How do I correct display scaling issues on Surface Pro 4

Anonymous
2016-02-19T16:31:28+00:00

I'm noticing display scaling issues and docking issues on the Surface Pro 4.  I'm using the docking connector and have two Dell 24" Ultrasharp U2415 monitors.  When I undock the Surface, the text is aliased very poorly on the Surface display, not crisp as it should be.  Certain elements appear fine, but my browser, Outlook 2016, and other apps have poor quality text.  A restart is required to get the text back to its normal hi-DPI quality. 

Secondly, if I start a program while undocked and dock the surface, some apps are scaled up (both text and UI elements of the window) and others are fine.

Lastly, a few times when the SP4 is docked and I return from being away for a few minutes, my external displays don't kick on.  Clicking the mouse or pressing keys on the keyboard do nothing.  Occasionally, the SP4 display will activate and my mouse/keyboard will control work.  I've tried disconnecting the dock connector, power cycling the dock, but only restarting the SP4 will correct this issue.

In general a restart is required to resolve any of these issues.  Is this the result of buggy display drivers or something else?

I've installed the latest SP4 firmware update and have the latest OS updates through Windows Update, as of this morning, February 19, 2016.

Surface | Surface Pro | Display and screen

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Anonymous
2016-04-28T16:48:01+00:00

Hello SP4_user11,

A lot of work was done in Windows 10 to support high resolution screens, such as the Surface Pro 3, Surface Pro 4, Surface Book, and third-party laptops and tablets with screen resolutions above 1080p. However, there are issues that occur when using Office apps on these devices when connecting to an external monitor with a lower resolution.

To find out more about what has been improved and what is still being worked on, please check out these articles:

The current and future improvements are dependent on having Windows 10 Creators Update installed. So if you have not yet updated, please start with that.

Best Regards

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-09-28T16:19:55+00:00

    I have the same scaling issue on my SurfaceBook with Intel Core 5i 6300u. I'm currently running Windows 10 Version 1703 but don't see any improvement.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-04-30T02:19:02+00:00

    Hi I had exactly the same issue, which I have solved.

    When you move a window between displays push the window to the top of the slave monitor and bump it into the top, this re-sizes the window to the monitors resolution. In word you will may end up with the whole display being taken over and two pages being diisplayed side by side. You can then select the square in the top right side to shrink the window and hey presto it all works its self out.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-04-14T17:55:26+00:00

    The problem of the scaling on high resolution displays was resolved with the latest Windows Update (Windows 10 Creators Update).

    If you have already upgraded, follow this guide for non-optimized programs:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbKydHLVpAo 

    I think this is the easiest and faster way that everyone can do!

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-10-27T12:29:47+00:00

    Hi.  I just bought a surface Pro 4 and am using it with a Dell 2412 monitor with the display-port directly connected.  I am noticing these DPI problems too.  It's nothing to do with the Surface Dock (I'm not using one) or the cable/cord.   I routinely use a similar setup with my old Vaio laptop (same Windows10 OS) with no problems.

    The difference with the SurfacePro is the very high screen resolution (DPI) which forces a recommended universal scaling-factor for apps, text etc. of 200% - unlike the old laptop, where both screens are running at native resolution and 100% scaling.  Clearly Widows10 has an issue with MIXED scaling (different on two screens).  You can see this if you move a window halfway between the screens (straddling) - it gets HUGE on the external screen once the system decides it belongs on the built-in one.

    I found it doesn't matter whether the external monitor is the SOLE screen of just an extension: if you boot the SP4 without it connected, then connect it, things screw-up and Outlook 2016 refuses to start-up - it just hangs.

    A work-around for this is as follows:

    1. Re-boot (or sign-out and in again) with the external monitor connected.   In display settings choose the SP4 screen and set its scaling to 100%.  
    2. In Advanced Display Settings, change the SP4 screen resolution to about half of the recommended native 2736 x 1824.  There is no exact 1368 x 912 but 1440 x 900 seems to work OK.

    Of course, this is not ideal and some sharpness is lost.  It is acceptable to me for two reasons:  

    a) The built-in screen is not the MAIN thing when using extended screens.

    b) As soon as the external monitor screen is disconnected, the Surface Pro 4 reverts to native resolution and 200% scaling - as ideal for use as a tablet or or laptop. The extended-screens settings are remembered though and are setup automatically when the monitor is reconnected.

    I hope this helps

    Rob

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