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Can't Output to Silicon Motion SM768-Based USB HDMI Adapter

I have a StarTech 107B-USB-HDMI (https://www.startech.com/en-ca/displ.../107b-usb-hdmi) which is a Silicon Motion SM768-based USB-A/C to dual HDMI output adapter. It appears to be partially recognized by Linux as an audio output device, but there is no indication of any detected video output capability. The manufacturer appears to claim Linux compatibility but does not seem to publish a Linux driver, only Windows, Mac, and Android. I decided to purchase this Silicon Motion based device after reading about problematic support for DisplayLink devices in Linux.

I'm running Linux Mint 21, kernel 5.15, on a Dell XPS 13 9320. I've also tried Ubuntu 22.10 on a Dell XPS 13 9360 with similar results.

lsusb identifies that device as "090c:0768":

Bus 002 Device 004: ID 090c:0768 Silicon Motion, Inc. - Taiwan (formerly Feiya Technology Corp.) SMI USB Display

Syslog shows:

Code:

Dec 18 16:53:26 lion kernel: [151491.586167] usb 2-1: new SuperSpeed USB device number 4 using xhci_hcd

Dec 18 16:53:26 lion kernel: [151491.607669] usb 2-1: New USB device found, idVendor=090c, idProduct=0768, bcdDevice= 0.01

Dec 18 16:53:26 lion kernel: [151491.607685] usb 2-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3

Dec 18 16:53:26 lion kernel: [151491.607691] usb 2-1: Product: SMI USB Display

Dec 18 16:53:26 lion kernel: [151491.607696] usb 2-1: Manufacturer: Silicon_Motion

Dec 18 16:53:26 lion kernel: [151491.607700] usb 2-1: SerialNumber: <redacted>

Dec 18 16:53:26 lion kernel: [151491.611120] input: Silicon_Motion SMI USB Display as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:0d.0/usb2/2-1/2-1:1.2/0003:090C:0768.000C/input/input30

Dec 18 16:53:26 lion kernel: [151491.669942] hid-generic 0003:090C:0768.000C: input,hidraw8: USB HID v1.00 Device [Silicon_Motion SMI USB Display] on usb-0000:00:0d.0-1/input2

Dec 18 16:53:26 lion kernel: [151491.671584] input: Silicon_Motion SMI USB Display as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:0d.0/usb2/2-1/2-1:1.3/0003:090C:0768.000D/input/input31

Dec 18 16:53:27 lion kernel: [151491.729965] hid-generic 0003:090C:0768.000D: input,hidraw9: USB HID v1.00 Device [Silicon_Motion SMI USB Display] on usb-0000:00:0d.0-1/input3

Dec 18 16:53:27 lion mtp-probe: checking bus 2, device 4: "/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:0d.0/usb2/2-1"

Dec 18 16:53:27 lion mtp-probe: bus: 2, device: 4 was not an MTP device

Dec 18 16:53:27 lion systemd-udevd[45919]: 2-1: Process '/usr/lib/virtualbox/VBoxCreateUSBNode.sh 189 131 ef' failed with exit code 1.

Dec 18 16:53:27 lion kernel: [151491.790979] usb 2-1: Warning! Unlikely big volume range (=898), cval->res is probably wrong.

Dec 18 16:53:27 lion kernel: [151491.791000] usb 2-1: [9] FU [PCM Playback Volume] ch = 2, val = 0/898/1

Dec 18 16:53:27 lion kernel: [151491.791279] usbcore: registered new interface driver snd-usb-audio

Dec 18 16:53:27 lion mtp-probe: checking bus 2, device 4: "/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:0d.0/usb2/2-1"

Dec 18 16:53:27 lion mtp-probe: bus: 2, device: 4 was not an MTP device

Dec 18 16:53:27 lion systemd-udevd[45922]: controlC1: Process '/usr/sbin/alsactl -E HOME=/run/alsa -E XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/alsa/runtime restore 1' failed with exit code 99.

