usb 3.0 to Ethernet adapter so I don't have to worry about being far from WiFi source.

Not sure about VGA stuff, I connect Microsoft Display Dock to my monitors via HDM-DVI cable. To my understanding the MS dock also manages drivers, but I still think it should work.

 

[anon(9603734)]

Unfortunately, it didn't work. I plugged everything in, entered "Continuum" mode but the monitor showed 'no signal'. The Lumia definitely picked it up, as when I went to the Start screen on the phone when all was connected, there was a blue band at the top of my phone display with words along the line of "select here to control Viseo 190 W" which, when selected, would take the phone back to the trackpad screen. (My monitor is a Packard Bell Viseo 190 W.)

Coincidentally, there's also a small thread on Reddit recently started regarding Continuum and USB-C adapters. Someone replied to it yesterday with:

"Video output on your Lumia works via Display Port alternate mode for USB-C. If USB-C to VGA adapter works via converting DisplayPort signal to VGA signal, it will work with Lumia. This is true for the majority of adapters.
There are also some rare ones which are actually USB GPUs based on DisplayLink technology. These will not work."

It appears the one I bought may be the 2nd of those described above.

This afternoon I've found this one on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06X9S9...ag=hawk-future-21&ascsubtag=UUwpUvbUpU3689891 which states it's compatible with the 950 and "To use the HD output port or VGA port, the host USB-C port from your device must support DisplayPort Alt Mode", so it should work. However, at £39.99, it's a bit more expensive than I was hoping to pay.

Just having a think on it now.

 

[Drael646464]

Unfortunately, it didn't work. I plugged everything in, entered "Continuum" mode but the monitor showed 'no signal'. The Lumia definitely picked it up, as when I went to the Start screen on the phone when all was connected, there was a blue band at the top of my phone display with words along the line of "select here to control Viseo 190 W" which, when selected, would take the phone back to the trackpad screen. (My monitor is a Packard Bell Viseo 190 W.)

Coincidentally, there's also a small thread on Reddit recently started regarding Continuum and USB-C adapters. Someone replied to it yesterday with:

"Video output on your Lumia works via Display Port alternate mode for USB-C. If USB-C to VGA adapter works via converting DisplayPort signal to VGA signal, it will work with Lumia. This is true for the majority of adapters.
There are also some rare ones which are actually USB GPUs based on DisplayLink technology. These will not work."

It appears the one I bought may be the 2nd of those described above.

This afternoon I've found this one on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06X9S9...ag=hawk-future-21&ascsubtag=UUwpUvbUpU3689898 which states it's compatible with the 950 and "To use the HD output port or VGA port, the host USB-C port from your device must support DisplayPort Alt Mode", so it should work. However, at £39.99, it's a bit more expensive than I was hoping to pay.

Just having a think on it now.

Wow, at this point, it might be almost cheaper or the same to get a bottom of the rack second hand HDMI TV from a pawn shop and a cheap HDMI usb-c hub from aliexpress. Sorry to hear that bro.

I got a TV that way for 59 NZD once (25 pounds), and I got my usb-c hub for I think 20 NZD....although you'd need a five buck HDMI too.....that what you mention is reasonably pricey for a hub/dongle.

Look at your options first, I reckon. See whats possible.

 

[anon(9603734)]

Thankfully it's easy to return items with Amazon for refund.

I've now found this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/Multiport-...ag=hawk-future-21&ascsubtag=UUwpUvbUpU3689905 for £16.89 (reduced price). It specifically states in the description that it's compatible with the 950. Ordered and it's arriving tomorrow.

If that one doesn't work I'll return it for a refund, and I've found another for £25.00 which I will then order. The description on that also specifically mentions Lumia 950 and notes "Device must support "DisplayPort Alternate Mode" (Alt Mode) via USB-C". As that is apparently what the 950 series video output works on, then if that adapter doesn't work I'll give up!

I'm hopeful that at least one of the two will work.

 

[kaktus1389]

Thankfully it's easy to return items with Amazon for refund.

I've now found this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/Multiport-...ag=hawk-future-21&ascsubtag=UUwpUvbUpU3689994 for £16.89 (reduced price). It specifically states in the description that it's compatible with the 950. Ordered and it's arriving tomorrow.

If that one doesn't work I'll return it for a refund, and I've found another for £25.00 which I will then order. The description on that also specifically mentions Lumia 950 and notes "Device must support "DisplayPort Alternate Mode" (Alt Mode) via USB-C". As that is apparently what the 950 series video output works on, then if that adapter doesn't work I'll give up!

I'm hopeful that at least one of the two will work.

Perhaps you could just get a MS Display Dock and a VGA to HDMI cable? On German Amazon you can get the cable for around 10€.

 

[anon(9603734)]

I'm one step better with the new adapter, the monitor now picks up a signal.

However the content displayed is too wide and I can't get it to fit the screen (screenshot attached).

I've tried adjusting all options on the monitor itself, but nothing helped.

I've tried changing the connected display settings on the 950, but nothing has helped there either.

The monitor is 1366 x 768, does that have anything to do with it?

Also, I never got a Continuum setup message where it plays an intro video and gives the opportunity to adjust the screen if it's not fit properly. Is there anyway to force that to happen? I've tried reset app, but the option is greyed out.

Any help gratefully received .

 

[AndyCalling]

I believe 1080p is the max for the phone on an external screen. If you can't find a control to tweak it on your monitor you are going to have trouble. Sort of surprised there isn't a way.

 

[anon(9603734)]

So, I sent adapter number 2 back for a refund.

I ordered a HDMI adapter yesterday (which arrived today), to instead connect the phone up to my main TV rather than the old VGA monitor. I had to change a setting deep within the TV menu to get Continuum to fit to screen, but finally I've got it to display properly on a screen .

The adapter is a multi adapter with a USB 3.0 port, USB-C port and HDMI port. I have a wireless mouse and keyboard, which have a USB receiver which I put into the USB 3.0 port of the adapter and I plugged the phone charger into the USB-C port. Mouse/keyboard worked perfectly with Continuum and the phone was being charged - so adapter is working well.

Continuum itself, I'm pleasantly surprised with. For what I do (light browsing, the odd YouTube video, email, simple Excel spreadsheets, etc.) Continuum pretty much meets all of my needs!

Although apps open in full screen mode, you can open more than one app at once and multitask - switch apps by using "Alt+Tab" on the keyboard or pressing the 'task switcher' button on the taskbar.

Browsing on Edge was actually not a bad experience either. Pages loaded pretty quick. I even tried the Windows Central website as a test. The main page loaded in an acceptable time, but it took quite some time to load an article with an embedded video. I will stick to the Windows Central UWP app when using Continuum. (It should be noted that other sites with embedded video seemed to load relatively fast.)

I did a couple of searches via Bing whilst in Continuum mode and was surprised to find that each search was earning me 6 Microsoft Reward points like a PC search, rather than 3 points as a mobile search.

What do I feel can be improved following my short time using it?
* Edge to show a favourites bar;
* Edge to have extension support;
* The ability to open more than one Excel document at a time;
* Pin apps to the taskbar;
* Windowed apps; and
* (A bug) The 'Messaging' app just shows 'Loading..." when opened from the Start Menu and doesn't show any content. However, if you get an SMS whilst in Continuum mode and click on the notification via the Action Centre the content then loads in the Messaging app.

I know some of the above were shown in the "CShell" video. I just hope these features will definitely be released (and for current devices!).

Continuum certainly shows a lot of promise. I will be using it a fair bit now I have it working - but for more intensive tasks I'll be sticking with my SP4.

 

[dmunfone]

Initially messaging was horribly slow to respond, but after a while it worked fine for me.

What bugs me about W10M and Continuum, is that some Windows shortcuts from previous versions are gone. Alt + F4 doesn't quit an app. Alt + Tab works, but it's slow to respond. And because I once owned a W95 laptop that had a bad trackpad, I learned and then came to rely on all the Alt + shortcuts that seem to be gone now. They were so quick and easy to use.

I was at a client's office today, and asked to use a monitor so that I could send a quick report on the meeting we just had. The people there were blown away when I got out the dock and portable keyboard. And this was at a wireless telecom company.