Why use a docking station?

If you spend a lot of time at your desk with your Lenovo Thinkpad laptop, it makes a lot of sense to use a docking station. Whether it be in your home or work office where you primarily work. Or maybe you switch between the desk and meeting rooms several time throughout your day, and here you can save a lot of time swapping out accessories like keyboard, mouse, headset and extra monitors.

Most docking stations have the option of connecting up to 2 monitors to your laptop. Besides the most commonly used accessories like mouse and keyboard, the office might be running on hard wired network, and therefore you will need an Ethernet port (RJ45) – which many laptops don’t have due to their design.

If you talk on the phone a lot, you probably have a headset connected via USB as well, and maybe you have a webcam for Microsoft Teams meetings or the like.

What type of docking station should you choose?

Lenovo docking stations are categorized into 2 types, each with their own pros and cons.

The first type is a wired one, where you connect your laptop with a single cable. Power, monitor, keyboard and mouse is connected to the dock. This type of dock can be based on different techonogies, USB A, USB-C and Thunderbolt.

The other option is a ”mechanical dock” – the newer versions are not quite as mechanical as they were, the current models now have what Lenovo calls ThinkPad Side Docking Connector. The laptop is connected by clicking it into the docking station.

Which docking station model fits your laptop model?

All Lenovo Thinkpad models can use USB-C if they are from the 2018 generation or newer – for example T480, L580, E490 and many more.

Lenovo Thinkpad USB-C Dock Gen 2 

This Dock is one of the most popular models, a good selection of connection options and supports 2 monitors.

An advantage that USB-C Docks has compared to the traditional click-docks, is that it’s not locked to Lenovo, and so if you have guests at the office who uses HP, Macbook, or Dell, they can also use the docking station and the accessories connected to it.

This docking station is the best model if you have a E490, E590.

Specifications

• 3 x USB 3.1
• 2 x USB 2.0 - 4 pin USB Type A
• 1 x audio - headphones/microphone - mini-jack 3,5 mm
• 1 x USB-C
• 1 x monitor/video - HDMI - 19 pin HDMI Type A
• 2 x audio / video - DisplayPort - 20 pin DisplayPort
• 1 x netværk - RJ-45

Lenovo Thinkpad Hybrid USB-C With USB-A Dock 135W

This Dock comes with a Y cable with both USB-C and regular USB-A. It is therefore ideal for the office with several types of machines, especially if you have a mix of generations, as the older models usually are not equipped with USB-C. Another advatage is, that the Hybrid dock comes with a larger power supply than the regular USB-C dock, so you will be able to connect more monitors or run with higher resolutions without issues.

Specifications

• 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 - 9 pin USB Type A
• 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 with Always-on charging - 9 pin USB Type A
• 2 x USB 2.0 - 4 pin USB Type A
• 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 - 24 pin USB-C
• 1 x network - 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - RJ-45
• 2 x audio / video - DisplayPort - 20 pin DisplayPort
• 2 x audio / video - HDMI - 19 pin HDMI Type A
• 1 x audio - headphones/microphone - mini-jack 3,5 mm

Lenovo Thinkpad Pro Dockingstation 135W

This dock is a traditional click-dock, where the machine is clicked down into the dock.

Lots of connection options and a quick way of connecting the machine. Especially practical if you move between the office and meeting rooms several times a day. There is also the option of locking the machine to the dock with a key to unlock it. Possibility of connecting up to 2 monitors.

Specifications

• 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 with Always-on charging
• 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1
• 1 x USB-C
• 1 x network - 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - RJ-45
• 2 x audio / video - DisplayPort - 20 pin DisplayPort
• 2 x USB 2.0 - 4 pin USB Type A
• 1 x audio - headphones/microphone - mini-jack 3,5 mm
• 1 x docking/portreplicator

Lenovo Thinkpad Thunderbolt 3 Dock Gen 2 135W

This Dock is equipped with the same type of plug as USB-C, however, the Thunderbolt technology can move larger amounts of data, and therefore this Dock can be connected to up to 3 monitors, and in resolutions higher than for USB-C.

