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
    2017-04-03T19:49:08+00:00

    I've just got a new UHD monitor; a "Dell Ultra HD 4K Monitor P2415Q 24-Inch Screen LED-Lit Monitor" which cost me $370.  With this monitor both the Surface Pro AND the surface dock mini-displayports work in UHD mode (both landscape and portrait).

    I'm using a mini-DP to DP cable.  I had a lot of trouble getting the new monitor to be recognized either with the dock or directly with the SP4 mDP port; to get it recognized on the dock I found I had to unplug the docking station from the SP4 then plug it back in!

    I also found that if I swap the Dell monitor to another input (I have two computers connected to it) the SP4 switches to single screen mode and to get it back I have to plug/unplug the dock again.

    All in all it does work, but it is pretty inconvenient having to pull the plug each time.

    The reason that I changed monitors is because the Philips I had before blew up; one vertical stripe of pixels stopped working then there was a bang inside the monitor and the SP4 stopped seeing it at all.

    John Bowler

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-03-20T13:23:13+00:00

    John, I am having this same exact issue as you, but, I am using the Microsoft Surface Book.  Even with the Replacement Surface Dock from Microsoft, I am unable to get an external display functioning through the surface dock.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-03-11T16:04:40+00:00

    As I said before, I returned the original Surface Dock I purchased and obtained a replacement.  The problem was still there and it was unchanged; completely unchanged.

    The bottom line is that some monitors work with the Surface Pro 4 @ 3840x2160@30Hz but do not work with the same Surface Pro 4 and multiple different docks when plugged in to the displayport on the dock.

    Several monitors have been listed which show this behavior.  Since the monitor *can* be driven from the SurfacePro4 displayport itself there must be a difference in capabilities and/or output between the SP4 and the dock.

    My SP4 is an i7 one, so the combination of monitor and screen is within the advertised capabilities.  This is with separate displays; they are not overlapped, though overlapped display didn't work either.

    The only suggestion MS has come up with is to *not* use the surface dock but to go out and buy a separate adapter.  I regard this as lame.

    A rather better suggestion of my own is that if you are considering using two displays on an SP4 take *your* monitor into the Microsoft Store and *your* cables and make sure that the configuration you want to use really does work on *the* SP4 you are considering buying before you spend any money!

    Bear in mind there are other docks out there which might work better; at this point none seem to claim full UHD (3840x2160@60Hz) though.

    John Bowler

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