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
    2016-02-08T15:54:18+00:00

    Hello!

    Was the monitor always having this issue? Could you try the dock with another device?

    Kind regards  

    The monitor is brand new. I received the Surface Book, Surface Dock, Monitor and cables all at once.  Monitor is working great without the dock.  well, great, minus the scaling issues windows 10 plays forcing you to log out to correct. That is another topic. 

    I do not have another surface book to test this as I work from home.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-02-08T14:45:25+00:00

    Hello!

    Was the monitor always having this issue? Could you try the dock with another device?

    Kind regards

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-02-07T05:12:06+00:00

    I have a new Surface Book hooked up to a Surface Dock.  From my Surface Dock I have a Cable Matters® Gold Plated Mini DisplayPort-to-DisplayPort 6’ Cable - 4K Resolution Ready cable going to a Samsung U28D590D.  My Surface Book is fully up to date.  That meets every check box on this their Dock Troubleshooting page.

    I have my Surface Book set to turn off the monitor at 10 minutes. When I am away I do not want my monitor lit up wasting energy.  The problem is when the Surface turns off the monitor, the monitor turns on and off every 10 seconds or so.  Nothing is displayed but you can see the monitor lighting up and "DisplayPort" lights up in the upper left.  It will just keep doing this.

    If I remove the Surface Dock from the equation by plugging power, Mini-DP and USB mouse to the Surface Book direct everything works as it should.

    Has anyone else seen this? Do I have a defective dock?

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