Issue With Surface 5 Laptop and Thunderbolt 4 Dock

Question

I have two clients who both have Surface 5 Laptops, Microsoft Thunderbolt Docks, and are connected to two 60Hz 1080p monitors. Both of them are encountering the same issue: when connected to the dock, if they disconnect from it, walk away to do stuff, and shut their laptop when they come back, it will not come up on the monitors. Everything else connected to the dock works fine, like the USBs and the Ethernet cable. The fix is to restart each time but this isn't a permanent fix and interrupts their workflow. For one of them, I tried using another identical dock but got the same message, tried different USB-C to HDMI cables, and tried different monitors.

When looking into Event Viewer, I see this message on both of their machines: "A monitor attached to your hub or dock could not be enumerated by the USB4 Connection Manager. This may be expected if the dock or system does not have sufficient resources or bandwidth to support the monitor. ReasonCode1:0x15 ReasonCode2:0xFD00000002 Status:{Operation Failed}

The requested operation was unsuccessful."

Answer 1

Open Command Prompt as Admin and type:

powercfg /a and hit the Enter key.

If it shows:

Standby (S0 Low Power Idle) Network Connected then you have to disable that.

In Start Search type Regedit and hit Enter key.

Locate:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power

Create DWORD:

PlatformAoAcOverride

Set value = 0

Reboot

Answer 2

The issue you're experiencing with the Surface 5 Laptops and Thunderbolt 4 Dock, where the monitors do not come up after disconnecting and shutting the laptop, may be related to how the USB4 Connection Manager handles monitor enumeration. The error message you found in the Event Viewer indicates that the dock or system might not have sufficient resources or bandwidth to support the monitors when they are reconnected.

Here are some potential troubleshooting steps you can consider:

1. Check Power Settings: Ensure that the laptops are not set to enter a low-power state that could affect the Thunderbolt dock's ability to enumerate the monitors.
2. Update Drivers and Firmware: Make sure that both the Surface 5 Laptops and the Thunderbolt 4 Dock have the latest firmware and driver updates installed. This can often resolve compatibility issues.
3. Test with Different Monitors: Since you mentioned trying different monitors, ensure that they are all compatible with the dock's specifications.
4. Check Dock Connections: Verify that the Thunderbolt dock is securely connected and that the cables used are functioning properly.
5. Consider Bandwidth Limitations: If multiple devices are connected to the dock, there might be bandwidth limitations affecting the monitors. Try disconnecting other devices to see if that resolves the issue.
6. Contact Microsoft Support: If the problem persists, reaching out to Microsoft support may provide additional insights or solutions specific to the Surface 5 and Thunderbolt Dock combination.

These steps may help in diagnosing and potentially resolving the issue without needing to restart the laptops each time.

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References:

• Devices connected through a Thunderbolt Dock stop working after the computer resumes from a power state
• Manage Surface Docks with WMI