Surface Pro 3 Dock mini display port STILL not working

[bluegrass]

If this setup works off the SP3s port and not off the docks port it seems fairly obvious...

I'm not impressed by the level of difficulty experienced across the industry with DP devices though... seems like something is amiss in the standard for there to be so many problems. maybe it will all work better when we get to displayport 2.0 or 3.0

I agree. Until there is an good reason to move to a technology that fairly new to Windows, I will stick with HDMI or DVI. I'm reading about too many problems with some working and some not to move in that direction.

 

[Evan]

It's possible the SP3 port is dual mode (DP++), while the dock is only DP. If that's true, you would need an "active" DP->DVI or DP->HDMI cable (not just a passive cable) to use the dock, while passive cables would work with the SP3 itself.

Right, I've read that. But I thought that two of the cables I've purchased above were "active" display port cables.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00310EEO4/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004071ZXA/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Shouldn't these work?

 

[Jamie Youngblood]

The HDMI adapters you linked are passive. The DVI appears to be active.

 

[wditters]

DP++ can transmits DVI/HDMI signals as well as DP (so a passive adapter is enough). DP transmits DP only; it requires an *active* adapter to convert DP signals to DVI/HDMI.

 

[Evan]

The HDMI adapters you linked are passive. The DVI appears to be active.

Right, and I got that DVI one because someone else on another thread said that it had worked with their dock's display port. Not so much with mine.

Oh well, I'm going to swap it out at my local microsoft store again today, and bring all my cables and my own surface with me and make sure the new dock works before I leave the store. Can't think of anything else to try.

 

[Evan]

So here's a quick update. I took everything to the MS store and showed the tech my issue. After trying one of the SP3 display models in my dock, the display port worked fine with all of my differing cables. This meant that something is wrong with my surface itself. They offered to swap it out right there but I'm in the middle of a project and need to back-up everything before trading it in.

I'm wondering if this is an actual physical problem or if it's just some sort of driver issue? I've done all of the updates possible, even the optional ones, so I'm not sure what it could be. Just trying to avoid a situation where I have to trade it in and re-install all of my software.

 

[Evan]

A quick follow up...

I swapped out my surface after backing everything up. The 2nd one they gave me had the same problem. After the tech at the MS store tried but failed to get it to work for about two hours, I had it swapped out again for a 3rd.

So apparently the issue is that the firmware updates have to be done while the surface is sitting in the dock. Which means you have to charge it fully first and then do all the updates... since w/out the firmware updates the dock won't even charge the damn thing. After that the display port on the dock worked fine.

I know this works for a brand new unit but I am unsure if you can do a wipe/reload on a surface with the firmware updates already applied and then "start from scratch" and try to apply the updates again. It sucks that I had to swap the thing out but the guys at the MS store were pretty cool about it.

 

[Bandito]

Wow! That's quite a story. Thanks for sharing it.

I can understand the SP3 needing to be in the dock to get the updates related to the dock, but this should be able to occur at any time after acquiring a dock. You shouldn't need a 'virgin' unit to go into the dock and then get all of the updates to make this work. That's really a strange way to have to do things.

 

[enthuz]

That's very disturbing. I'm waiting for an i7/512 w/dock and 2 U2414H's. I'm now beginning to regret my choices if it is going to be this much trouble to get something simple to work.

 

[Ergo]

I don't have the dock, I am daisy chaining my two U2414H monitors to the display port of the surface (i7/512) and since the 18/11/14 update I have been getting constant issues with the monitors

I have tried Microsoft support but they say it's the first time they heard of the issue
I have tried installing the new drivers for the graphic card but it didn't make a difference so I have gone back to the surface ones.

I need my surface to be reliable, I can't waste 1h every day trying to fix the monitors (today with no luck).

I was so happy with my surface before this...