Dec 18 16:53:27 lion systemd[1450]: Reached target Sound Card.

inxi -J shows:

Device-1: 2-1:4
info: Silicon Motion - Taiwan (formerly Feiya ) SMI USB Display
type: Audio,HID rev: 3.2

I don't see any relevant entries relating to display output for using either inxi or xrandr.

I see some links to an old Silicon Motion driver xserver-xorg-video-siliconmotion that doesn't seem to be applicable to either specific hardware or the latest releases of Mint/Ubuntu.

Is there any hope of getting the HDMI output working on this device under Linux?

I believe your distro needs to be able to send video over USB, but I don't know how they achieve that, it doesn't seem to be a regular option in most, if any.

I'm running Zorin OS 16.2, and I have a Wavlink adapter (WL-UG7602HC: https://www.wavlink.com/en_us/product/WL-UG7602HC) based on the same SM768 chipset. Wavlink does not have Linux drivers and I was looking towards Silicon Motion for a solution. They don't have any Linux drivers either. I even tried DisplayLink drivers, after watching this video: https://youtu.be/5SbVumPBpNQ. I read somewhere that the adapter I'm using has a DisplayLink-compatible output. No luck with the DisplayLink drivers, too. I'd be interested to see if someone out there has figured out a way to make the SM768 work in Linux.

On the bright side, the Silicon Motion drivers (branded as "InstantView") work on Mac and Android.

I have the same problem trying to get this USB powered external dual monitor to work on Ubuntu: "Kwumsy/Kefeya P2 Pro Triple Portable Monitor"

I need SM76x Driver

Not available for Linux...

Linux driver provided by Silicon Motion Technical Support

I've contacted silicon motion technical support at https://www.siliconmotion.com/support/contact and they quickly responded with a linux driver which worked for me for SM768 (embedded in a P2 Pro Tri-monitor).. works for me on Ubuntu 20.04 (but I think it's rather generic as you compile it from source).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xamus21 (Post 6401296)

I have the same problem trying to get this USB powered external dual monitor to work on Ubuntu: "Kwumsy/Kefeya P2 Pro Triple Portable Monitor"

I need SM76x Driver

Not available for Linux...

The "Kwumsy/Kefeya P2 Pro Triple Portable Display" is a USB-powered external dual monitor that I have tried without success to get working with Ubuntu.

What I need is the SM76x driver.

Sadly, Linux users must look elsewhere...

Maybe this works?

i found a gitlab project with a video driver for siliconmotion but i have no clue how to install it https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/...-siliconmotion. Anyone that can help? (i have some programming knowledge but not much with lower level code like C)

Contact Silicon Motion Support to get the driver!

Hello,

As I mentioned earlier, spare yourself the time and contact silicon motion technical support at https://www.siliconmotion.com/support/contact . They quickly responded to me with a linux driver which worked for me for SM768 (embedded in a P2 Pro Tri-monitor like the ones you mentioned).

I was also able to obtain a driver directly from Silicon Motion by contacting their support department.

Thanks for your suggestions will contact the support

I have a WL-UG7602HC and couldn't make it work on Ubuntu 22.04 yet. Anyone was luckier than me?

Quote:

Originally Posted by wessam (Post 6411927)

Hi. Would you mind to send me this driver? I've already contacted them but I have no answers until now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cesarrew (Post 6421826)

I have a WL-UG7602HC and couldn't make it work on Ubuntu 22.04 yet. Anyone was luckier than me?

Silicon Motion sent me the driver and until now is't working very well. They said that the driver is still in beta.

got that driver for ya'll

Howdy, thanks to everyone who said to contact their support. They sent me the driver in less than 24 hours.

I can't attach the file here, but I'll put it on my dev site at https://lukedev.net/public/smi_linux...nux_driver.rar for the time being.

Worked like a charm on Ubuntu 23.04 with Nvidia.