Surafe Pro 11 + Surface Dock + USB Hub

Question

I'm contemplating purchasing the Surface 11 Laptop together with the Surface Dock 2 to make life easier in selecting if I want to use it as a laptop or easilly connect it to the Dock to use with my dektop monitor.

As I have three seperate HDD's to connect & a printer can I also connect a USB hub to the dock so that I can then connect everything via a sigle cable from the Dock?

Any advice would be very welcome.

***Moved from Surface / Surface Laptop / Surface Laptop (7th Edition) / USB-C***

Answer 1

Hi Richard,

Absolutely! Your understanding is spot on. You can connect your Surface laptop to the Surface Dock 2, and then attach your powered USB hub to the dock. By doing so, you’ll have all your peripherals connected to the hub (including your printer and hard drives). When you want to use your laptop elsewhere, simply disconnect the dock, leaving the hub and everything else plugged in. It’s a convenient setup that allows you to switch seamlessly between desktop and laptop modes.

Your Sincerely

Hahn. W - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Answer 2

Hi Richard,

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

I'm Hahn and I'm here to help you with your concern.

Typically, you can connect a USB hub to Surface Dock 2 to expand the number of available USB ports and connect multiple peripherals, such as three separate hard drives and a printer, but there are no guarantees about potential compatibility issues or the possibility of not providing enough power to the peripherals expanded by the USB hub.

Surface Dock 2 provides 2 USB-C ports on the front and 2 USB-A 3.2 ports on the back. If your hard drive can also communicate with your computer via the USB-C port, then the Surface Dock 2 should be able to meet your needs even without using a USB hub. Identify your Surface Dock and features - Microsoft Support

I hope this helps. If there is anything not clear, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Your Sincerely

Hahn. W - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Answer 3

Hahn,

Thank you for you rely, it's appreciated.

I should have said that my USB hub is a powered hub therefore won't be a drain on the Surface laptop.

So bearing that in mind let me just clarify 'things' in my head...

I can use the Surface laptop connected to the Dock and then connect the powered hub to the Dock; in that way I can leave everything connected and if I wish to use te laptop elsewhere I just disconnect the dock leaving the hub and everything plugged into that 'as is'; am I correct in that assumption?

Regards,

Richard

Answer 4

Thank you, much appreciated.