Surface Dock questions

[zerospace-net]

I had the same problem. It turned out that the Surface Connect socket on the Surface Book was damaged: one of the eeny weeny little pins was bent. Using a high magnification loupe, and a sewing needle, I was able to bend it back. The sudden "snap" when the magnetic connector plugs itself in is likely what caused the bend. It caused the USB ports to randomly connect and disconnect. It drove me nuts. The pin bent again, I fixed it, and it kinda broke off a little, but everything works fine. The connector is very fragile.

I should send the Surface Book in for repair, but I don't want to be without it for 2-3 weeks right now.

Check out the connector.

If this is true, then this is a very, very poor socket design. (Or, yours was already slightly bent from the factory.) The same port on my Surface Pro 3 never had this happen no matter how many times I plugged/unplugged it. Now I'm slightly concerned about the Surface Book...

 

[Mary Lou Smyth]

Hardcore 1973, may I ask, which operating system you are using?

 

[paulrob]

I found that the USB ports in the Dock disconnect whenever I close the lid, even though I have my power settings changed to do nothing when the lid closes. The Display in the dock keeps working but not the USB ports. The display has to be open all the way back or the keyboard & mouse & USB drives in the dock just switch off randomly. If the lid is fully open all the way back to the hinge stop, things work okay, so far.
Methinks its a bug. It's a nuisance too, cause I like to run my laptop closed when working at the desk (reduces dust collection and minimises the risk of coffee spills into the keyboard). Always have for every other laptop I've ever owned.

 

[paulrob]

Ethernet on the dock works fine for me, so far.