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
    2016-05-09T00:58:22+00:00

    The Surface Dock Updater did not help either. It reported that I already had the latest firmware installed.

    Yesterday I did a reset of my Surface. I got two new monitors and that set off a series of driver issues. Resetting the Surface fixed those driver issues. I have also found that the redocking/scaling issue is not happening now. Very puzzling about what may have fixed this, and we'll see if it stays fixed. I got my SP4 soon after it was released. Possible that one of the fixed firmware/drivers did not install properly until I did a reset?

    can you be a little more specific on what you did to 'reset', i assume you did a restore, but did you do a full restore, where it wipes all your apps and data?

    thanks!

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-05-05T18:47:05+00:00

    The Surface Dock Updater did not help either. It reported that I already had the latest firmware installed.

    Yesterday I did a reset of my Surface. I got two new monitors and that set off a series of driver issues. Resetting the Surface fixed those driver issues. I have also found that the redocking/scaling issue is not happening now. Very puzzling about what may have fixed this, and we'll see if it stays fixed. I got my SP4 soon after it was released. Possible that one of the fixed firmware/drivers did not install properly until I did a reset?

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-05-05T14:29:30+00:00

    I have the same problem. If I un-dock from my Surface Pro 4 docking station, the scaling on the Pro 4 screen is fine. If I re-dock to the docking station, which has dual monitors, the scaling is off and I have to sign out then back in to get the correct scaling.

    I'm current with all my updates and I used to tool to check the dock and it's current so that can't be the issue.

    Another problem I have is if I leave the keyboard attached to my Pro 4 when I e-dock, sometimes when I un-dock my Pro 4 the screen doesn't come back on. I have to do a hard reset to get it to boot. I don't have sleep or hibernate turn on (never change it during the early problems with both when the Pro 4 came out).

    I use a Surface Pro 3 at work running Windows 10 Enterprise with the Pro 3 docking station and dual monitors and I have no scaling or docking issues with it. I also don't have to remove the keyboard when I dock.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-05-05T02:11:11+00:00

    When you dock or undock, you need to sign out then sign back in. Seems to work for me every time.

    This works, thanks!!  But it is a little odd using Hello. If I log out, it goes right back to the camera to find me to log in, so I have to slip the docking/power cord in quickly before the camera logs me back in.

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