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
    2015-12-16T16:29:23+00:00

    From what I researched, yes you will more than likely need an active adapter or cable to get the dock working correctly. I try to avoid adapters and get cables that have the respective ends to sure-proof it.

    i will say though that, this new universal dock sucks! I had noticed that the sibgle 4k monitor will lose signal for a few seconds, it reverts back to my sp4, then goes back to normal again every other hour. The second issue I have is with my wireless mouse (that has the ability to use wire instead. I had it wired to the docks usb rear) and it keeps dropping in and out intermittently. Quite frustrating.

    Feels like the dock doesnt have ebough juice tondrive all these peripherals.

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-12-16T21:33:53+00:00

    Have had this problem since i got the surfacebook 3 weeks ago. Bought the dock and have two external Acer monitors. Hooked it all up and when i have all three screens up they dont stay on longer than about ten minutes together. When they crash usually only 1 or two of them come back up, never all three. I have had 5 different techs from Microsoft technical support remote into my machine and they all tell me the problem is fixed but its still here. Seems like they all look for the the update on 12.2.15 and then want to reset machine. I have reset and uninstalled and reinstalled all drivers and updates. The techs have done all of this remotely also. Then they tell me its all working. Its not working and has never worked. Can someone who actually knows how to fix this help me or at least someone with the courage to tell me that its just never going to work get in touch with me. Thanks Tyler

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-12-16T23:47:49+00:00

    Have had this problem since i got the surfacebook 3 weeks ago. Bought the dock and have two external Acer monitors. Hooked it all up and when i have all three screens up they dont stay on longer than about ten minutes together. When they crash usually only 1 or two of them come back up, never all three. I have had 5 different techs from Microsoft technical support remote into my machine and they all tell me the problem is fixed but its still here. Seems like they all look for the the update on 12.2.15 and then want to reset machine. I have reset and uninstalled and reinstalled all drivers and updates. The techs have done all of this remotely also. Then they tell me its all working. Its not working and has never worked. Can someone who actually knows how to fix this help me or at least someone with the courage to tell me that its just never going to work get in touch with me. Thanks Tyler

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