surface book 3 and surface dock 2 mulitple external screens blinking

Question

I have two workstations, both with surface dock 2, both with identical screen configurations. These setups have been working perfectly for at least 18 months.

Late last week, both workstations started suffering from the two external displays blinking on and off.

I have updated all the drivers and firmware but still have the screen issues.

I can plug one screen into the surface book 3 and it doesn't blink, but there is only one port for an external screen on the surface book 3.

Is there any fix for this problem.

Answer 1

Hi Stuart King,
Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum. I'm happy to help.

Regarding your information, each workstation has 1 Dock and 2 external monitors, is it right?

Is it stable if you only plug 1 monitor into the dock?

In additional, share with me screenshot of Settings > Windows Update > Update history. Please remember covering any PII from the screenshot before posting on public communication.

Thank you for your time.

Answer 2

The issue matches a known Surface Book 3 + Surface Dock 2 display problem that was fixed in a recent update, and there are also standard Surface/dock display cache steps that can help.

Use the following steps in order:

1. Install the latest Surface Book 3 and Dock 2 updates
   On each Surface Book 3:
   • Open the Surface app → expand Help & support → check the update status.
   • If updates are available, select Check for updates to open Windows Update and install everything offered.
     The April 10, 2024 update for Surface Book 3 specifically “resolves scenario that was leading to display issues when the device is connected to Surface Dock 2” and includes a Surface Dock 2 Firmware Update component. Make sure this is installed on both workstations.
2. Power‑reset each Surface Dock 2
   For each dock:
   1. Unplug the Surface Dock power connector from the dock.
   2. Unplug the dock’s power supply from the wall and wait at least 5 seconds.
   3. Plug the power supply back into the wall, then reconnect it to the dock.
   4. Reconnect the Surface Book 3 and external monitors and test again.
3. Clear the Surface display/dock cache
   On each Surface Book 3:
   1. Undock the Surface Book 3 or disconnect all external monitors.
   2. Download the Surface Dock registry file and choose Open.
   3. Run surface dock registry.reg.
   4. Approve the prompts (Yes to allow changes, Yes to confirm, then OK).
   5. Restart the Surface Book 3.
   6. Reconnect the Dock 2 and both external monitors and test for blinking.
4. Basic external‑display checks
   Since a single monitor direct‑connected to the Surface Book 3 works, focus on dock/dual‑monitor specifics:
   • Press Windows logo key + P and confirm Extend is selected.
   • Verify each monitor’s input source matches the cable/port used (for example, HDMI vs DisplayPort).
   • If one monitor still blinks, swap cables/ports on the dock to see if the issue follows a specific cable, port, or monitor.

If, after the April 2024 Surface Book 3 update, dock firmware update, dock power‑reset, and cache clear, both workstations still show identical blinking on both external displays, test each dock and monitor combination separately (one monitor at a time, then the other, then a different PC if available) to isolate whether the problem is with the docks, the monitors, or the Surface devices.

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References:

• Surface Book 3 update history
• Troubleshoot Surface Dock or Surface Docking Station
• Troubleshoot connecting Surface to an external display
• Troubleshoot external monitor connections in Windows