surface pro 7 with ethernet and zoom makes internet disconnecting

Question

2 weeks ago I bought a new surface pro 7 (Intel Core i5, 8 GB ram, 128 GB opslag, SSD, Intel HD Graphics 620). 

I bought a usb-c to ethernet adapter (ACT USB-C 4K Dock). When I use zoom, with my surface pro 7 connected to ethernet with this dock my internet crashes after about max 4min.  I tested it multiple times, first my video freezes on the other person devices, then it stops on my device, then the audio stops, then zoom closes and the internet/ethernet is gone. After that the surface pro switches to Wi-Fi. 

I tested alot of things, surface pro7, with ethernet and youtube works fine. Surface pro 7 with wi-fi and zoom works fine. The adapter with ethernet on a ipad pro with zoom works fine.  It is only the specific setup surface pro 7 with ethernet and zooms that doens't work. It is just being in a zoom room with other participants (the number of participants does't matter) , even without screensharing.

Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Hi MatthiasP_478,

Sorry for the delayed response.

Can you share to us the current OS version of your Surface device? Is it already updated to version 2004? You can check this information in Settings > System > About. Aside from that, would you be able to dock your Surface device and establish the ethernet connection through it? The USB-C port of the Surface device is for extending its display to an external monitor without the use of a dock. It's an audio/video output port. This could be the reason why it won't support direct ethernet connection.

Kind Regards,

Crest

No problem

It is updated to version 2004.

I did try something else, today I bought the surface usb-c ethernet adaptor (https://www.microsoft.com/nl-be/p/surface-usb-c-naar-ethernet-en-usb-adapter/8wt81cglrblp?activetab=pivot%3aoverviewtab ). And ........that just works fine!!!

Very strange, the ACT USB-c dock works fine on the ipad pro but not on the surface pro 7. Reïnstalling the drivers from the ACT device didn't changed anything. So the problem is/was the ACT USB-c thing doesn't work an a surface.

Thanks for all the help Crest_Z !!

Answer 2

Hi MatthiasP_478,

We're sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you.

If the issue is only happening while you're utilizing the Zoom app, then what I can recommend is to disable the hardware acceleration in Zoom Settings and check if this makes any difference. If you're unable to figure that out, it is best to contact the application developer for further assistance.

See this thread for reference>>https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/all/microsoft-surface-and-zoom/304561c2-8870-4d92-b4dd-c75322b59137.

Kind Regards,

Crest

Answer 3

Thanks for your reply.

I tried your suggestion, but it didn't changed anything. 

Instead of zoom I tried skype, but when doing a skype video call , I have the same problem. So perhaps it is not zoom related.

I tried re-installing the ethernet-adapter driver in the device management menu but that also didn't help.

Answer 4

I tried to watch the exact times the ethernet goes off. Then I went looking to my systemlogs. The only thing that always happened at those times was the camera that switches on and off  multiple times. I tried starting zoom without camera, that didn't gave any problems. After that I started screen sharing from my device, within a few min the internet disconnected and zoom closed.

I will do some testing on the camera off modus, but perhaps this could help to isolate the problem?

Answer 5

Yes, that helps MatthiasP_478.

If it's caused by the camera switching on and off, I'd like you to disable/re-enable the camera feature in UEFI Settings and check if this makes any difference. You can also uninstall/reinstall the camera drivers in System Devices and see if that helps.

Kind Regards,

Crest