I must admit that I was leery at first reading all the of the negative reviews, but I really needed the option of a dock and I couldn't help but think that Microsoft, while not infallible, wouldn't put out a product so inferior as described by others. Once again, let me state that I know Microsoft puts out software with issues, etc, etc, etc, blah, blah, I chose to have a little faith in them. Well, it is my opinion that the majority of the negative reviews are user error. After I read some of the success reviews, I pretty much confirmed my suspicions in that most were doing it wrong. You must use an "active" mini display port adaptor if you have older monitors. Following the suggestions of others I used the http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EDSZYII?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00 adapters and works like a charm. I now have 3 monitors (the surface screen and two external monitors. I just simply connected them, went to my display settings and arranged them in the order I wanted them and that was that. The scaling is perfect, it simply just works. Again, I suspect that those with issues are using "passive" mini display adapters. Passive don't have the electronics built into the cord and the signal gets lost and compromised creating a failure.
2/5/2016: update- still performing flawlessly.
**Updated 8/15/2017** Please see updated review notes at the bottom of this review.
The Surface Dock is really the only quality option for docking your Surface. Microsoft discontinued the Surface Pro 3 docks that locked in on the sides, so this is our only choice for a dock that charges the Surface and outputs to multiple displays, etc. Here is my pros and cons:
Pros:
- With the right mini display adapters it works great. Tested many adapters and only Fosmon brand worked every time (VGA - Fosmon HD1826 Mini DisplayPort (Thunderbolt) to VGA Male to Female Adapter, White, or DVI - http://www.amazon.com/Fosmon-HD1823-DisplayPort-Thunderbolt-Adapter/dp/B0056403DE). I have no ties to the company, but I have used a ton of adapters and these just work with everything.
- Dock should be future-proof for Surface Pro 5, 6, etc. as long as they keep the main charging port the same, even if it's a larger Surface.
- Nice having two mini-display ports in the dock over one from the previous generation dock.
- Smaller foot print than previous dock.
- Charges Surface while docked (same as previous gen).
- No mouse lag at all (if you have ever tried a dock that connects through USB and noticed the mouse-lag, you know how annoying that can be)!
Cons:
- Scaling is still whonky, but this is more of a Surface thing than a dock thing. If you dock/undock a lot, be prepared to reboot or sign-out A LOT. Like every time, unless you don't mind your resolution being all messed up. Microsoft really needs to figure that out.
- Very picky about mini-display adapters. I tried half a dozen and only Fosmon brand would work. With the right ones it does work great, but still it can be a pain figuring out what works.
- Screen occasionally will flicker very briefly if you unplug and replug from USB ports.
My setup is: 2x 1080p screens with the Surface on as a 3rd monitor. I've not tried higher resolution monitors. Overall, I like the dock. The cons can be a little frustrating, but the pros out weigh them in my opinion. It's possible the issues will get fixed down the road as Microsoft does release firmware updates through Windows 10 for the dock. I will update my review if/when that happens.
**Updated 8/17/2017**
The scaling issue is not a Surface or Dock related issue. This is a Windows issue that will be greatly fixed in the Fall Creators Update (free update) coming soon. I'm on the Insider Preview Edition that is testing the new scaling features and it works fantastic! It's about time!!
I have been using this product for about 10 hours a day for 2 days with no problem at all. Below is my configuration:
1) One Logitech Receiver Extender Cable plugged into a dock usb port.
2) One Logitech Wireless Keyboard Model MK550 and Logitech Mouse model M705 communicating with Receiver Extender cable plugged into dock port..
3) Two monitors (One ViewSonic VP2770-LED 27" IPS 2K 1440p Monitor (Orientation is landscape at 2560x1440 resolution) and One Dell Ultrasharp U2415 24.0-Inch Screen LED Monitor (Orientation is Portrait at 1200x1920 resolution)) both monitors connect using Cable Matters Gold Plated mini display port to HDMI 6ft cables plugged into the dock mini display ports.
4) One Netgear AC1200 Wi-Fi USB Adapter High Gain Dual Band USB 3.0 model A6210 plugged into dock port
5) One Linksys WRT AC1900 Dual-Band+ Wi-Fi Wireless Router model WRT1900ACS V2. This is what the Netgear adapter I have plugged into the dock port communicates with for internet and local network access.
