Surface book dock not finding ethernet adapter

Question

The surface book base will not recognize the ethernet adapter in surface dock.  It will work fine if base is detached and connect dock directly to the tablet.  Is there any way to get the base to recognize the adapter?

Answer 1

Hi,

The connection problem may be caused by faulty network adapter driver. To make sure that your Surface is up and running, we recommend that you download and run the Surface Diagnostic Toolkit. This tool will look for potential issues and fixes them, as well as ensuring your device is completely up to date. 

Driver updates are automatically downloaded and installed through Windows Update. However, some updates might not be installed properly. In this case, we recommend that you manually update the network adapter driver:

1. In the search box on the taskbar, type Device Manager, and then select Device Manager from the list of results.
2. In Device Manager, select Network adapters > the network adapter name.
3. Press and hold (or right-click) Marvel Avastar Wireless-AC Network Controller, and then select Update driver >Search automatically for updated driver software. Follow the steps, then select Close.
4. After installing the updated driver, select the Start button > Power  > Restart if you're asked to restart, and see if that fixes the connection issue.

You may also try to refresh your IP address by running these network commands in a command prompt window: 

1. In the search box on the taskbar, type Command prompt, press and hold (or right-click) Command prompt, and then select Run as administrator > Yes.
2. At the command prompt, run the following commands in the listed order, and then check to see if that fixes your connection problem:

• Type netsh winsock reset and press Enter.
• Type netsh int ip reset and press Enter.
• Type ipconfig /release and press Enter.
• Type ipconfig /renew and press Enter.
• Type ipconfig /flushdns and press Enter.

If the previous steps didn’t work, we recommend that you update the dock using Surface Dock Updater tool:

1. Go to Download Surface Tools for IT. 
2. Select Download.
3. Under Choose the download you want, select Surface_Dock_Updater_v2.7.136.0.msi (or later).
4. Select Next and follow the rest of the instructions to install the tool.

Once the Surface Dock Updater tool installed, connect your Surface Dock to your Surface, open the tool, and select Start. Then follow the on-screen instructions. You’ll be asked to disconnect and reconnect your Surface Dock during the update. After you’ve disconnected the Surface Dock, it’ll need to stay powered on for at least 3 minutes for the update to install. The LED light on the Ethernet port of the Dock will blink while the update is happening. Wait until it stops blinking before you unplug your Surface Dock from its power. 

If you have additional questions, or if the issue persists after the troubleshooting steps above, please let me know by replying to this thread. This way, I'll get notified and respond to you as soon as I can.

Regards.

Answer 2

Kenneth

Thanks for the suggestions, but they didn't resolve the issue.  The tablet without the base attached will still recognize the ethernet adapter, but when surface base is attached it doesn't.

Answer 3

To me, this sounds like an issue with the connector on the Surface Book base.

Try cleaning the contacts with a thin piece of cardboard soaked with contact cleaner. Do not use cloth or q-tips as these may bend the contacts or leave residue.

First try blowing out the surface port with compressrd air.

Clean the contacts on the dock too.

Good luck.