Surface Dock 2 Display Problem

Hi, Swiss Julian!

Thanks for providing us updates regarding the situation and for letting us know what type of adapter/cable allowed your monitor to be displayed via the Surface Dock 2. Your input is greatly appreciated and we thank you for your time here. 

Hope you're enjoying your holiday! Take care and stay safe inside!

Sincerely, 

Janette_Z

Hello there. 

I am experiencing the same problemens with my brand new Surface Dock 2 for my Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 device. 

The monitor I use is a HP EliteDisplay E243 Monitor. It has a DisplayPort and a HDMI input. 

With the Surface Dock 1 I didn't have any problems. 

Even with the HP USB-C Dock G5 I did not have any problems. 

But now I am trying to get the new Surface Dock 2 working. 

First I bought an USB-C to DisplayPort cable (ACT SB0031 USB3.1 CM - DP M 4K/60HZ). 

The Surface Dock 2 could not find my monitor. Tried everything but nothing worked. 

Then I bought an USB-C to HDMI cable (UNICHDMIM02 USB-C to HDMI 4K/60HZ). 

The Dock2 recognizes my HP monitor and gives a signal! But, not always. When I restart my Surface Laptop 3, I have to remove the power adapter from the Dock2 and reconnect it to make my HP monitor working again. 

This is so annoying. 

Now I am looking for information about a possible firmware update or driver update for the Dock2. 

And what did I get? After installing SurfaceDock2_SEMMforDock_Win10_17763_20.054.29469.0.msi I am only getting a directory in C:\Program Files\SurfaceUpdate with 3 subfolders named:

- SurfaceDock2FwUpdate containing .bin files 

• SurfaceEthernetAdapter containing .inf driver files

- SurfaceService containing an service file and two .dll files

What?? What am I supposed to do with this?

Based on what I found on the internet, it looks like that the Dock2 is not realy a good choice....

I had a similar issue and I've managed to fix it. I've put a detailed overview of what my problem was, configuration, troubleshooting and solution was. Its abit long winded - so you can just skip to the solution at the bottom of my text if you want.

PROBLEM:

Surface Pro external screens suddenly stopped working.

BACKGROUND / CONFIGURATION:

I had my Surface Pro 6 connected to a Surface Dock, which was connected to 2 external LG Monitors (both via a Mini DP to HDMI, then the monitor lead which was HDMI to HDMI to the monitor). I had been using this configuration for approximately 6 months without issue, when the external monitors suddenly stopped working.

DETAILED ISSUE DESCRIPTION:

When the external monitors suddenly stopped working I could see the Surface Pro, the Dock and the monitors were still on and receiving power. My Surface Pro was working fine by itself (eg: screen or usage wasn't altered or impacted). In the Display settings, it still showed the 2 external monitors as connected, however they were not receiving any image (this did not change whether "extend" or "duplicate" was selected) and they were unable to be repositioned. Upon clicking "Identify", no number appeared on the external monitors.

TROUBLESHOOTING PERFORMED:

• disconnected and reconnected all leads / connections (monitors, Surface Dock, Surface Pro)
• restarted my Surface Pro 6 (hard & soft restart)
• restarted my Surface Dock (power off and power on)
• restarted my monitors (power off and power on)
• ensured the monitors were (still) on the correct input setting (HDMI)
• ensured all current updates had been installed
• performed a Windows key sequence (windows logo + Ctrl + Shift + B)
• confirmed Surface Pro works & powers on
• confirmed monitors work & power on
• confirmed Surface Dock powers on
• confirmed I could hear the connect sound when connecting my Surface Dock to the Surface Pro
• confirmed I could see the white light indicator on the Surface Dock lead when connected to the Surface Pro
• confirmed the Surface Pro is charging when connected to the Surface Dock
• disconnected, turned 180degrees and reconnected the Surface Dock lead to the Surface Pro
• confirmed a single monitor will work with a direct connection to the laptop (without Surface Dock)

No change

!!! SOLUTION !!!

I was FINALLY able to fix the issue by installing a Surface Dock firmware Update!

• Go to Download Surface Tools for IT (https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=46703).
• Select "Download".
• You don't need all the files - only select the "Surface_Dock_FwUpdate" file (when I did this, the file name was Surface_Dock_FwUpdate_1.42.139_Win10_17134_19.084.31680_0.msi) It may be different for you depending on the latest file at the time you do this, but the file name will start with Surface_Dock_FWUpdate_ and a version number, and it will have a .msi file name extension at the end).
• Click "Next".
• Click "Run".
• Follow the prompts. It prompted me to restart which I did.
• NOW - when it restarted, there was no change and the monitors were still black. But I disconnected and then reconnected the Surface Dock lead to the Surface Pro and BINGO! My 2 external monitors came back up with the display again.

I hope this helps!

Hello,

I am really sorry, but it seems that you have the „older“ Surface Dock and talk about this one, that also works really great for me...

The issue above described just is related to the recently released Surface Dock 2 (with the USB-C ports on the front).

The firmware update procedure is different, the issue (at least in my case) could only be fixed by buying an expensive Active USB-C to HDMI adapter... Native USB-C connection with a monitor still doesn‘t work from the Dock 2 and Microsoft did not give any helpful assistance nor released a proper firmware solution until now...

Cheers,

Julian

Hi Janette_Z,

I used the original Microsoft Active USB-C to HDMI adapter from your online store and a noname HDMI 2.0 cable I had somewhere... Very expensive adapter (and through this the Dock even got more expensive for me)...

Please, again, forward to the appropriate team at Microsoft. They may contact me if they need further details, but providing a solution should be maximum priority for them, I think... As I am not t he only one out there with this issue!

Thanks,

Julian