Surface Pro 3 external monitor / display port issues

Anonymous

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.

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129 answers

Anonymous

2014-12-13T02:41:35+00:00

Hello,

While I am not 100% sure that this will be helpful, I thought I would post it anyway for those who might have the same problem.

My problem and setup (which I believe is similar to Chalker2's, who started this thread:, consists of the following: I have a SP3 with dock and a Samsung S32D850 monitor. I am connecting the dock's mDP to the DP on the Samsung. The cable is a standard DP to DP, and their is a small mDP to DP adapter on one end. I can connect the monitor to the mDP port on the SP3 with no problems, but I cannot get the SP3 to recognize the monitor in anyway, if I plug in to the mDP port on the dock.

Possible Solution: I spoke with MS Surface Support, and they asked for the S/N of my dock (located on the bottom of the unit) and did a check to see if it had any known problems. Turns it that it does, and their internal database for such things, specifically describes the mDP port being defective. The tech is shipping me a new dock, free of charge, and not even asking for the old one back. For a minute there, I thought I was talking to the Apple Store guys. ;-) I say this is a "possible solution," as I have not received the new dock yet, and therefore cannot confirm that this is indeed the problem. I will report back once I know.
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Anonymous

2014-12-12T18:06:49+00:00

Ok, I am back to one monitor again.

My two monitors worked great for 2 days: 10th and 11th. Today it started well in the morning but I put the surface to sleep for my lunch break and when I started it again none of the monitors were getting signal.

After the sequence of random shutdowns, restarts, screen resolution changes etc. I have managed to make one of the two monitors work but not the other.

I guess I will have to wait until the 14th of January to be able to work normally again for some hours.

This is so frustrating!
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Anonymous

2014-12-10T13:50:00+00:00

Are your issues fixed too guys?

My issues were fixed when I replaced my existing hub with the one I posted about back in October. My setup has been rock solid ever since, apart from the display settings being forgotten at two occasions, both after patch Tuesday so likely an update resetting some sort of display setting.

While I'm sure there are driver and or firmware update possibilities to fix this issue once and for all I do believe the underlying issue is hardware (which is pretty much what EVGA told me when questioned about differences between L2 version).
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Anonymous

2014-12-10T11:50:48+00:00

After the Tuesday's updates my two monitors are back to life!!!!

This issue is inconsistent and the fact that they are working today doesn't necessarily means that the issue is 100% fixed but being able to use them again has definitely made my day.

It they fail again I'll come back to complain.

Are your issues fixed too guys?
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Anonymous

2014-12-10T10:05:20+00:00

Just chiming in to add my 2 cents.

We (so far) have 7 Surface Pro 3 in the company. 3 are connected to dual Dell U2414H using the dock and Daisychain. The others are connected to single monitors (different Dell monitors) using the dock.

I can confirm what others are saying here. Somtimes the monitors are just not recognised (or the second monitor in the chain) when we redock.

On several occasions the second monitor in the chain completely disappeared. The only way I could solve it was to swap out the second monitor (which works fine elsewhere).

Inconsistent and very frustrating!

This is stopping us from rolling out on a larger scale - such a shame - otherwise love the devices :-/
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