Surface Dock Keeps Disconnecting Intermittently

Anonymous
2020-01-10T16:44:40+00:00

Microsoft,

What is going on with this thing?

I have had the Surface Dock for two months now. Purchased it to go with my Surface Laptop 1. 

Every day.... and I mean every day, this thing disconnects itself from my Surface Laptop, my monitor goes black, my usb peripherals disconnect, and my network goes down... and then in one second everything magically reconnects. 

Sometimes it only happens 5 times a day. Other days it happens like a gazillion.

Once it first started happening, I scoured the internet looking for a solution. I replaced the dock, I updated the firmware, I connected it to a different power source, I've power cycled, I've turned the cord around - etc. No matter what I do it keeps happening. 

And there is no good answers on this message board that seems to fix this issue. I have read them all. 

What is going on with this thing?

Right now, just so y'all know, this thing is only acting as a power source for my laptop. I am plugging the monitor directly into the Surface Laptop, I have upgraded to a bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and my Ethernet is going into the system over usb. Even with NOTHING else plugged into the Surface Dock.... nothing. Just power. It is STILL disconnecting and reconnecting intermittently. What the H?!?

This is unacceptable and you guys really need to figure out a solution for this. My boss has a Surface Book 1 and he also experiences these issues daily, as well. Since he's using dual monitors, he just puts up with them going out and turning back on five to twenty times a day. The only ones in the office with the dock that aren't experiencing these issues are the two that have Surface Pro 4's...

What can we do to fix this? The Surface Dock is currently the most expensive laptop charger I've ever purchased (since that's all it seems to be decent at). 

Sincerely, 

Microsoft Enthusiast

Surface | Accessories | Surface Dock

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-11-02T18:18:01+00:00

    FWIW, I've been having this problem intermittently for a while now.  I think the problem is thermal.

    I'm driving 4 external monitors from my dock (not a surface dock) and it runs fine for a while, then starts wigging out.  It happens more and more frequently while it's on.  It gets... warm.  Very warm.

    If I shut it down, let it cool, and then turn it back on, it's good until it gets too hot again.

    If I shut it down, and immediately start it back up, the problem persists.

    I'm going to try and find a cooling pad for it, see if that helps.

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-10-30T04:26:50+00:00

    I have this same issue with my new i7 Surface Laptop. I read about all the frustration with the MS docking station, so I got an Anker docking station for USB C. Same problem. It hoses my ethernet connection, then freezes the entire system. Only a hard restart gets me working again and sometimes that takes a few tries. Incredibly frustrating and causes me more work.

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-10-28T09:17:57+00:00

    Hello,

    I've read nearly all replies, for i have the same issues on my Book 2, and tried many fixes, but none have worked yet. Upgrading on a Surface Dock 2 only help me having a stable video connection, but USB ports are still working intermittently. All MS troubleshooting tools have been used, but none have worked. Tried meddling with the SurfaceUSBHubFwUpdateService, SurfaceService, but no results. Drivers' Upgrades did not help neither.

    I am now wondering if the problem appears only on few Surface computers, and we are just unlucky on having those and the issue could be solved by using the warranty, or if it appears on all similar products.

    For now, as Barb Bowman advised, I think its a good idea to use the feedback hub to try communicating about the issue. There are already few posts opened, i think we should comment on those to make it become a big thing.

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  4. Barb Bowman 80,805 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2020-10-27T11:19:19+00:00

    I'd also suggest that everyone use the Feedback Hub to file problem reports,
    which gets to engineering. UCCSCOBIT, you have multiple devices in an
    education/enterprise environment and Business/Education support for Surface is a
    good path for you.

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  5. Anonymous
    2020-10-26T21:41:17+00:00

    I feel you whole-heartedly. Here's another post I started if you feel compelled to upvote that one, maybe get some more traction for their engineers to 1) admit there's a problem, and 2) maybe fix it

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/surfaccesso-surfdocking/surface-dock-issues/2db5b687-71b8-4441-9c52-65368e609ae3?tm=1603748411592

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