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

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-10-27T00:26:42+00:00

    I have tried EVERYTHING to get the Dock 2 to work with an external monitor. Updated firmware, cleared cashes, turned the dock connector wire around on my Book 3, changed the Hz from 60 to 59 and back again. It is almost like the Surface Book 3 does not send a signal to the Dock 2. The ONLY thing I've been able to do (other than connect/disconnect) is to each time it won't recognize the monitor - is to open Advanced Settings, click on the Monitor properties and change the Hz... if it's 60, I change it to 59 and vise versa. Then it works again until it goes to Sleep again. It's almost like I'm having to manually force a signal to the Dock 2. It is interesting, when I first connected the monitor, it was correctly identified as a Samsung... now it is just a Generic Monitor. And when you click Detect, it can't find anything... not detected. Certainly not what I was hoping for when I bought the Dock 2. And yes, if I connect the monitor directly to the Surface Book 3, it works fine.

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-11-09T18:13:41+00:00

    I have the exact same issue connecting my two Dell monitors to the Surface Dock 2. Also tried everything that I could find on the subject.

    The strange thing is that when I disconnect the first one, the second starts working. If I plug the first one back into the dock, the first one gets preference and the second one will stop working again.

    1. Clearing cache made me reset the settings over and over again, but did not resolve the issue.
    2. I first tried it with usb-c to DisplayPort, and I'm now using usb-c to HDMI, but still out of luck.
    3. I actually have 2x 24 inch Dell with two different resolutions, because one is actually a touchscreen so I also tried to lower the resolution to match the touchscreen, but that also did not help.
    4. The frequency of both monitors are set to 60 hz.

    Any ideas?

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-11-24T21:14:42+00:00

    I have the exact same issue connecting my two Dell monitors to the Surface Dock 2. Also tried everything that I could find on the subject.

    The strange thing is that when I disconnect the first one, the second starts working. If I plug the first one back into the dock, the first one gets preference and the second one will stop working again.

    1. Clearing cache made me reset the settings over and over again, but did not resolve the issue.
    2. I first tried it with usb-c to DisplayPort, and I'm now using usb-c to HDMI, but still out of luck.
    3. I actually have 2x 24 inch Dell with two different resolutions, because one is actually a touchscreen so I also tried to lower the resolution to match the touchscreen, but that also did not help.
    4. The frequency of both monitors are set to 60 hz.

    Any ideas?

    I am having the EXACT same issue, I had none of these issues with the first doc (which I sold).  Running a Dell Ultrawide that is less than a year old and a brand new HP, both on USB C and only one works at a time.  Don't what else to do!

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-11-29T11:57:31+00:00

    As Surface partner we are in close contact with the distributor and they told us to try the Suface connectors (USB-C>HDMI2) but that does not change a thing. I noticed that when this happens I need to power off the monitor and unplug the power cord of the dock. Wait for 20 seconds and reconnect everything. Then it starts working, but it is very enoying. Everything connected so everything is not available. Audio, cam, conferencing..

    I'm out of ideas. I think we need a firmware update or more hardware to keep testing. I wonder what would happen with different monitors. Really disappointed with the Dock2. I won't be selling that until this is fixed.

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  5. Anonymous
    2020-11-29T16:57:26+00:00

    I was much happier with the doc 1 and had no problem with 2 monitors.  One was a DP and one was a HDMI to DP adapter.  I got the Surface Pro 7 solely for the USB C and to not be able to use it is beyond frustrating.  I wish I never got the Doc 2 as it worked perfectly, I should have simply found a USB C adapter somewhere.  I hope they release a fix because not being able to run 2 perfectly good brand new USB C monitors is pointless and frustrating

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