New Surface Dock Does Not Work via mini displayport to HDMI & DVI

Anonymous

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.

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Anonymous

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:

Make and model of external displays
Make/model of adapters if present
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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Answer accepted by question author

Anonymous

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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315 additional answers

Anonymous

2016-10-13T03:14:27+00:00

mDP to HDMI on a Philips 288P8 selects 3840x2160@30Hz, which is the best that the HDMI input on this monitor can handle. It does display but the top 5-10% of the display has random flickering repeated triangle interference. This is with a fosmon mDP to HDMI cable but that is hardly relevant; the same cable plugged into the Surface 4 is fine (also at 30Hz).

I'm getting an mDP to DP cable to try that, although the monitor only has one DP input so that isn't a solution for me (I have multiple computers connected to it).

Using an active adapter is, of course, not a solution; it's just admitting that the dock doesn't work correctly (the *dock* is an active adapter itself!) If I buy a $200 computer (the dock) I expect it to work.

John Bowler
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Anonymous

2016-09-23T19:37:08+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.

Ok, what just worked for me today was ditching my old HDMI cable and my Microsoft brand passive Mini Display to HDMI adapter. I replaced both with a 6ft Belkin brand Mini Display to HDMI cable from Best Buy. $44 but worth it to get the extended desktop that I bought the Surface Dock and LG Ultrawide monitor for in the first place. Surface Book is working great now and the separate resolutions for the Book and the Monitor are now at there recommended settings.
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Anonymous

2016-07-19T12:25:59+00:00

Finaly I got it working.

I use 2x Monitor 27" iiyama B2783QSU.

The Monitor have DP/HDMI/DVI withthe Dock I could try whatever I want "NO SIGNAL" was the result.

After some hints here from other Users I tried several Active Mini DP to HDMI Adapters, now I finally found a reliable working one which give me QHD Resolution.

Cable Matters

ini DisplayPort (Thunderbolt™ Port Compatible) to HDMI/DVI/VGA Male to Female 3-in-1 Adapter Product ID: 101020

I need to use the HDMI Port on the Cable Matters Converter with a HDMI -> DVI-D Cable. Funny HDMI-HDMI Isn't working too.

Surface 4 -> Dock Cable to Dock -> Dock: 2x mDP -> HDMI -> DVI-D

Now I have my Setup up and running, after 4 month :)
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