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
    2015-10-30T17:26:49+00:00

    Thanks. I installed these drivers and they definitely make a difference.  My original cables work.  I can get both monitors working using the Intel HD Graphics Properties app.  With my 4k monitor, I sometimes I need to tell it to clone the displays first after reattaching the dock.  After it says do I want to keep these settings, I say no and it pops back to Extend and it in fact works.  This might be a suitable workaround.  I'll keep y'all posted.

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-10-30T16:50:40+00:00

    I tried reversing the dock connector and changing the frequency to 60hz, but nothing changed. I actually installed an update last night from Windows Update and now I can't even extend to a single screen. Yesterday I had one screen to the Dock and another one directly to the SB using a Wireless Display adapter. Whatever they tried to fix yesterday didn't work, only made things worse.

    Any other ideas?

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-10-30T16:19:03+00:00

    Interesting solution, I'll have to try that when I get home. Is that just with one monitor? I've already set the frequencies to 60hz on mine, not sure why they were at 59 to begin with, seems odd.

    The connector cable is supposed to be entirely reversible. If it behaves differently in one orientation, this may be a sign of a hardware fault...

    The flashing was fixed by flipping the connector.  Some weird electronic jitter was fixed by going to 60hz. Yes, I only have one monitor but both ports on the dock were doing the same thing and both were working after these steps.  I believe other people were having this issue with the Surface PRO 3 and the new dock as well so it does seem like an issue with the dock.

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