I have had no problems losing network connectivity. Both of my displays have also sustained solid performance with no problems losing displayed content. Removing my Surface Book from the dock and re-docking several times a day has not cause any problems such as having to reboot to make things work. Performance has been solid.
I was looking for some type of docking station for my Surface Pro 4 I-5 256gb machine. I've seen the docking station that allows the Surface Pro 4 to actually sit upright in it, but after comparing that docking station with the newer docking station I decided on the latest version. The newest version allows me to have two external monitors and also use the Surface Pro 4 as an additional monitor. I run my whole business from this setup (I'm a real estate appraiser) and not only is the Surface Pro 4 faster and more powerful then my previous Lenovo all-in-one desktop computer, it's portable! All I need to do when I'm ready to go work at a cafe is pull out the little docking dongle and throw my Surface Pro 4 in my backpack and I basically have my whole office (minus the external monitors and printer, obviously). As soon as I return I just attach the dongle to the charging port of the Surface Pro 4 and everything is up and running in my full desktop set up. I've been running this way for over a month now with zero glitches or issues and I'm absolutely thrilled with the performance.
This product is excellent. I initially had some issues but I figured them out myself. The fact that there were issues is why I put it at 4 stars. It functions like 4.6 stars now really.
The entire issue for me was the cable. I had an HDMI to miniDisplayPort cable which worked but would frequently (as in every other day) require a total restart of the Surface, unplugging the dock, and unplugging the monitor to rectify. It was very annoying. More often than not I'd come home to connect my Surface and it just wouldn't connect to the monitor. It always connected rapidly to the keyboard, mouse, and speakers as well as anything I plugged into USB.
I read some people talk about this, so I got a DisplayPort to miniDP cable, which seems to have nearly fixed it. The display is also cleared and has more options to customize the monitor screen resolution. I would have assumed it would all be identical to HDMI, but the DisplayPort is much better.
I do occasionally have to disconnect the magnetic connection and reconnect it for my monitor to show but I have not had to restart anything or put in too much effort to get it to work exactly as I wanted.
I highly recommend it and I recommend you get the DP to miniDP cable (or try one if you have any issues). Reduction in a start for the HDMI cable not working or for them not formally recognizing this issue.
Feature Product
- Compatability- Surface Go, Surface Laptop, Surface Laptop 2, Surface Pro, Surface Pro 3, Surface Pro 4,Surface Pro 6, Surface Book, Surface Book 2
- 2x Mini Display Ports, 1x Gigabit Ethernet Port
- 4 USB 3.0 ports, 1x Audio out port
- Magnetic Surface Connect Cable. Transform your Surface into a desktop PC by plugging in your Dock with the SurfaceConnect cable
- High-Speed Data Transfering
Description
Turn your ultraportable Surface into a desktop PC and boost your productivity with Surface Dock. Compatible with Surface Pro 3, Surface Pro 4, Surface Pro, Surface Pro 6, Surface Laptop, Surface Laptop 2, Surface Book, Surface Book 2 and Surface Go.
If you are doing more with the Surface than using it as your portable, the dock is a great compliment. While it is not perfect, it does almost everything right. My dock gets coupled with a Microsoft Surface Pro 4 (256GB HD 8GB RAM Intel i7) with pen and type cover.
PROS
Expansion - 4 USB ports, 2 Display ports, 3.5mm audio, & LAN. You can easily take this highly portable tablo-puter (a name I am hoping catches on) and make it the brain for a full desktop workstation.
Design - The dock is small enough it can sit at the back of your desk and leave plenty of work space while not computing or even pack it up and take it with you if and when necessary. Mine sits under the two monitors on my desk at work. Probably the best design aspect of the dock is the Magnetic Surface Connect Cable. Whatever info is transferred to and from the dock is done through a single quick connect/disconnect cable. Leaving work at the end of the day for me is as simple as shutting the type cover, pulling the Magnetic Surface Connect Cable off the side of the Surface, and tossing the Surface into my briefcase. It is just so convenient. I don't have to align any ports, snap into a dock, worry about bending pins, etc.
CONS
Consistency - There is a rare occasion where I will connect to the dock and not everything will function as expected when connected through the dock. E.g. The wireless mouse wont work or the Surface will try to connect to wireless web instead of using the LAN through the dock. I have connected to the dock about 100 times and maybe 3 times something hasn't worked. 1 of those times I had to restart the Surface to get everything to work, otherwise I just had to disconnect and reconnect the cable and all was well. Anyone familiar with working with computers understands sometimes things just happen and a restart is necessary. Although it happens rarely, it happens.
Cost - This bad boy is pricey. At almost $150 it doubles the cost of your average laptop docking station. It is 50% more expensive than most Surface docks. This dock does not offer more than most Surface docks in terms of expansion so the increased cost for consumers is down to design preferences and matching products with accessories purpose built.
SUMMARY
I had to take a star off for the cost and rare performance failure. I am still very happy with my purchase and would go the same route if I had to buy it again. The dock is a great addition for any consumer not wanting a separate PC to work from when at home but not always wanting to work off a 12" screen. If you only use the Surface as a mobile platform then this is a $150 accessory you can live without for sure.
At the time of this review, the Microsoft Surface Dock can be purchased for $148 and PRIME eligible.
I bought this bc I need it for work. I am using a Surface Pro 2017 and I'm a Mortgage Loan Processor. I am able to work from home once or twice a week and I have two monitors which means I have to have something that uses two mini display ports and this dock is a beast. It has 4 usb slot, 2 mini display ports, an audio output, and an ethernet port and it connects to your Surface Pro 2017 via the same slot where you plug in your normal charger. I don't know how a charger port can activate all the ports but it does bc it's hooked up to my two monitors. Now I just have to plug in my Surface Pro and viola you can use all the ports. It really does make your simple tablet/laptop to a powerful desktop but the only thing is that I need a wireless keyboard. I have one on it's way here but I haven't received it yet. Once I have it then my setup would be complete. I'll have to use one of the USB port for the wireless keyboard but that's ok. or I can use the USB port on the Surface Pro 2017. That's also another reason why I love the SP 2017 so much. It's so versatile and can be used as a normal tablet/laptop/PC now that I have this dock. It's really a necessity if you plan on doing a lot of work on your Surface and you have to navigate between different apps and you need to have two screens. I'm a mortgage loan processor and I need two screens bc when I'm working from home I use my Surface Pro 2017 and it's hard for me to compare documents on one screen. It's not a must have but it's certainly nice to have the capability of having two screens so you don't have to press ALT-TAB all the time and switch between apps. I am very satisfied with the dock and I'm sure it'll help me be more productive. Now I'm just wondering if I need to register the device since I got it on Amazon and not from a MS Store.
This really is a must have device if you want to use more than one monitor for your home setup. Without the dock you are limited to what you can do and can't do with the Surface Pro device. It even has an audo jack for listening to music and attaching a set of speakers to it. It's pretty nice and I'm glad I got it on Amazon bc it was litereally $60 cheaper and it's the real thing. I don't care that the seller may have had this a long time as long as it works and it does. I'm using dual monitors right now! actually I'm using 3 if you count my SP 2017.
My 2 months review: I have had this device for over 2 months now and I have never had an issue with it. I use the 2017 Surface Pro, i7/8GB model and it works perfectly with the Surface Dock. I don't understand the negative reviews on here for this device bc if you know what you're doing then you should have absolutely no complaints as this device is again a "must have" if you want to connect your SP with more than one monitor. When I purchased this dock I wasn't sure what kind of setup I was going to use but as soon as I received the dock I figured it out. Before getting the Surface Dock, I could only connect to one monitor via mini display port and I had to plug the charger in the side bc when you use any type of adapter for the SP it drains the battery quickly but not with the Surface Dock. With the Surface Dock, not only does it keep your SP charged up and it allows you to connect 4 USB devices, has 2 mini display ports, and an ethernet port. All these devices can be connected to your SP with one cable, the one that plugs into your charger port. It charges your tablet and it uses anything else that you have connected to the Surface Dock. Look at my photo's and you'll see that all my monitors are connected via the Surface Dock. I have it tucked away between the two monitor stands and it works perfectly. As soon as I plug in the power adapter to the SP the external monitors come to life. I bought the Surface Keyboard with the 28 keys and the Surface Arch mouse bc I wanted to be connected via bluetooth and not have to worry about dongles. My setup for me is perfect and it is only made possible by the Surface Dock. Without the Surface Dock, I can only connect one monitor to it via mini display port and the other monitor has to be connected via usb to hdmi and those are too many cables for me sticking out of the SP so that I can use two monitors. So now I have 4 open usb ports, 2 mini display ports that are currently being used by the two 23" Acer monitors that I purchased at Best Buy and an open ethernet port should I need it. I haven't used it yet bc I am always on wifi bc I have the Orbi Mesh router and it gets more speed than if I had it tethered to my Orbi. This setup is great bc I can still get well over my plans limit, 100/100 with the Orbi Mesh router and if I tethered it, speedtest.net only shows that I'm getting the plan's minimum and nothing more. Wit my Orbi wifi, I consistently get over 100/100mbps. Bottom line, I don't use the ethernet port or the USB port bc my keyboard and mouse are both BT and wireless. No dongles needed and I'm happy with that bc I don't have to keep track of which dongle goes to which device.
