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I've got a new Dock connected to a Surface Book. The dock has several USB devices connected, a LAN Ethernet cable, and a DP monitor. The dock works fine for a time after boot; however, connectivity to the dock begins to bounce. The USB devices and monitor disconnect/reconnect rapidly. Removing and reapplying power to the dock has no positive effect. Disconnecting/reconnecting the connector from the surface also has no positive effect. The only solution is to reboot the Surface Book. After a reboot the dock functions as expected for a time, and then the process starts all over.
All of the Windows updates have been applied.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Blake
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
We are talking about the new dock. All my issues start when unplug the computer from the dock. If I boot up with the dock connected, everything works as expected. I don't have issues with the Ethernet.
I'm almost certain that all the issues are related to power management. I'm doing some experiments and will report back to this thread if I find any solutions.
Thanks for your info
I just now tried a hot unplug-replug: Everything came back up except my keyboard. Unplugging-replugging the USB cable fixed the keyboard.
I assume you don't really mean "put your laptop into the dock" but instead mean "plug your dock into the laptop." I want to make sure we're both talking about the new dock and not the old one.
I rarely unplug and replug the dock so I can't answer that question. But I have enough problems even when I leave my dock plugged in:
The biggest problem is the ethernet. Somewhere between 2 minutes and several hours after I boot my computer, the dock loses its ethernet connection and I have to go to wifi. The wifi works for a while and then it cuts out too. At that point I have to reboot to recover my connection to the internet. Rebooting fixes it, and I start the cycle again.
Occasionally my external monitor will cut out and then reappear. I get a message saying the display driver crashed and automatically restarted.
I leave my computer on overnight. I find it in the morning with the external monitor blank. When I look at my display settings it reports only the laptop's monitor and not the external monitor. Unplugging the monitor from the dock and plugging it back in does NOT cause the computer to recognize the monitor. Neither does undocking and redocking. Rebooting fixes the problem.
When the computer boots with the dock attached, it often fails to find one of the USB ports on the dock (the keyboard, mouse, or external hard drive). Usually unplugging the USB cable and plugging it back in fixes the problem.
So you can understand why I don't tempt fate and attempt to hot dock the laptop!
My replacement dock has been on order for a week now. I'll let you know when I receive it and try it out.
Is there any unique markings on either the device or the packaging that would indicate when they were possibly shipped?
I don't seeing anything on my docks to indicate that. The only unique number than serial, mac, etc. is there is something next to the bar code sticker on the box that says "LOT NO:" The first dock I bought reads, "lot no: 1543" whereas the new dock I bought reads, "lot no: 1541"
Maybe that means the shipment lot the docks were included in. I was banking on the possibility that the faulty docks came from the first batches of docks that shipped and maybe docks from a newer batch were good.
I pre-ordered the Surface Book and dock within minutes of the press conference announcing it. So I received my dock on Sept. 25, one day before the first Surface Books were received by customers.
My lot number is 1541. So it looks like the replacement dock you received is old, maybe among the first docks that shipped.
As noted above, my dock works like ****--issues with the display, mouse, keyboard, and especially the ethernet port.
Do your problems happened when you put your laptop back into the dock after removing it?
Is the laptop still turned on when you reconnect to the dock?
Seems like the issues arise when the dock is re-connected after already being on.
So far, I began my day with the laptop connected to the dock when I first turned my surface book on. I haven't removed it yet and I haven't had any issues.
There's no particular marking for a "BATCH" number. There's a LOT number which I'll assume to be the same. The lot # for the replacement is 1541. The lot # for the one giving me issues is 1543. Strangely enough, if those numbers are true indications of shipment, then the OLD lot # docking station seems to be working.
This being day 2, I haven't had any issues so far. Other than a couple of times the first day with the disconnect and re-connect chimes, however the mouse and keyboard still worked.
I will say however, day 2. I haven't removed my surface book from the dock as of yet. The dock has been connected since I fired up the laptop this morning.
