New Surface Dock Does Not Work via mini displayport to HDMI & DVI

Anonymous
2015-10-27T17:18:04+00:00

The specific device I am referring to, is the new Surface Dock for Surface Pro 3/4 and Surface Book. I have described the issue here on Reddit, and a number of others are also experiencing the same problem. Basically, the new dock doesn't work when the monitor is connected using mini displayport to HDMI. The monitor is detected correctly and the correct resolution is set, but the screen remains black. In my case, I randomly get some image on the monitor, but it's compressed to one side of the screen and garbled. The mini displayport to HDMI adapter works properly when connected directly to the Surface, so the adapter itself is fine. If I instead connect the mini displayport to VGA adapter to the dock, the monitor displays correctly. I have tried using a straight mini displayport to DVI cable and the issue remains. Additionally, I have connected a Surface Pro 3 to the dock and experience the same issue.

So to summarize, the dock does not function correctly when using a mini displayport to HDMI adapter to connect the monitor, but does work with a mini displayport to VGA adapter. This problem is repeatable using both a Surface Book and Surface Pro 3.

Surface | Accessories | Surface Dock

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Anonymous
2015-10-29T17:45:57+00:00

I purchased an active mDP to HDMI adapter from Amazon (Plugable is the brand) and so far the external monitor is working correctly through the dock.

Moderator Edit (11/3/2015):  If you are using a passive MDP to DVI adapter and experiencing difficulties, you may need to switch to using an active adapter.

If you switched from a passive to active adapter and continue to experience difficulties using Surface Dock to display to external monitors please consider making some changes to your cabling: different lengths, different quality, different adapters, etc.  If adjusting your cabling fails to resolve please consider sharing the following:

  1. Make and model of external displays
  2. Make/model of adapters if present
  3. Make/model of cables

For more troubleshooting info and steps to confirm your Dock is updated, please view our Troubleshoot Surface Dock article.

Thank you,

Josh

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Anonymous
2017-05-22T09:18:50+00:00

Hi,

 We suggest that you contact our Surface Answer Desk team for further assistance or visit the nearest Microsoft Store if you are in the US. In case you're offshore, contact our Global Customer Service team.

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-02-03T10:00:31+00:00

    Do you have 2 monitors connected to the MS Dock or 1?  The problems I encountered occur when you use 2 monitors.  The 2nd monitor would only light up if connected to a VGA port on the monitor.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-02-02T22:57:13+00:00

    I am in Canada and recently received my Surface Dock for my Surface book.

    I did apply the latest firmware update.

    After many unsuccessful attempts, I managed to get my configuration working

    by plugging both displays to the Surface Dock before doing power-on on the surface book.

    At this time, what I have is the opposite of Plug and Play (PnP). However, it works for me.

    I am using the Surface Dock with either HDMI (1920x1080) adapter or VGA (1920x1080) adapter,

    I did not try a DVI adapter yet.

    --

    So far so good,  I hope that PnP will be fixed sometimes in the future.

    I had no issues with the USB ports and I am also using the 1G Ethernet port. 

    --

    By the way:

    I am also using the Actual Window Manager:

    http://www.actualtools.com/windowmanager/

    I also have a USB 3.0 Startech DVI adapter and the required DisplayLink software/driver.

    ***

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-02-02T21:46:26+00:00

    I've had very good success with using a Targus ACP70USZ dock with a 28" 4k Samsung monitor connected directly to the MDP, and 2nd 24" Samsung connect to Targus HDMI port.  See my original post of November 21 st.. Gave up and returned the MS Dock, and now have no issues.

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