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

Anonymous

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.

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.

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Anonymous

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:

Make and model of external displays
Make/model of adapters if present
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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Answer accepted by question author

Anonymous

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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315 additional answers

Anonymous

2015-12-15T14:38:38+00:00
I'm seeing this issue when using two of the "For Surface Book" MDP to HDMI adapters on the Surface Dock. I can generally get it working by shutting down and powering back on with everything connected but unplugging the dock and connecting it again almost always causes one or more of the external monitors to not work. I have not tried different adapters a I have the newer Microsoft adapters.
1. Make and model of external displays: Acer G276HL
2. Make/model of adapters if present: Microsoft DisplayPort to HD AV Adapter (Q7X-00019)
3. Make/model of cables tried: Several generic cables tried of various lengths.
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Anonymous

2015-12-15T13:25:44+00:00

这个问题不仅出现在连接微软的官dock，在连接其他的mini display port Dock时，同样出现。

当第一次外接显示器到dock上，SB无法正确提供正确的分辨率。

必须打开控制面板硬件和声音

然后在显示里面的调整屏幕分辨率

在这里进行相关的设置，可以实现外接屏幕的正常显示。

但是，在工作或者睡眠的情况下，拔除mini displlay port的接头后，SB的分辨率变成巨大，无法正常使用。

这种情况下只可以选择：关机或者重启。SB才可以正常工作。

现阶段，只可以推荐如下使用方法：

在关机的情况下接入mini siplay port，并且在关机后才可以拔除。
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Anonymous

2015-12-15T08:51:41+00:00

I went through this same issue after purchasing the dock including trying 2 mini-connectors. Monitor was only recognized and functional when using the Microsoft mini-connector. An expensive alternative ($39) but it got the dock fully functional.
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