Specifications

• 4 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 - 9 pin USB Type A
• 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 with Always-on charging - 9 pin USB Type A
• 1 x USB-C / Thunderbolt 3 - 24 pin USB-C
• 2 x audio / video - DisplayPort - 20 pin DisplayPort
• 2 x audio / video - HDMI - 19 pin HDMI Type A
• 1 x audio - headphones/microphone - mini-jack 3,5 mm
• 1 x network - 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - RJ-45

Lenovo Thinkpad Ultra Dockingstation 135W

This Dock is like the Thinkpad Pro Dock, but with the option for 3 monitors, and supports more ports for accessories.

The most commonly used model for the Thinkpad L and T series from 2018 up to current models.

Specifications

• 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 with Always-on charging
• 3 x USB 3.1 Gen 2
• 2 x USB-C
• 1 x network - 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - RJ-45
• 2 x audio / video - DisplayPort - 20 pin DisplayPort
• 1 x audio / video - HDMI - 19 pin HDMI Type A
• 1 x monitor/video - VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)
• 1 x audio - headphones/microphone - mini-jack 3,5 mm
• 1 x docking/portreplicator

Lenovo Thinkpad Thunderbolt 3 Dock Gen 2 230W (Workstation)

This dock is used with the Thinkpad P models, P52, P53, P72 and P73. The new X1 Extreme and P1 models also use this station.

This type is necessary for these models, as they use significantly more power due to better processors and graphic cards than in the regular Thinkpad models.

Specifications

• 4 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 - 9 pin USB Type A
• 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 with Always-on charging - 9 pin USB Type A
• 1 x USB-C / Thunderbolt 3 - 24 pin USB-C
• 2 x audio / video - DisplayPort - 20 pin DisplayPort
• 2 x audio / video - HDMI - 19 pin HDMI Type A
• 1 x audio - headphones/microphone - mini-jack 3,5 mm
• 1 x network - 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - RJ-45

Lenovo Thinkpad Ultra Dock 90W 

This dock is used for the Thinkpad models in L, X and T series from 2014 up to 2017.

The most popular models being T440 to T470. This type uses the old docking connector that is located on the bottom of the machine, the technology is hardware-based, and one of the most reliable types Lenovo has had to date.

Specifications

• 3 x USB 2.0 - 4 pin USB Type A
• 3 x SuperSpeed USB 3.0 - 9 pin USB Type A
• 1 x network - 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - RJ-45
• 2 x monitor/video - DisplayPort - 20 pin DisplayPort
• 1 x monitor/video - DVI-Digital - 24+1 pin digital DVI
• 1 x monitor/video - HDMI - 19 pin HDMI Type A
• 1 x monitor/video - VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)
• 1 x audio - headphones/microphone - mini-jack 3,5 mm
• 1 x docking/portreplicator

Lenovo Thinkpad Workstation Dock 230W 

This dock is used for the Thinkpad P71, and P50 for example, Workstation laptop models from 2016 to 2017. Lots of connection options for accessories, and a large power supply required for this type of machine equipped with powerful processors and graphics cards.

Both models with Intel Core i7 and Intel Xeon are supported, this used the same docking connector as the Ultra Dock described in the above section.

Specifications

• 6 x SuperSpeed USB 3.0 - 9 pin USB Type A
• 1 x network - 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - RJ-45
• 2 x audio/video - DisplayPort - 20 pin DisplayPort
• 1 x monitor/video - DVI-Digital - 24+1 pin digital DVI
• 1 x audio/video - HDMI - 19 pin HDMI Type A
• 1 x monitor/video - VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)
• 1 x audio - headphones/microphone - mini-jack 3,5 mm 4-pin
• 1 x docking/portreplicator