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

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
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

Was this answer helpful?

30+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
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.

Was this answer helpful?

0 comments

315 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2016-03-07T00:09:21+00:00

    This mirrors my experience with the Book & Dock & external monitors.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2016-03-06T22:34:50+00:00

    My set-up is the following

    Surface Book with KB3140743 installed

    Surface Dock

    Monitor - Dell S2340L set as main display

    Connection - Minidisplay port to HDMI

    Adapter - Microsoft branded

    I have several display issues when connecting and disconnecting the Surface Book from the Surface Dock, including

    • Most of the time, but not always, after disconnecting from the Dock the display on the Surface Book does not reset to the main display.
    • After disconnecting from the Dock and if the display on the Surface Book resets to Main, the font on IE11 tabs is extremely small.  This does not happen when I use a Surface Pro3 with the Surface Dock
    • After reconnecting to the Dock the Dell monitor does not detect a video signal.  This is not an issue of connectivity between Surface Book and Surface Dock as the back-up disk connected to the Dock is recognized immediately by the Surface Book
    • The only way to get consistent behavior is to turn off the Surface Book before disconnecting from the Dock, turn off the Surface Book before reconnecting to the Surface Dock, and then turn on the Surface Book after reconnecting to the Surface Dock.  This defeats the purpose and intent of my set-up: easy transition between a large screen and the Surface Book.

    Not one of the Windows 10 updates has helped.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2016-03-06T03:49:51+00:00

    I was using the microsoft HDMI adapters when i called and they didnt seem to have knowledge of the problem at all. Now i am stuck using the VGA adapters, whih sucks cause one of my monitors only had HDMI & DVI. DVI adapters wouldnt work either.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments