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.

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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

2015-10-30T01:05:03+00:00

gaforrest,

Thanks for your query. Please go to this pageand see the steps/ solutions provided.

Please let us know if helpful.
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Anonymous

2015-10-29T17:42:39+00:00

Any updates on replacing the dock? I have the exact same issue. I am trying to connect two Asus HDMI Monitors and they started flickering. I even went last night to the MS Store to purchase two Microsoft Mini Display Port to HDMI adapters and didn't work as well. This is what MS is saying: "A small number of customers have flagged some issues with their Surface Book," a Redmond spokesperson told The Register. "We are working hard to resolve them quickly and easily with Windows Update." So my question is if this is a SW or a HW issue?

I have now one screen connected directly to the dock and the other screen connected through the Wireless Display Adapter and it's working, but if I un-dock and dock my book, I have to go back and identify a wireless device. This defeats the purpose of the portability in the device.
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Anonymous

2015-10-29T15:19:25+00:00

I tried an active adapter, no improvement.
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