Like I mentioned before, if you're using the SP for more than web browsing and youtube video's then you need this dock. This dock opens up so much more options for your SP with the least amount of cables. I just bought the SP 2017 a couple of months ago and I love it bc not only is it compact and lightweight, it is a workhorse for me and that is made possible by the Surface Dock and yes, I bought every accessory you can buy for the SP but it was worth it bc my setup is perfect and I have no buyer's remorse. I was originally really hesitant about purchasing a Microsoft product bc I was an Apple fanboy but after I started using the SP I no longer need my 2012 MBP Retina or any of my iPad's- I have them all but none of them can do what this SP can do and I'm only able to do these things bc I have this Surface Dock. If you're tired of reading my post then that means it's time for you to put this in your cart and buy it. My photo's show you what you can do with the Surface Dock.
This dock has been amazing for work. I have two monitors connected using the two mini display ports, my Ethernet connected, and a wireless mouse receiver connected all at once, so its great! Also, the weights help it stay in place on my adjustable standing desk whenever I switch the heights. However, the lack of an HDMI port is a negative, even with the two mini display ports. In my experience there aren't a whole lot of things I use in my every day that actually have mini display ports, but just about everything has an HDMI port, so I had to buy two VGA to MiniDisplay adapters, since my VGA to HDMI were no longer viable, but that's not a deal breaker. The only thing that worries me about the dock is the fact that the surface book 2 and the dock has to be connected to power in order to use the dock. I don't like the idea of keeping my battery plugged in and charging for 8 hours straight every day at work just so I can use the monitors. It worries me that it may ruin my battery. I'm currently looking into other options in order to solve this problem.
I bought this product for my Surface Book 2 15". I was tired of swapping from a gaming desktop when I was home, to a Surface Pro 4 for all my other daily tasks, so I decided to sell both for a Surface Book 2. I got this dock to help keep that desktop feel when I'm home and gaming. It has all the essential ports for me. The gigabit ethernet port made me the happiest as I have gigabit internet and one simply can't use a cheap gigabit router and expect to get max speeds over WiFi. I have two monitors hooked into it. Both 23" monitors. One is 1080 and 60hz, the other is 1440 and 144hz. I'm not sure if it's the limits of the dock, the cable I'm using, or Windows, but I can only get 120hz. I didn't count this against the dock as I can't be sure it's the dock's fault. Where that fifth star fell off for me is the power. As I said, I use the dock when I'm home and mainly when I'm gaming. The dock is only 90w, but it has to reserve some of that power for the ports. The charger that comes with the Surface Book 2 is 102w? Needless to say, the battery drains at about 1% every 2 minutes. On the weekends, I could spend more than a few hours at a time gaming. Not with this dock. If it produced more power, I'd give it 5 stars.
Microsoft Surface DockAmazonBasics Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Cable - 6 Feet
Years of working in offices but required to travel, most docking stations have been large, bulky, fixed to the desk with a spiderweb of cords, etc. I really like the Microsoft approach with this docking station.
It's small, minimal, and easy to plug/unplug. This one is actually my second one and used for my home pc. I wanted to also be able to easily plug into my monitors on my home desktop pc and have a fixed docking station there....but also not take up any additional space. It only req'd me to get this station and also 2 short mini-display ports to HDMI cables (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0134V3KIA/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_4) which work very well! Now I can have a solid docking station at work, also same setup at home with minimal impact and ability to easily use my larger monitors.
It has:
2x Mini Display Ports
1x Gigabit Ethernet Port
4 USB 3.0 ports (2 front / 2 rear side)
1x Audio output jack
I have both the Surface Pro 3 and Surface Pro 4 and this docking station works for both these tablets.
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