Surface Docking Station 2 heating issue

Question

I have been reading about overheating issues with the surface dock 2, but haven't found any solutions. I have a Surface pro 7 that I use with the Surface dock 2. I bought it specifically for my zoom piano/voice lessons. Previously, with my Surface pro 4, I was using a Kensington docking station. 

I use 2 logitech cameras and an external monitor, in addition to a digital piano (midi connection) and running various software programs on the surface pro. The CPU, Memory, disk, network and GPU numbers are all well below parameters - a thing of beauty. Very pleased with the Surface Pro performance! I got the docking station so I wouldn't have to plug in so many things into the Pro.

The problem is the docking connector is running really hot! I mean to the point of freezing up the Pro - not cool in the middle of a lesson! I've checked for firmware/software updates and everything on my end is up to date.

Are there any other solutions besides updates? Have you had issues with faulty connectors? I don't want to ruin this beautiful surface pro 7 with a faulty docking station that was supposedly designed for it.

When I'm at my desk, I have the surface pro connected to 2 external monitors, and have several programs open, using a Dell docking station that connects via USB 3. No overheating issues whatsoever. I'm inclined to ditch the surface docking station and just buy another Dell, but I was hoping something specifically designed for surface would give me optimal performance.

Would appreciate any feedback you might have.

Answer 1

I'm sorry, but the poster did not ask about safety issues.  Her concern is that the overheat causes her computer to freeze when it's being used heavily.

This is a critical issue for me.  I have had this happen multiple times lately when I have been teaching College courses via videoconference.  Very uncool when your professor's brand-new high-powered laptop freezes up due to overheating!

I have stopped using the Dock 2 altogether.  And, guess what, my problem went away.

This is clearly a design fault, regardless of Microsoft repeatedly claiming that "yeah it's hot, don't worry about it, it's normal".  It's not normal to repeatedly go into thermal shutdown in the middle of very public situations.

(Anyone want a slightly used Dock 2?  I have one to give you.  Free.  But, I don't recommend you try to use it.)

Answer 2

This does not answer the question. I just ran a test.

Surface Dock 2 Configuration

• 32" 4K external monitor connected
• Logitech Brio web cam
• Wired internet connection

Microsoft USB-C Travel Hub

• Surface 127W Power Supply
• 32" 4K external monitor
• Logitech Brio web cam
• Wire internet connection

For both, I ran with "Power mode (plugged in): Best performance"

I started Logitech Capture for my web cam.

I started Visual Studio and ran all my unit tests (13,000)

Surface Dock 2 reached 100° C and shut down.

Microsoft USB-C Travel Hub stayed around 70° C and ran just fine. It has never shut down while the Dock 2 shuts down regularly (and almost always if I have Best performance.)

The Surface Dock 2 is flawed. Is it a hardware issue that is unsolvable? Or is it a driver/firmware issue?

Are there any updates to address this flawed equipment?

Thanks,

Karl Z

Answer 3

Thanks for this update, my cable head seems very hot also. I placed a small fan next to it for a while, as I was quite worried about it. I, too, have the Dock 2. I'm going to unplug it at the end of my day to let it cool, as I'm hoping that helps. If this fries my Surface, I will not be a happy individual, Microsoft needs to fix this clearly.

Answer 4

I have same overheating issues with surface dock 2 and I returned it.  Few months later, I picked up another one and starting to notice the same problems.  I can not afford to have my surface die because of the official Microsoft surface dock 2.   Battery is 100% so any other suggestions?  I don't want to have to return this.

Answer 5

I have the surface pro 7 and the surface dock 2. I "dock" my surface pro 7 at the end of every day and unplug to use as a portable laptop at the beginning of each day. when I "dock" it at the end of the day oftentimes the connection apparently isn't good as my monitor will show static black and white, so I need to unplug and replug several times until it connects. Also the plug from the dock gets quite hot. I'm only running one monitor off the dock as well as a wireless keyboard. This shouldn't be too much for this brand new surface and brand new Microsoft dock 2. Is this something I have to deal with permanently or should I return my dock 2 for an aftermarket substitute that might work all the time for half the price instead of have the time for twice the price?