Surface Pro 3 external monitor / display port issues

Anonymous
2014-09-04T17:19:34+00:00

I know many people have been having issues with external monitors and the displayport connections on the Surface Pro 3 and Surface dock.  I've been having some issues too, and thought I'd share my config / workarounds in case it helps. I believe the issue is fundamentally with the Surface video drivers getting confused, not the docking station. 

My explicit questions are: Is there an easy way to force it to detect new displays?  Anybody have any other suggestions on how to resolve this?  Is there some way to open a formal technical ticket with MS?

My hardware: Surface Pro 3 i7, 256 GB; Surface docking station, 2 HP Z24i displays (1920x1200 resolution each), StarTech Mini DisplayPort 1.2 to Triple Head DisplayPort MST Hub (StarTech PN# MSTMDP123DP)

It's setup as follows: Mini DisplayPort MST Hub plugged into back of docking station, HP monitors plugged into ports 1 and 2 of the hub.

I've had this setup running for about 2 weeks. At first I couldn't get it working, but with the last firmware update in mid August it started working fine.

HOWEVER, just this week I've had issues where I can't get the Surface to detect the displays / output to them when I first plug in to the dock in the morning OR sometimes when it's waking up from going to sleep (like at lunchtime). No amount of fiddling / plugging / unplugging things seems to consistently fix it.  The 'Detect' button in the Screen Resolution window doesn't help.  Doing a shutdown / restart of the Surface also doesn't consistently work. Note that when the Surface gets like this, even plugging the Hub directly into the mini display port on the Surface itself (with it not docked) won't work.

The reason I believe this is a Surface / Windows issues is that when it gets into this state, within the screen resolution settings in windows it often thinks that there is another active display plugged in and will act as such (e.g. lets me extend or duplicate the desktop) - even if I have the surface completely undocked, not plugged into anything. Specifically it says it is a "Display device on: Mobile PC Display" with a resolution lower than 1024 x 768.  See pic below.  This state often survives through a reboot of the Surface.

The general process I usually get to work after a couple tries:

-Use Windows-P keys to set the surface to use only the internal display

-Shutdown the surface and undock

-Unplug the dock and hub

-Plug hub back in

-Power Surface back up while undocked and login

-Dock surface

-Plug dock back in

-I'll know it works at this point because the displays will automatically come on (no need to use windows-P key to toggle them)

NOTE TO FORUM MODS:

Before you reply with your standard questions, know that I've already done all the normal things, including shutdown, check all cables, all updates installed, run the hardware and devices troubleshooter.  I've also checked related threads, such as: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/surfpro3-surfdevice/external-display-flicker/1e2b9154-0533-4137-880f-55a90d2d6659?page=1&tm=1409850909719 (Note I've never had an issue with flicker) and http://www.surfaceforums.net/threads/mini-displayport-on-new-docking-station-doesnt-work.10577/ (This isn't an active vs. passive adapter thing.)  Once I get it working it works just fine until the surface undocks or reboots.  It's clearly an issue with Windows / Surface not properly detecting displays.

Surface | Surface Pro | Display and screen

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-03-02T16:34:37+00:00

    After reading all the posts, I thought I'd share my experience with the SP3, dock and MST hub.

    The setup I have is a SP3 Core i5 with SP3 Dock and Club 3D MST with StarTech mini DisplayPort to normal DisplayPort adapter.

    When I plug everything together, i.e.

    SP3 -> Dock -> mini DP adapter -> MST Hub -> 2 x DP to DVI adapters -> 2 x monitors

    It doesn't work.

    Sometimes the Surface screen just flickers a lot and sometimes the Surface detects the hub and the two screens, (it gets the model numbers) but disables the monitors.

    When I try and extend to the monitors, the Surface screen flickers badly or I get a failure message on the screen.

    I've run Windows updates and installed all the updates available, even the recommended ones as well as the January firmware package but it is still the same.

    The funny thing is, when I plug the MST hub directly in the SP3, (docked and undocked), everything works.

    I can extend to both monitors and everything, which makes me think that it is the dock that has the problem.

    I've also tried:

    SP3 -> Dock -> mini DP adapter -> DP to DVI adapter -> Monitor

    and that works.

    It seems like the dock just doesn't like the MST hub.

    We purchased three docks and I've tried two of them and I will try the other.

    I'll log a call with MS support and see if these are part of a bad batch and I might get the EVGA MST Hub to see if that helps.

    Will let everyone know how I get on.

