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

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
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
    2015-12-14T04:48:40+00:00

    Same here. Except my Surface Dock wouldn't even charge my SB! Tried several times. And it wouldn't even work with monitor via Disp port! Returned the dock. Sad. $200 paperweight, anyone??!

    Microsoft, are you aware of these issues??

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-12-14T00:48:06+00:00

    Still OK so far with one exception:

    I've got one of the external monitors set as the main monitor, but despite rebooting the surface book display is still the main monitor.  I can't get the external ones to be used for this role.  Frustrating since I really need the external monitor to be main.

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-12-12T00:43:26+00:00

    I’ve been ignoring this thread given the lack of apparent concern on Microsoft’s part (technical support is a complete waste of time) but thought I’d look today in the hope that perhaps a fix had been discovered. My Surface Book (i7 512) is taking a bit longer to get to me (required company purchasing channel) so I’m still toying with a setup using my Surface Pro 3 and the Surface Dock. I have two external monitors (Planar 27” touch screen and Samsung 27” curved display, both at 1920 x 1080) directly connected to the Surface dock using Accell mini-DP to DP cables (one three-foot, one six-foot). I have them both working albeit with the occasional glitch – if I shut down while the Surface is connected to the Dock, I only get one monitor (the other is not identified) when I restart. I have to start the Surface disconnected from the Dock and then connect once I’m booted to ensure both monitors are there. But, and this is a big but in my mind, I have to keep my screen set to never turn off when plugged in (I run a blank screen saver – which isn’t the same thing at all). If I don’t go this route, only the Surface display will wake – the other screens cannot be identified. The good news is that everything that was active on the two external monitors is moved to the Surface display so I don’t lose anything. I revert to setting the screen to turn off after twenty minutes with each update hoping there's been a fix but still nothing. Not good and because of this very issue, we are holding off moving people to Surface Pros and Books (my push) from ThinkPads and the Lenovo docking solutions.

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