Surface Dock USB ports not working - Dock Updater repeatedly fails

I was having the same problem as well and wanted to try everything.

The surface dock updater actually didn't recognize my dock at all so I was at a loss.

Reversing the connector actually worked for me (reproducible)!

When the connecter is connected to my surface Pro 4 with the cable pointing down, USB doesn't work (all other connections do).

When I reverse it (cable pointing up) USB immediately start working (keyboard and mouse in my case). 

The surface pro dock updater then also recognized the dock.

I am baffled, but at least my USB now works properly.

Sorry to hear that you weren't as lucky.  I was happy not to have to use the USB ports on the Surface Book anymore.

Unsurprisingly, this did not work for me.

I've been using a Surface dock for just over two years, with no problems to speak of. The connector has been a bit temperamental (if I touch the connector the dock disconnects and reconnects) and for the sake of troubleshooting I ran the Dock Updater and upgraded its firmware. The USB ports began playing up virtually immediately! They'll often work for some length of time, and then they'll basically cycle between connected and disconnected (I've been listening to that "song" all morning). For me it's my keyboard and mouse, and I work on it all day. Which makes this an exceptionally frustrating problem. I have two monitors connected to the dock, and they keep working throughout.

I just tried "reversing the connector" (plugging it in upside down), and it worked for about 10 minutes. But the disconnect/reconnect noise has started again, once every 30-60s. I depend on my dock for work. I spoke to MS support a few days ago. We got as far as "try resetting your Surface" which is not an option. Especially given it seems highly unlikely that will resolve the problem.

I'm not sure what to do. I'm outside of warranty and we don't have MS stores in NZ. I was about ready to buy a new one, but it sounds like that won't solve the problem either if it's driver/firmware related? I have to do something quickly though...I need it for work.