    I have exactly the same issues as described by KengLam - identical behaviour depending on whether the DP adapter is plugged into the dock or not.

    I'm running Windows 10 build 9926, although it seems that the issue is independent of the OS version you use

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-02-18T22:43:29+00:00

    Hi all, 

    Just to share my experiences running extra screens from my SP3...

    Using a USB/DVI device cause a strange bug whereby upon undocking, the screen resolution on the SP3 would change to that of the USB screen that was attached, i.e. 1920*1080. this would make it almost impossible to navigate on the small screen. 

    So I tried a couple of different DP MST hubs. Both of which would sometimes show the symptom of not working when the SP3 resumed from sleep. However, for both models, the only necessary action was to hit the "Rescan" button on the hub and then my two big screens would light up again. 

    I used an EVGA product and an ACCELL product. Both had the same issue (so maybe it's the SP3 After all). I did find it occurred less on the EVGA hub.

    I would be interested to know if anyone has the same issue when daisy chaining monitors that have a DP out port? At roughly $600 per monitor, this isn't really something I want to test. 

    I also wonder if disabling the sleep mode on the monitors makes a difference?

    My biggest gripe with the SP3s is that they reset while asleep. This happens on both the SP3s that I've purchased. I think it happens more if I put it to sleep before undocking. 4 hours later I try to wake it up and it does a full boot (it had an unexpected shutdown 5 mins after I undocked it) . I have rebuit one with 8.1 Enterprise to run DirectAccess and it has the same issue.

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-02-17T10:59:07+00:00

    After reading all the posts, I thought I'd share my experience with the SP3, dock and MST hub.

    The setup I have is a SP3 Core i5 with SP3 Dock and Club 3D MST with StarTech mini DisplayPort to normal DisplayPort adapter.

    When I plug everything together, i.e.

    SP3 -> Dock -> mini DP adapter -> MST Hub -> 2 x DP to DVI adapters -> 2 x monitors

    It doesn't work.

    Sometimes the Surface screen just flickers a lot and sometimes the Surface detects the hub and the two screens, (it gets the model numbers) but disables the monitors.

    When I try and extend to the monitors, the Surface screen flickers badly or I get a failure message on the screen.

    I've run Windows updates and installed all the updates available, even the recommended ones as well as the January firmware package but it is still the same.

    The funny thing is, when I plug the MST hub directly in the SP3, (docked and undocked), everything works.

    I can extend to both monitors and everything, which makes me think that it is the dock that has the problem.

    I've also tried:

    SP3 -> Dock -> mini DP adapter -> DP to DVI adapter -> Monitor

    and that works.

    It seems like the dock just doesn't like the MST hub.

    We purchased three docks and I've tried two of them and I will try the other.

    I'll log a call with MS support and see if these are part of a bad batch and I might get the EVGA MST Hub to see if that helps.

    Will let everyone know how I get on.

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-02-14T07:05:37+00:00

    To everyone in this thread, I've logged a support call with the Microsoft Business Surface Support team which has been escalated. I'll post an update if I hear anything.

    In the mean time it may be worth trying the newly released January updates for the Surface Pro 3. They will hit Windows Update in the various regions shortly.

    • Surface Pro UEFI update (v3.11.450.0) adds support for updated HD Graphics Family driver.
    • HD Graphics Family driver update (v10.18.14.4029) enhances display stability and performance, improves user experience when using Miracast adapters. Improves compatibility with DisplayPort monitors and daisy chaining.

    Since 16/1/2015, when these updates have been applied to my Surface Pro3, I have major problems with my StarTech MSTMDP123DP . The MSTMDP123DP  is connected to my Surface dockingstation and I have 2 monitors connected to the MSTMDP123DP . Before the update it was working fine as long my Surface was not going into sleep mode. After the update, I need to reset the MSTMDP123DP  each 3-5 minutes as the Surface will go back to only the main screen. All  3 screens go dark for about 15 seconds and after that only the Surface main screen will appear. So Microsoft have not solved the issue. For me it is now not workable anymore. Called StarTech, but they point to Microsoft.

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  5. Anonymous
    2015-01-18T01:14:21+00:00

    Since I've updated it appears that my monitors are now working fine.  I don't want to jinx myself...but I think Microsoft may have fixed this...

    OK so I jinxed myself.  From the Dec 30 update, my monitors were working flawlessly...then I updated the firmware on the 17th of January (Jan 15 update) and now same problems.

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