Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock poor Ethernet speeds

Question

Just purchased a Surface thunderbolt 4 dock for my SLS2. I set it up and connected it to the laptop. I have 2GB FIOS and wanted to test the wired speeds with the dock connected from its 2.5GB Ethernet port to a 2.5GB switch we have in our rack. Download speeds are consistently around 300 to 350 down and 2300 up.

I went in and noticed it needed a firmware update. Did that. same results. disconnect, reconnect, reboot. Same results. Tried new cat 6a cable and same result. I went into the nic card setting in Window and checked link speeds (set to auto negotiate), flow control is set for both TX and RX. Nothing "Green" is enabled. Tried different ports on switch..same results. I connected the dock to another windows machine and get same exact results. No matter what i try, i cannot get the download speeds to get to the 2gb mark. The switch ports show link speeds as 2500 and I'm just baffled. I even set both the docks nic and the switch port to 2.5GB (no auto negotiate) and still nada...wanted to mention I have a Mac with a 10gb ethernet port connected to same switch that gets speeds of around 2200 up/down no issues.

I tried looking for other posts but could only find one where the user did basically all the TShooting i've done. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Hello,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community.

I understand that you’re experiencing poor Ethernet speeds with your Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock. Based on your description, you’ve already tried several troubleshooting steps such as updating the firmware, using a new cable, and checking the NIC card settings. However, the issue persists. I am here to help and let us work on this together.

There are a few possible causes for this issue, such as outdated firmware, incorrect network settings, or faulty cables. To help you troubleshoot this problem, please try the following steps:

1. Make sure that your Surface Laptop Studio 2 is updated to the latest firmware and drivers. You can use the Surface Diagnostic Toolkit to check for updates and run diagnostics on your devices. See Fix common Surface problems using the Surface Diagnostic Toolkit (microsoft.com).
2. Check the network settings of your Surface Ethernet Adapter in Device Manager. To do this, right-click on the Start menu and select Device Manager. Expand the Network Adapters category and right-click on Surface Ethernet Adapter. Select Properties and go to the Advanced tab. Make sure that the following settings are configured correctly:

• Energy Efficient Ethernet: Disabled
• Selective Suspend Idle Timeout: 30 Open Device Manager and expand Network Adapters. Right-click Surface Ethernet Adapter and choose Properties. Go to the Advanced tab and choose Selective suspend idle timeout. Change the value from 5 to 30 and press OK. Restart your Surface and test the speed again.

3. Check if there are any other devices on your network that may be causing interference or congestion and try disconnecting them temporarily to see if that improves the speeds.

If none of these steps resolve the issue, kindly give answers to the following questions so we can further isolate your issue and formulate appropriate troubleshooting steps.

• May I know the Surface Thunderbolt 4 dock firmware version? you can check the details in the Surface app.
• Is it possible for you to connect the network directly to your Surface laptop studio 2 using an adapter? to see if that makes a difference.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Lavenia

Answer 2

thanks for getting back to me.

In the NIC card settings under advanced there is no Selective suspend idle timeout parameter. I did check EEE and it is disabled.

here is nic card driver and firmware stats:

1. Device information:
2. Serial number: 0***********
3. Dock manager: 1.89.139.0
4. PD controller 1: 1.38.139.0
5. PD controller 2: 1.23.139.0
6. Audio: 1.15.139.0
7. Thunderbolt™: 40.85.1.0
8. USB Hub: 64.14.139.0

Oddly enough i have a 1GB adapter. When i connect it to the Surface Lapotop studio 2 and to switch. I do get gig speeds or close to it. Connecting the MS TB4 dock back on to the laptop, i can barely get 400 down but still around 2200 up when connected to my 2.5gb switch.

thankls for your help

EDIT: Removed personally identifiable information (PII) from post.

Answer 3

You're welcome. I appreciate your for providing the device information.

Kindly try to update the Surface Thunderbolt 4 dock with this specific firmware version" SurfaceThunderbolt4DockDrivers_Win11_x64_22000_23.033.35236.0.msi." from this article Download Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock Firmware and Drivers. from Official Microsoft Download Center.

Check and observe if it makes any difference.

• Were any devices or accessories connected to the Surface Thunderbolt 4 dock when you tested the wired speeds via its Ethernet port?

Answer 4

Thanks for the reply. I've already installed that particular driver. No change. Also, nothing else is plugged into dock when testing wired speeds. As a side point. When i plug this dock to a 1GB port on same switch, I get pretty much 1GB speeds. Plugging it back into a 2.5GB port and download speeds drop to 350 to 400 down.

Another thing i tried was plugging it into another 2.5GB switch..Completely different model. Same results. about 400 down and 2300 up. it seems to have some kind of issue with 2.5GB connections, as the 1GB connections work just fine.

Any other suggestions? Or should I wait and see if any new firmware update (if there will be any) will work?

Answer 5

I'm out of suggestions for other troubleshooting methods you may try. Despite all of the efforts we've taken, it would be more helpful for you to contact our live support team so they can examine and double-check this. They should be able to remotely inspect your device. You may reach them by following the instructions below.

1. Go to Contact Us - Microsoft Support
2. Choose how you would like to get support for your Surface device.
3. Type in the problem you need help with.
4. Look at any available solutions offered and select Contact Support.

Thank you for allowing me to collaborate with you on this issue.

Happy Holidays!