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
    2015-11-20T01:04:32+00:00

    Microsoft and Surface team are you going to acknowledge this thread and the issue that seemingly everyone is having with connecting monitors to the dock?  

    I have two i7 Surface Books and 3 new Surface docks.

    • None of the three docks work at all with two monitors connected
    • Extending to just one monitor is hit and miss and rarely works when connecting the SB to the dock
      • Most time I have to either unplug and replug the mini-display port cable into the dock to get just the 1 screen to be recognized and be able to extend to it
      • Sometimes I have to do the above step as well as unplug and replug the Surface Book into the dock to multiple times to get just the 1 screen to be recognized and be able to extend to it
    • I cannot connect the SB to the dock without first powering on the SB, then logging into Windows, then plugging into the dock
    • If I plug the dock into the SB prior to powering on the SB, the SB screen remains black until I disconnect the dock
    • I am using a Logitech MX Master wireless mouse (model 910-004337)
    • I am using a Logitech wireless keyboard (model K750)
    • The Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse (connected via mini-USB connectors) are the only items that work regularly when plugging into the Surface dock
    • I am using two Samsung monitors (model U28D590D)
    • The monitors are connected to the Surface dock with a display port to mini display port cable (no adapters)
    • I have installed the Windows 10 cumulative update 1511 (KB3118754)
    • I have installed both the 11/2 and 11/18 system firmware updates
    • I have installed the 11/2 system hardware update
    • Embedded Controller: d.5d.1.0
    • System Aggregator: 16.d.5502.0
    • UEFI: 22.13.39682.0
    • Touch: 51.45.94.0
    • Wi-Fi Driver: 15.68.9032.47

    Please help. Please acknowledge the issue. Please provide us with some sort of explanation and ETA for a fix. We all bought in to the idea of the Surface Book and Surface lineup. Help us, help you, help us continue to love our purchase and decision to jump on the Surface bandwagon.

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-11-20T19:31:53+00:00

    Correct. The updates did not solve any Dock related issues. When I start the surface pro, most of the time only the surface pro screen is visible. Then I do "Windows+P", select "PC Screen only". I do another "Windows+P" this time select "extend" and all is well. There is a lot of randomness to this sequence of events, i.e. behavior may be different at different times but in a majority of attempts this is what I observe. The display drivers may be contributing to these problems. I am hoping when they are fixed, dock will be more usable. The display driver resets are still going on. I hope these problems will be resolved soon. What bothers me is Microsoft is very quiet about this dock issue.

    Another question I have with the dock is this: If I reverse the connector (tail towards hinge) the whole thing is screwed up: screens constantly flicker, usb devices come and go, total chaos. When I plug the connector with the tail away from the hinge then things are reasonably OK. I am assuming this is not normal. Any device that can be plugged either way should be connectable and behave similarly either way (reversible). Engineering 101. Am I missing something here?

    I am using the surface book in presentation mode, i.e. the screen is flipped so the back of the screen faces the keyboard.

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-11-20T19:41:41+00:00

    Hello Everyone,

    Thank you for sharing your experiences, workarounds, and solutions to the various issues using Surface Dock to connect to external displays.  There is a great deal of good information in this thread.  To help us all get to it a little easier I'm going to try to summarize the suggested solutions and workarounds below.  Your feedback is welcome.

    These are in no particular order.

    Scenario A:

    Successfully connected displays capable of higher resolutions but now, after reconnecting Surface Dock, experience delays before an image is displayed.  This is expected, please allow up to 10 seconds for the Surface Dock to negotiate and render the image.

    Scenario B:

    If using a passive mini Display Port to DVI adapters the display blinks, flickers, or fails to show an image. As some here have already confirmed, you may need to switch to active adapters.

    Scenario C:

    For those that are unable to connect to two displays but both displays are listed in Device Manager > Monitor please try the following (Steps must be completed in sequence):

    1.  Open Windows Display settings and duplicate the desktop on 1 and 2. Display2 will now work in mirror mode.

    2.  With Display1 still selected in Display Settings, select Extend desktop on 2. Display2 will now work in extended mode but in default mode, not in your previous chosen setup.

    3.  With Display1 selected, duplicate desktop on 1 and 3. Display3 will now work in mirror mode.

    4.  With Display1 still selected in Display Settings, select Extend desktop on 3. Display3 will now work in extended mode.

    5.  After both Display2 and Display3 are working in Extended Mode again, both displays will revert correctly to your previous setup.

    Please understand that this is not a permanent fix and it is likely you will need to complete these steps each time Windows fails to list physically connected external displays in settings.  It is very important for us to gain an understanding of the success/failure of this workaround - your feedback here is of immense value.

    Scenario D:

    If you are seeing a black screen on both the Surface Book and external displays after reattaching the clipboard to the keyboard, please disconnect>reconnect the Surface Dock to the Surface Book.

    Scenario E:

    Seeing a consistent blinking of the Surface Book screen when you connect Surface Dock?  Please unplug the AC cable from the wall and plug it back it.

    Scenario F:

    With external displays connected to Surface Dock, after disconnecting and later reconnecting Surface to Surface Dock, you find the displays stopped working and no longer appear in Device Manager > Monitor, but other components connected to Surface Dock are working.  Please disconnect and then reconnect the Surface Dock.  A device restart will also recover functionality.

    Additionally, cabling is important and may be factor when working to resolve Surface Dock display issues.  Many have already posted that swapping cables/adapters addressed the issues they were experiencing. 

    As always, please be sure you have the latest updates - Surface Update History page.

    Thank you,

    Josh

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