WiFi/Networking issue when connected to docking station

Anonymous
2015-12-16T10:29:24+00:00

Hi,

I recently bought the new Surface Pro 4 (i7, 512 GB SSD) along with the new docking station. I've experienced some of the general issues that various other people have mentioned (such as the power management/sleep issue) but I'm also seeing an issue that does not yet seem reported.

When I have the new docking station connected, if it's connected to a monitor, the network connectivity sometimes drops. I have been using it without any issues for about 2 weeks, but today I had a lot of trouble connecting to the office WiFi network. The network itself was definitely working properly as it was quick and reliable for several other users, including my own phone. Nonetheless, I rebooted the router to make sure.

Windows simply would not connect to the WiFi network (even though it has always been a saved connection). Trying to connect caused it to sometimes fail and sometimes ask for the network password (and entering it correctly would still fail - but that's another long-standing Windows bug!). Connecting to alternative networks did exactly the same; it would attempt to connect to my phone's portable hotspot, connect and disconnect in a few seconds, retry, and then stop (in a disconnected state). Intermittently it would connect to the network, but sometimes with 'No Internet' and clearly lots of DNS issues in trying to resolve google.com. It sometimes took 30-60 seconds to load google.com.

Troubleshooting steps

  • Tried disabling and re-enabling the WiFi adapter
  • Tried restarting Windows 10
  • Tried disabling all other network adapters (the Ethernet port from the dock and two created by VirtualBox)
  • Tried removing dock connection
    • This is the first time the connection issues were resolved and google.com was loaded (and could be reloaded) within milliseconds
  • Re-attached dock and tried removing Logitech unifying receiver (the only USB device plugged in)
  • Tried removing monitor
    • Everything back to normal, was able to browse very quickly again
  • Tried re-attaching monitor
    • Network issues again where loading google.com would take around 20 seconds and refreshing the page would also take several seconds

Clearly there is an issue with the external display. The display is a 1080p monitor which is connected via a HDMI cable and a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter. The strange part is that this problem has never come up before, though in hindsight I would say that browsing at the office has been generally a little bit slower than at home.

Has anyone else experienced this issue? I might try to get an older pre-1.4 spec HDMI cable to see if this has an effect.

Surface | Surface Pro | Power and battery

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-04-24T18:30:28+00:00

    I've seen this problem reported on Surface 3s also but I haven' seen a fix that works. I have tried e v e r y t h i n g that has been suggested as a fix for every kind of wifi problem the Surfaces have been plagued with... no luck. I plug a new LG UHD Monitor (mini dp to dp) into my brand new Surface pro 4 (i7 16 256) and wifi connection is gone, with icon still showing it is connected. Plugging in an older monitor (mini dp to DVI) is fine, wifi stays on. I've lost a lot of sleep and work hours on this, how frustrating :\

    Anyone found a fix for something like this?

    HalliT

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-04-18T14:04:42+00:00

    My boss has a similar issue

    New Surface Pro 4 - i7 8Gb with 256Gb SSD. Using the MS Dock and the MS display port to HDMI cable. and using Ethernet cat5 cabled connection to the work network.

    Randomly the Surface will disconnect from the network, and drop mapped drives. The network icon shows the yellow icon - "not connected to the internet". Then after a few seconds, it comes back again.

    Not using WiFi at all.

    HDMI connected to a new Philips 27" screen at 1080p res.

    Windows 10 - 64bit.

    Any ideas? (He wants to return it to MS..)

    thanks

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-04-18T08:01:46+00:00

    It is a strange issue, when I bought the docking station some months ago it worked fine but became worse and worse and now almost no connection to the Wifi at all, when a monitor is plugged into the docking station minidisplay-port. It is only a Wifi issue, ethernet connection works, tried with an other monitor, same bad result. And Microsoft support (Europe) seem to be surprised too.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-04-15T11:02:33+00:00

    I have had exactly the same problem, and independently found the same solution - plug in monitor directly to SP4.  I am using an AOC I2367Fh monitor - not plug n Play.  Coulds this be an issue with older monitors not being fully compatible with the Dock?

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  5. Anonymous
    2016-04-04T14:54:15+00:00

    Same issue here.

    I changed the router channel, just to give it a try. No success.

    In the end I cable-connected the router to the docking.

    Dunno what to do next. I could let things as they are (I'll never move the docking from my desk; therefore the current setup satisfies my needs), instead, I could ask for a change (but somebody said here that it did not make any difference)...

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