W10 not detecting 2 monitors, so cannot extend the screen?

Hello everyone,

Due to the Coronavirus, I'm working from home indefinitely now. I would like to work using two monitor screens as I do in the office, but I'm unable to work out how.

I have a laptop and 2 monitors. I have only 1 HDMI port in my laptop, so bought a HDMI splitter and have separate HDMI leads from the splitter into each monitor.

It works in the sense that I am typing on my laptop now, and I can see my two monitors with the same display as my laptop currently. The issue comes when I want to extend the screens (i.e. close my laptop, and use two screens only. Left monitor being primary, and right monitor being secondary).

When I try to extend screens, it keeps my laptop screen as Screen 1, and then classes both of my monitors as screen 2. There is no screen 3, even though I am technically using 3 screens (laptop and 2 monitors).

I've spent hours trying to work this now; is anybody able to advise how I can work use one monitor as primary, one as secondary with screen extended, and the laptop screen effectively being off?

I've been into device manager, and ensured my display adaptors are up to date as well.

Thank you so much in advance :)

USB splitter? No good.

What other ports do you have on your laptop?
Do you have HDMI jacks? Or Display Port jacks?

Oh, sorry. I meant HDMI splitter, not USB splitter. I'm using a HDMI splitter. I've edited original post

Same answer.
HDMI splitter? No good.
Splitting HDMI just means you can watch the same picture on two screens.

If you want the two monitors to display different things then you need a graphics card that is dual-head (or more) and has two (or more) HDMI output connections. You said you have only one.

Or ... if you have a display port connection ... that is "splittable" because it can carry multiple video signals. Do you have a display port jack?

It would help if you specified the make and model of your laptop.

Also ... what do you see in the Display settings panel?

Thanks again for your reply.

The laptop definitely can do dual screening, as I took my laptop home from the office where i was using it with two monitors (obviously didn't check how it was hooked up to the monitors before I took it home though).
However in the office it was in a docking station, which I don't have at home, hopefully that doesn't make a difference.

It is a HP Elitebook 840 G5. It has an Intel I7 processor.

I found the port information:

1 Thunderbolt™ (USB Type-C™ connector)
2 USB 3.1 Gen 1 (1 charging)
1 HDMI 1.4b
1 RJ-45
1 docking connector
1 headphone/microphone combo
1 AC power

https://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/P...E&gclsrc=aw.ds