Surface Dock keeps waking up external monitor

Anonymous
2016-07-10T11:30:09+00:00

My monitor (LG 29UM68) is connected to Surface Dock -> SP4, via direct miniDisplayPort.

It keeps entering sleep mode and waking up repeatedly, even though my SP4 is asleep. This does not happen when I connect the monitor to SP4 directly.

Another issue is that if I set to PC Screen Only, after few seconds, it will automatically switch back to external monitor only. Again, this does not happen if I connect monitor to SP4 directly.

These 2 issues only arise if I use Surface Dock.

I have gone through all the steps here (https://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-sg/support/hardware-and-drivers/troubleshoot-docking-station-surface-dock) successfully, but issue persist.

Please help.

Surface | Accessories | Surface Dock

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-01-23T22:30:27+00:00

    I Have exactly the same problem. My setup is surface pro 4 i5 version and Samsung u24e850r 4k monitor connected via the surface dock. When surface is switched off or sleep, the external monitor will not go into sleep but going into an endless wake/sleep cycle. The monitor goes into sleep correctly when I disconnect the dock, though. When monitor is directly connected to the surface everything is fine.

    Can it be a problem with the dock connector at the surface?

    I already had contact to US and German customer service (Answer Desk). Both could not resolve the problem and they sent a replacement dock, but the problem still exists, even with the new dock.

    All devices have been updated to the latest firmware and updates. I don't know what to do next... I am very unhappy with the situation... The service people said they don't have a solution...

    Samsung Support says it is a Problem with the surface dock, which keeps applying power to the displayport in standby. It seems Samsung was able to find the bug, why does Microsoft not find and solve the problem?

    I took a short video showing the problem:

    surface-dock-sleep-wake-cycling

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-07-18T04:08:00+00:00

    Anyone else facing this issue?

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-11-20T04:40:21+00:00

    Hi ShmucketelleyJoe

    you need to use an ACTIVE adapter. 

    I sure wish Microsoft would just state that their Dock does not support 4k monitors and you need to use an Active adapter.

    That would sure save a lot of folks much headaches

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-10-01T18:53:18+00:00

    I have had the same issue with Surface dock and surface book and LG 25UM55D 25” UltraWide 2560x1080 connected through DisplayPort, from day one. The monitor keeps coming out of sleep and going back to sleep all night, in my bedroom. All firmware and software are up to date and also followed the troubleshooting steps previously. Only workaround currently is to physically turn the monitor off. That is what I do if I cannot fall asleep due to this coming on every few minutes.

    I don't think that support people have any clue as to how to resolve surface dock issues. They just ask to update firmware and software. Earlier I had all the peripherals connected to the dock going on and off constantly (including the monitor). Then I discovered that if I flip the SurfaceConnect the other way, the problem goes away. Then I took it to the Microsoft Store where the engineer and me did troubleshooting together with different surface docks and monitors and cables. Turned out that it was the SurfaceBook that had a faulty connector. So they replaced my surface book and it has been fine since. There are many articles about cables and firmware and supported monitors etc. Seems like many people have reported that the issue usually turns out to be in the hardware, in the internal connector, which is the last thing one would suspect.

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  5. Anonymous
    2016-09-22T19:38:26+00:00

    Hi Erwin,

    Issue exist since day 1 of owning a surface dock.

    There is no error message. As long as I sleep/hibernate the SP4 with the dock plugged in, the monitor will keep waking itself up. If I shutdown the SP4, the monitor goes into power saving successfully.

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