Surface dock 2 not connecting to monitors using usb-c cables

Anonymous
2020-07-15T13:06:07+00:00

I purchased two new surface dock2 to connect our surface pro 7 to our widescreen monitors using usb-c cables. Neither of the monitors would connect through the usb-c ports.

One monitor is an LG 38WK95C. The other is a Dell ultrasharp U3818DW. The LG monitor previously worked connecting to a macbook pro through the usb-c port.

To be clear, I first connected the surface dock 2 to one of the surface pro 7 devices and connected the Dell to the surface dock 2 through the usb-c. A messages was displayed to the effect that the monitor should be connected through a displayport. The monitor never showed up in windows, although you would get the sound like a monitor was recognized and the displayport message. Using the "detect monitor" feature came back with "no monitor detected".

I then connected the LG to the other surface pro 7 device through the surface dock 2. The exact same behavior occurred.

Windows update showed no updates available. I then manually updated the firmware on one of the surface pro 7 devices. Still no joy.

Surface | Accessories | Surface Dock

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

84 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2021-03-09T04:34:15+00:00

    Hello everyone,

    I have a very similar setup and the same issue:

    Surface Book 3 Business (SB3) with Surface Dock 2 (SD2) connected to two Dell 4K monitors.

    The following cable works fine if connected to the USB-C port on the SB3 directly, but not to the USB-C video connections at the back of the SD2

    6ft USB C to DisplayPort 1.4 Cable 8K/4K - USB-C™ Video Adapters | Australia (startech.com)

    I saw that people were talking about USB-C to HDMI cables that need to be active (not passive). This cable is listed as "active" on that page under its specs.

    For any MS personnel here in these forums:

    This is very disappointing!

    Will there be a firmware update for the SD2 that will allow the use of such cables with this dock (assuming that's possible)?

    Regards,

    GT

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2021-02-20T15:35:31+00:00

    After purchasing a new Surface Laptop 3 & Surface dock 2, I have come to the conclusion this dock was Not planned out well, not designed well and not adequate for the task it was supposed to perform. After having a Surface book and dock for the last few years, never a problem. I tried everything on this board, and the best I can get is 1 monitor consistently through the laptop display port. MS should have used thunderbolt 3 and instead cheaped out and piss off a lot of customers.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2021-02-13T19:01:46+00:00

    Dell D6000 works as intended.  Monitors wake up and display when acrivated.  Plenty of ports, and powers the surface pro 7 through the usb-c port.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2021-02-13T15:46:00+00:00

    Here's the configuration that worked for me... 

    1. USB-C to Display Port Adapter
    2. USB-C to HDMI Adapter

    #1 connected to USB-C on Surface Dock Pro 2

    #2 connected directly to USB-C on SurfacePro 7

    Set SurfacePro Display settings as shown and Disable the computer display.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2021-02-11T17:55:38+00:00

    Im glad you were able to get yours to work, however tk buy the dock 2 at $180.  Then have to buy 2 microsoft usb-c to hdmi adapters at $50 each seems to defeat the purpose of the dock... 

    I returned the surface dock 2 in exchange for the dell D6000 we will see if that setup works.  

    currently the dell d6000 is the same price as the surface dock2.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments