[BenF]

When all is said and done you have three choices ...

• Dual 4k monitors at 30 hz
• Dual monitors with 60 hz refresh but set to a lower resolution
• Single 4k monitor at 60 hz

And don't expect a fix, this is now official and will remain this way as per specs (the link to which I can't post here apparebtly).

--- Ben

[Spongers8X]

Unless it's a software fix. May not be set in stone, that's probably why MS has been quiet on the subject.

[BenF]

I sure hope so. But, from all I have read it appears that the bottleneck is actually the connector to the dock, 60 Hz refreshes of dual 4k displays is more than it can handle. If that is, in fact, the case, then software won't fix it. The solution will likely be to use a USB Type C connector if they include one in the next Surface Book.

--- Ben

[Bluerain]

I had this exact same issue with my surface book, I got 2 identical monitors and the new surface dock, I bought 2 HDMI to MiniDisplayPort and hooked it up, sure enough, flickering, bouncing between screens etc. Just by chance I tried changing one of my HDMI to MiniDisplayPorts out for a VGA to MiniDisplayPort (my screens had HDMI and VGA in) and this fixed it! I do not know why it made a difference, so now one of my screens is connected to the surface dock using HDMItoMiniDisplayPort, and one using VGAtoMiniDisplayPort, and this has fixed the issue. all 3 screens are now working. Anyone else had this fix work for them?

I wish this guy would come back and let us know what the resolution and refresh rate is with this set up.

[Bluerain]

I sure hope so. But, from all I have read it appears that the bottleneck is actually the connector to the dock, 60 Hz refreshes of dual 4k displays is more than it can handle. If that is, in fact, the case, then software won't fix it. The solution will likely be to use a USB Type C connector if they include one in the next Surface Book.

--- Ben

So do you think if microsoft came out with a new connector it would work ?

[tbird481]

This is really disheartening. Before I purchased I check with microsoft regarding my two Dell monitors and they confirmed they would work. I'll try tomorrow but one of them is now on their 'not supported' list. So much for replacing my dual monitor desktop.

[Bluerain]

Hi there,

Please let me know how it went with hooking up your Dell monitors.

Thanks ,much appreciated .

This is really disheartening. Before I purchased I check with microsoft regarding my two Dell monitors and they confirmed they would work. I'll try tomorrow but one of them is now on their 'not supported' list. So much for replacing my dual monitor desktop.

[Bluerain]

This is really disheartening. Before I purchased I check with microsoft regarding my two Dell monitors and they confirmed they would work. I'll try tomorrow but one of them is now on their 'not supported' list. So much for replacing my dual monitor desktop.

I found this post on another forum.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


"By protip


I suppose this appears to have evolved/devolved into my own crusade for dual 4K monitor support with the Surface Book and dock, but I do have some optimism to share. Today, I was connected with a Surface Support representative that did two things I've been looking for:

Acknowledged the issue was known by the Surface Support team and Microsoft.
It is being worked on.

Relatively simple matters, I suppose, but these mean a lot to this particular user. They give me reason to keep waiting.

In fact, the representative optimistically says a fix is in the pipeline, though I would not personally keep anyone to such a timeline. In fact, knowing it is being worked on and a fix will arrive "soon" is sufficient. If it arrives later this month, in mid December, or at the end of the year, ultimately any of these are fine by me. I can wait a reasonable amount of time. I just want to use my second monitor soon.


protip, Nov 24, 2015 "

[Bluerain]

I also found this . No mention if both are 60Hz or 30Hz

Will someone try it and see if it works..thanks.

"

I am not daisy chaining them, I am using both of the ports on the docking station.

I did find out how to make them work.

1. you must have the docking station connected to the book

2. the displayport VGA adapters must be connected.

3. restart the book, it will not see the displays unless the device is in the boot process.

Although this works, to me it is only a work around. In the plug and play world we should not have to start the device with the displays attached."

[Bluerain]

I also found this...

"If you own a Surface Pro 4 or a Surface Book, there is a good chance you are looking at picking up the Surface dock. The device, which will set you back $199, is not cheap but it does expand the functionality of your Surface quite a bit.

Earlier this week, I ordered two Dell 27in (P2715Q) 4k monitors to use with my Surface Book and Surface Pro 4. The process to get them up and running was a serious pain in the butt which is why I am writing this piece to hopefully help save you a few hours of time when trying to setup your system.

The Surface dock, which claims that it can support 2 4k displays is technically true, but it can only do so at 30hz. If you have never used a monitor at 30hz, it is an awful experience, everything feels sluggish and it’s about as annoying as watching a YouTube video where the audio is off by a second. But, according to the documentation for the Surface line, you should be able to run two 4k displays at 60hz, which you can, but not through the dock.

Torun two monitors at 60hz with the dock, you must use one port on the Surface dock and the other DisplayPort on the Surface Pro 4 or Surface Book. Any other arrangement will not work, it took me a few hours to figure this out as Windows doesn’t provide any helpful information and simply locks the displays to 30hz.

My favorite part of this entire experience is that when I was trying to arrange the monitors in the modern Settings app, the layout was displayed backwards. No matter what I did to arrange the multi-monitor setup, the configuration was backwards. Opening up the older control panel had the proper configuration which allowed me to complete the setup process and get the displays aligned correctly.

Unfortunately, this was not the end of my struggles with the dock as another error in Windows kept popping up.

surfacegood

Plugged into my dock was a Blue Yeti microphone, a USB dongle for my mouse, a webcam and Bose speakers (speakers are self-powered) and this caused the USB controller to run out of resources which kills the dock. To fix this, I have to plug my microphone directly into the Surface and leave one port open on the dock otherwise it becomes overburdened and stops functioning.

My hope was that the dock would create a clean solution for running two monitors and all my peripherals but the end product is less than ideal here. If you are not running 4k displays, the dock works wonderfully but when you get near the edge of high end computing environments, the experience breaks down.

And for those who are curious, the SP4 handles pushing two 4k displays just fine but when podcasting, it reaches its max capabilities and begins to feel a bit sluggish. Admittedly, that’s quite a bit of stress on the system with its weaker graphics solution but should hopefully give you a decent reference of what the i5 Pro 4 is capable of handling
.https://www.petri.com/run-two-4k-monitors-surface"

[Bluerain]

How To Run Two 4k Monitors From Your Surface

https://twitter.com/bdsams/status/665258869229268993

[BenF]

That can work on SP4, but not on SB.

--- Ben

[BenF]

Well, I have an update, or a workaround ...

I have dual 4K monitors working at full resolution and at 60 Hz. How? I only have one plugged in to the dock. The other can't be plugged directly into the DP port on the SB as many have noted. So, I am using a USB -> HDMI adapter and the second monitor is connected using that. Yes, that does defeat the point of the Dock having two video ports, but for now, it's the best option I have.

--- Ben

[zombie0]

So, I am using a HSB -> HDMI adapter and the second monitor is connected using that. Yes, that does defeat the point of the Dock having two video ports, but for now, it's the best option I have.

Very interesting. When you say "HSB to HDMI" do I assume correctly that you mean USB to HDMI? Do any USB to DisplayPort adapters exist? To my knowledge, most 4K monitors use DisplayPort 1.2 and only televisions have HDMI 2.0.

[BenF]

Yep. typo, fixed.

I could not find a USB Type 3 to DP adapter, only USB Type C to DP, so I went USB to HDMI. And yes, my Dell 4K monitor does indeed have an HDMI port.

--- Ben

[Bluerain]

I posted this fix already a few posts above your post .

[Brian Madsen1]

Wanted to Share this, since I was having same issue. Surface Book with dGPU, Microsoft Dock, 2 Microsoft Mini Display to VGA adapters feeding 2 PLANO 1920x1080 monitors.
Only One monitor would work at one time, I tried every combination of cable swapping in troubleshooting, If I unplugged the working monitor from dock, other monitor would immediately activate. Plug it back in, turn off the active one and activate the one I just plugged in. Very frustrated and reading a lot.
When I happened into Display Settings / Advanced display settings and looked at the multiple displays options, there was an option to "Duplicate desktop on 2/3" Odd since the setting only showed display 1 (surface Book) and 2 (the one working monitor). I applied this setting and wala, both monitors came to life, however useless as they were just mirrors.
Then checked display options again, and there was a new option "Extend desktop on 2/3". This option was not there before, but applied it and now both monitors are active and extended desktop as I wanted. Settings hold when unplugging the dock and reconnecting so far. No Idea why MS can't get this right out of the box. This is all their stuff, so no 3rd party excuses.
Hope this helps

[Bluerain]

Are both monitors 4k and running at 60Hz ?

Thanks

Wanted to Share this, since I was having same issue. Surface Book with dGPU, Microsoft Dock, 2 Microsoft Mini Display to VGA adapters feeding 2 PLANO 1920x1080 monitors.
Only One monitor would work at one time, I tried every combination of cable swapping in troubleshooting, If I unplugged the working monitor from dock, other monitor would immediately activate. Plug it back in, turn off the active one and activate the one I just plugged in. Very frustrated and reading a lot.
When I happened into Display Settings / Advanced display settings and looked at the multiple displays options, there was an option to "Duplicate desktop on 2/3" Odd since the setting only showed display 1 (surface Book) and 2 (the one working monitor). I applied this setting and wala, both monitors came to life, however useless as they were just mirrors.
Then checked display options again, and there was a new option "Extend desktop on 2/3". This option was not there before, but applied it and now both monitors are active and extended desktop as I wanted. Settings hold when unplugging the dock and reconnecting so far. No Idea why MS can't get this right out of the box. This is all their stuff, so no 3rd party excuses.
Hope this helps

[MSdockbites]

What cables are you using?

[TDH69]

Yes, Two 4K monitors on Surace Dock will work with any model SurfaceBook. They must use 30 Hz refresh rate.

[BenF]

Correct, but lousy refresh rates, especially when using video, is not what anyone would consider "working". Resorting to subpar performance is a workaround, not a solution.

--- Ben

[Olen Ronning]

I understand that running one monitor off of the dock and one off of the built-in display port will work to drive two 4k monitors at 60hz from a Surface Pro.

BUT...

Has anyone got this to work with their Surface Book?

I have the Surface Book core i7 with dGPU base (heck, it's got *two* gpus!)

[Olen Ronning]

Well, I have an update, or a workaround ...

I have dual 4K monitors working at full resolution and at 60 Hz. How? I only have one plugged in to the dock. The other can't be plugged directly into the DP port on the SB as many have noted. So, I am using a USB -> HDMI adapter and the second monitor is connected using that. Yes, that does defeat the point of the Dock having two video ports, but for now, it's the best option I have.

--- Ben

Which USB>HDMI adapter did you get? I"ve never seen one that does 4k at 60hz.

[crazycanucks1977]

So I have finally got my flickering issue resolved when hooking up a couple of LG IPS monitors to the Surface Dock. Somedays the flickering would happen sporadically, and other days it was non stop to the point of just turning the laptop off and not using it. I tried a couple of different cables, like HDMI to mDP and a DVI to mDP.
Both cables on both monitors in any combination connecting to the dock would produce the flickering (different models of the LG IPS btw) I bought these cables from Amazon today https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01...pUvbUpU3628886 and happy to report no flickering at all. The kley is they have to be the Active cables, as most are passive, and thus leads to the flickering. The Active adapters will also work, but I would rather just have the one cable and not worry about the adapters.
Hope this helps for those of you with similar issues