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Daisy Chaining monitors from SP3 "Docking Station"

Lafayette

New Member
Using Surface Pro 3 (SP3) with Docking Station..

Have two new DELL U2415 monitors in, preferably, daisy chain mode.

Three displays: SP3 display is number 1, U2415 monitor is display number two and the second U2415 is display number 3.

Have tried several SP3 docking stations and can NOT get this configuration to work (from docking station).

That is, connecting the Dell supplied MDP cable from the docking station to monitor number 1 (display 2) , and daisy chaining to my other U2415 (monitor number 2, display 3) from there.

I CAN however daisy chain, very nicely, mind you, if I connect the MDP cable directly to the SP3.

Has any one solved this dilemma: Have the configuration work directly from the docking station rather than the SP3?

The three display daisy chain mode works fine only if display 2 is connected to the SP3 directly, and display 3 is connected to display 2.

Microsoft agrees this is not the way to use the docking station. They say daisy chaining should work from the docking station.

And have been generous to allow me to try several docking stations.

Is there a 'special' branded MDP to MDP cable, or MDP to DP cable that works better than the Dell supplied MDP to DP cable to accomplish this seemingly simple configuration?

A link to that branded cable will help.

I'll gladly pay a few dollars to get a cable that allows the daisy chain to work (from docking station) if one is identified; and verifiably works for daisy chain mode from the docking station.

As mentioned daisy chain works only from SP3 at the moment.
 

malberttoo

Well-Known Member
Using Surface Pro 3 (SP3) with Docking Station..

Have two new DELL U2415 monitors in, preferably, daisy chain mode.

Three displays: SP3 display is number 1, U2415 monitor is display number two and the second U2415 is display number 3.

Have tried several SP3 docking stations and can NOT get this configuration to work (from docking station).

That is, connecting the Dell supplied MDP cable from the docking station to monitor number 1 (display 2) , and daisy chaining to my other U2415 (monitor number 2, display 3) from there.

I CAN however daisy chain, very nicely, mind you, if I connect the MDP cable directly to the SP3.

Has any one solved this dilemma: Have the configuration work directly from the docking station rather than the SP3?

The three display daisy chain mode works fine only if display 2 is connected to the SP3 directly, and display 3 is connected to display 2.

Microsoft agrees this is not the way to use the docking station. They say daisy chaining should work from the docking station.

And have been generous to allow me to try several docking stations.

Is there a 'special' branded MDP to MDP cable, or MDP to DP cable that works better than the Dell supplied MDP to DP cable to accomplish this seemingly simple configuration?

A link to that branded cable will help.

I'll gladly pay a few dollars to get a cable that allows the daisy chain to work (from docking station) if one is identified; and verifiably works for daisy chain mode from the docking station.

As mentioned daisy chain works only from SP3 at the moment.

Are those monitors Rev A01?
 

agt499

Member
I have a similar setup with 2x Dell 2414.
Mine works fine with the 2 Dell supplied cables : I run DOCK:MDP→DISPLAY2:DP, then DISPLAY2:DPout→DISPLAY3:MDPin.
Prior to getting the dock I had trouble with a generic MPD→DP cable, and found that a Lenovo branded one was more reliable. But the Dell ones work fine for me.

I assume from your post that a single monitor works fine from the dock but won't daisychain, and taking that same cable out of the and dock into the device will daisychain?

I (and others) have found that the dock MDP is less capable than the device one -for reasons that I don't understand.

Some have reported getting replacements Docks that work fine when they had been failing - if this is practical for you to pursue it would be better than chasing a magic golden cable : if the displays and cables work OK from the device MDP, it looks more like the dock is the problem than the cable or monitor revision.
 

logger

Member
Are those monitors Rev A01?

Yeah I reckon this could be it. When I did my pre-sales research to set up my 2x Dell 2414 monitors, I read getting the latest Rev A03 would make the daisy chain to the surface dock process more reliable. For me it has worked flawlessly apart form the annoying scaling issues.
 

cmergel

Member
I have SP3 i7 and 2 Dell U2414H Monitors. I had the daisychaining working flawlessly in Windows 8.1, then when I first went to 10 I could not get the dasiychaining to work. I had to resort to a usb hub to run the second monitor. This was until the latest build. I just switched them back on Monday and they are now working again.

From Surface Dock - Mini-DisplayPort to DisplayPort to Monitor 1 (DP 1.2 Enabled)
From Monitor 1 - DisplayPort to Mini-DisplayPort to Monitor 2 (DP 1.2 Disabled)
Running Dell Display Manager v1.25.0.1586
 

genenz

New Member
Recently bought two Dell U2414H's and have daisy chaining working perfectly from a SP3 Docking station.

Before I bought the screens I made sure that the screens could do daisy chaining based on other people's experience. I also checked the DisplayPort website, which has a database of which monitors can do daisy chaining (i.e. MST). On that website there is only 8 monitors that are certified for daisy chaining (Search DisplayPort Display Multi-streaming) of which the Dell U2415 doesn't appear to be one of them.

I was curious over the newer U2415 monitor and noticed that the Dell website states that the U2415 supports DisplayPort 1.2 out, while and the U2414H specifically supports DisplayPort 1.2 (MST). Check http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=860-BBDY and scroll to the comparison chart. Not sure if that is a typo or that the MST is needed for it to work from the dock?
 

agt499

Member
I have SP3 i7 and 2 Dell U2414H Monitors. I had the daisychaining working flawlessly in Windows 8.1, then when I first went to 10 I could not get the dasiychaining to work. I had to resort to a usb hub to run the second monitor. This was until the latest build. I just switched them back on Monday and they are now working again.

From Surface Dock - Mini-DisplayPort to DisplayPort to Monitor 1 (DP 1.2 Enabled)
From Monitor 1 - DisplayPort to Mini-DisplayPort to Monitor 2 (DP 1.2 Disabled)
Running Dell Display Manager v1.25.0.1586
That's good to know :I have been nervous about 10 for that reason. As this thread attests it can be a roll of the dice under 8.1.
-would be good if you can report back once you have the final release of 10 in?
 

cmergel

Member
I just upgraded to 10240 this evening on my SP3 i7.

I can confirm that DaisyChaining still works in this build.
 
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