Troubleshooting multiple monitors on a Surface Dock 2 (Surface Pro 7)

Hello, DC 222,

Your solution - to daisy chain my two monitors using DisplayPort MST - seems to have permanently fixed the issue. I did not need new, expensive cables.

Solution:

1. USB-C to DisplayPort to Monitor #1 (Dell UP2516D)

• This requires activating MST in the menu system of Monitor #1.

2. DisplayPort out from Monitor #1 to miniDisplayPort in Monitor #2 (Dell U2518D).

Restarting the Surface Pro, or power cycling the Surface Pro, results in both monitors working fine, from boot to login screen and beyond (previously this caused one monitor to fail). I do NOT need to power cycle the dock itself to get both monitors to work.

This is pretty annoying and I understand why you would move to another solution. That being said, this simple workaround works for me. I have no video issues, no intermittent Ethernet, etc.

Thanks a lot!

Andrew

Hello, Barb,

Your suggestion of clearing the registry improved things in that before, unplugging the Surface Connect, turning it around, and plugging it back in didn't use to fix the problem. Now it fixes the problem. The problem was (for me) that both monitors wake properly and display the Surface logo when starting up the PC, but then one monitor loses signal at login (though Windows apparently thinks both monitors are working).

This is not ideal but it's better than having to power cycle the entire dock to get it all working again.

Thanks,

Andrew

UPDATE : It looks like MST/daisy chaining completely solved the issue for me! Thanks anyway (and who knows? clearing the registry may have helped too).

Agree with rgsiii.

I have tried passive and active cables.

With just one monitor, often a passive cable works.

With multiple displays of any kind I find that putting in an active cable works. Microsoft Active Cables give me less problems (we often have 86" interactive panels in the classroom with a 24" monitor on the desk as well as the Surface Pro so teachers need to learn to use 3 displays).
I did try some active MOSHI USBC-DisplayPort cables but they did not work on my device with Dock2 and 2 x high-end 27" HP monitors

Invest the extra and get a proper Micro$oft one. At least then if it still fails they have to deal with it.

The bottom line is that you have to use "ACTIVE" usb3 to hdmi adapters.

some here are using the Microsoft branded adapters, others 3rd party adapters...But the key point is that they have to be ACTIVE adapters and not passive.

Hello, all,

I have a similar problem with a Surface Pro 7 and a Surface Dock 2. I have two Dell monitors (different models) connected via USB-C to DisplayPort. When docked, I usually have the SP7's monitor off and the two external monitors on, like a regular desktop setup.

I restart the computer with the dock attached. During bootup, I see the Surface logo on both monitors. But when I get to the Windows login screen, only one monitor is active. When I log in, I see that Windows thinks the second monitor is there (for example, the wallpaper is stretched across both), but is not sending a signal to it. (This issue does NOT occur when the PC is put to sleep then woken up. In that case both monitors wake properly.)

Undocking and docking the device does not fix the problem. Undocking the device, changing the orientation of the Surface Connect connector and redocking does not solve the problem.

Unplugging the dock from mains power and plugging it back in after a few seconds (without undocking the PC) solves the issue.

Pretty irritating.

Any help would be appreciated.

Andrew