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
    2017-05-23T04:15:42+00:00

    I actually had the dock replaced, under warranty, with no change. I just recently found another thread that made a suggestion about removing the Surface Book keyboard base and connecting the dock directly to the screen portion.

    I did this and now everything works. It seems as if the problem is with the Surface Book base, possibly the Nvidia chip and or drivers working with the Surface Dock.

    I'd look at exchanging the base to see if that makes a difference (already went through the driver updates and steps). Unfortunately, the warranty has now run out, so any swap would be out of pocket.

    • Ken

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-04-13T02:21:40+00:00

    I installed the latest Creator update and since then my Surface Book has been flakey again. I own two docks. One with two Dell P2415Qs (4k) and another with a HP z24s (4k) and HP ZR24w (10080p). I have on and off issues with both setups again. For a while things were 95% fixed but life is back to mostly issues with the screens. 

    I read on thurott.com that many MS employees use the Surface devices as well. One can only hope that they experience the same annoying misery...

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-04-12T12:25:43+00:00

    The issue definitely points to the Surface Book. I have a Surface Pro 4 connected to this exact Surface Dock with dual monitors, and there are ZERO issues.

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