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
    2016-02-09T23:40:01+00:00

    I have the Microsoft Dock but like everyone else it does not work.

    I've tried the various adapters and they are not working correctly or intermittently at best.

    I ordered the eTauro dock and it will arrive on Thursday.

    I will give a report after I check it out.

    http://www.etauro.com/etauro\_dp/en/productdisplay/ducge4-package-ac-adapter-incleded

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-02-09T14:25:56+00:00

    This would be a good alternative.  I have not used it, but from what I can tell, the difference is that the video port is connected directly to the Surface's displayport and extends that to a displayport port, and it also has a USB3 hub with a USB3 ethernet adapter. This is how the original Surface Dock worked, which, consequently, worked great, albeit with one video output. So, with that dock, we used a usb3 video adapter on the dock for a second monitor, since the dock only had 1 passthrough displayport. The new Microsoft Dock is really just a giant USB3 adapter, one that is also has USB3 video, a couple USB ports and usb ethernet built in on the breakout box. 

    Perhaps this is a good alternative?

    Surface Pro 4 dock by eTauro.

    Anyone tried this yet?

    http://www.etauro.com/etauro\_dp/en/productdisplay/ducge4-package-ac-adapter-incleded

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-02-09T14:22:13+00:00

    In case this hasn't been mentioned before, I used an MDP (Mini Display Port) to DP (Display Port) cable from my Surface Pro dock to my monitor and it works great.

    I had the same flickering and non-detection issues when using a MDP to HDMI cable, but this connection works perfectly.

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