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External monitors connected to Surface Dock intermittently and randomly blacking out while working - is there a fix?

Anonymous
2024-01-22T18:49:28+00:00

Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio (running Windows 11) connected to a Surface Dock 2 with two Samsung external monitors. This setup has worked fine since installation April 2022. Within the last month, one external monitor or the other will go to black as if it is turning off randomly while I am working. It may come back after a few seconds but sometimes, you have to power cycle the monitor to get it to come back on. This has happened in all programs and even when no programs are running. They never both stop at the same time, it's always one or the other. There is no pattern to how or when it occurs, but it is happening more and more frequently. I have tried all of the troubleshooting steps I could find like resetting the cache, the dock registry, updating the display adapter, updating Windows, restarting, unplugging, power cycling everything, adjusting refresh rates for monitors (both set to 60). I'm at a loss for how to fix and I've tried everything I can find.

Surface | Surface Laptop | Display and screen

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-01-22T22:25:48+00:00

    Hello Nikos,

    Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community.

    I am aware about the issue you’re experiencing with your Surface Dock 2 and external monitors. Based on the information you provided, it seems like you have already tried several troubleshooting steps to resolve the issue. We appreciate the time and effort you put into in trying to resolve this problem. Allow me to ask some questions to further isolate the problem.

    • May I know what is the Surface dock's firmware version?
    • And the exact and model of Samsung monitor and the type of cable you have used?
    • What build version of Windows your Surface Laptop studio is currently running?

    There are still some other things you can try:

    1. Check the power supply: Ensure that the power supply is connected to the dock and the monitors. If the power supply is not connected properly, it can cause issues with the monitors.
    2. Update the firmware: Make sure that the firmware for the Surface Dock 2 is up to date. See Update your Surface Dock - Microsoft Support.
    3. Check power management for USB drivers in Device manager.
      1. Open Device manager and expand the “Universal Serial Bus controllers” category.
      2. Right-click on each of the USB drivers and select “Properties”.
      3. Check if the “Power Management” tab is available.
      4. If it is, select the “Power Management” tab and uncheck the box that says, “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power”.
      5. Click “OK” to save the changes.

    Let me know how it goes.

    Kind regards,

    Lavenia

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-01-26T13:31:26+00:00

    Hello Nikos,

    We haven't heard from you, so we assume that your issue has already been addressed. We will not be monitoring this thread moving forward so, if you need further assistance, please create a new thread to discuss these concerns by clicking this link: Create a new question (microsoft.com).

    Thank you for understanding. 

    Kind regards,

    Lavenia

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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