DisplayLink and Windows 10
Windows 10 Anniversary Update requires our driver v8.0 or above. The latest driver can be downloaded from our website.
What has changed in the Windows 10 DisplayLink driver?
DisplayLink has been working with Microsoft on extending the Windows graphics architecture to support USB graphics on Windows. A new interface has been designed between Microsoft and DisplayLink for USB displays. This is available in Windows 10 Anniversary Update 2016 (Redstone) from August 2016. The DisplayLink software uses the new native DisplayLink USB graphics support on Windows 10 Anniversary Update 2016 onwards to provide a forward compatibility with Windows. There is no change to Windows 10 Threshold and earlier OS versions. The table summarises the DisplayLink driver compatibility:
Windows 10 Threshold 1 Windows 10 Threshold 2 | Windows 10
Anniversary Update (Redstone 1) Windows 10 Creators Update (Redstone 2) | |
---|---|---|
Windows OS Build version How to find the Windows build number | < 10.0.10586 | > 10.0.14393 |
Windows 10 "version" | v1507 and v1511 | v1607 and newer |
DisplayLink driver minimum version to use | 7.9 | 8.0 |
You MUST NOT try to install DisplayLink driver 7.9 on Windows 10 Anniversary Update and newer. Similarly you MUST NOT deploy DisplayLink_Win7-10TH2.msi when you are using a Redstone build. Changes in the Windows driver model can then prevent your computer from booting!
Windows 10 Anniversary Update changes
The following driver differences will be see when using the DisplayLink driver from Windows 10 Anniversary Update 2016
Device Manager
DisplayLink displays appear under "Display Adapters" in Device manager, rather than under "USB Display Adapters":

DisplayLink System Tray Icon
On Windows 10 Anniversary Update 2016, the DisplayLink icon is always present in the Windows system tray (from V8.0 M2). The UI options are currently reduced while support is added to the new driver architecture.
First Connect Behaviour
On Windows 10 Anniversary Update 2016, on first connect, DisplayLink displays are configured by the Windows OS. The Windows OS behaviour is to:
- Desktop PCs: Set the display to extend
- Laptops and Tablets: Set the display to clone