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
    2016-02-19T16:46:40+00:00

    I believe the issue is a Windows 10 issued because I experience a similar thing (display scaling issues) on my desktop machine.  It has been reported that future builds of Windows 10 will address this issue where Windows 10 does not respond properly to resolution/scaling settings when switching displays and also between user accounts.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-03-03T01:25:08+00:00

    When I undock my SP4, it is fine, but if I re-dock the device, the icons on my external monitor are huge.  I don't think I can adjust them in the settings. If I restart, then all is fine.  Kind of a nuisance.  Is this a flaw, or must one always dock and re-dock with the machine OFF  for each monitor to look normal?

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-03-03T03:18:04+00:00

    The only way I got around this was to set the size on my SP4 to 1920x1200 and reduce text size zoom down to 100%.

    On my external monitor, the size is 1920x1080. 

    Its a major compromise, but needed as things like RDP and some programs like keepass and jing just dont work as they used to on Windows 7 & my old Dell.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-03-03T03:20:56+00:00

    I do however have a problem with the external montor.  When I step away from the SP4 for more than 30 minutes, the screen is turned off.  When I come back to wake it up, nothing I can do seems to bring back the external display.  I usually need to restart!!  I am using a docking station.

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