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Surface 3 Charging/Dock Question

wookieelord

New Member
Okay, so I was looking at the Dock and wondering how it got the "higher wattage" charging it claims. It appears to connect through Mini-DP and USB 3.0 slot and no micro USB slot. Is it possible to charge the Surface 3 through a USB 3.0 slot? I'm not sure if this has been asked before and my apologies if it has!
 
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wookieelord

New Member
Yeah, --> No dock =( ... That would be interesting though. Would love to have a Mini-DP to Charger adapter but they don't exist. Tried looking around for more information on that Dockport std but it is pretty under the radar. It is most likely a highly specific adapter that could only be made for the docking stations with some type of Mobo attached for the electronics.

The other other thing I wish they would have is a cover like the Type cover but without the keyboard. That would be amazing. The Type cover is crazy expensive and I personally don't need it but like someone else said in a previous thread, I'm sure MS would not want people to consider actually having anything else besides their cover haha. I'm assuming since we hadn't seen one pop up on amazon is the fact that the magnetic ports on the bottom of the tablet are proprietary.
 

GreyFox7

Super Moderator
Staff member
Yeah, --> No dock =( ... That would be interesting though. Would love to have a Mini-DP to Charger adapter but they don't exist. Tried looking around for more information on that Dockport std but it is pretty under the radar. It is most likely a highly specific adapter that could only be made for the docking stations with some type of Mobo attached for the electronics.

The other other thing I wish they would have is a cover like the Type cover but without the keyboard. That would be amazing. The Type cover is crazy expensive and I personally don't need it but like someone else said in a previous thread, I'm sure MS would not want people to consider actually having anything else besides their cover haha. I'm assuming since we hadn't seen one pop up on amazon is the fact that the magnetic ports on the bottom of the tablet are proprietary.
There's nothing magical about the magnetic connection on the bottom, it's there plain to see for anyone interested.

It's a shame the connector is just USB 1 as it could be much more useful as USB3 or 3.1. then you could have a third party dock that's low profile and the Surface just sits on top held magnetically. Id go for something like that, but not the big bulky dock. if they added a DP port on that edge as well for docking it's a hit, out of the park.
 
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wookieelord

New Member
no not magical or special but i'm sure MS will not "allow" or license use of the magnets is what i meant. Yeah use of USB 2.0 limited wattage port was stupid that should be rectified with USB type C in the Surface 4 i'm sure.
 

GreyFox7

Super Moderator
Staff member
no not magical or special but i'm sure MS will not "allow" or license use of the magnets is what i meant. Yeah use of USB 2.0 limited wattage port was stupid that should be rectified with USB type C in the Surface 4 i'm sure.
Id think MS would welcome 3rd party addons, it would just make Surface that much stronger and more compelling.
 
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wookieelord

New Member
Well I wish that I knew how to create that magnetic cover because I can assure you that thousands would be interested in it. Most of the "cases" defeat the entire purpose of the lightweight quick and easy to use tablet. It also adds weight and thickness. That is the one thing that would be great about the tablet cover. It would be one of the best alternatives to those full cases or just a tempered glass protector.
 

GreyFox7

Super Moderator
Staff member
Well I wish that I knew how to create that magnetic cover because I can assure you that thousands would be interested in it. Most of the "cases" defeat the entire purpose of the lightweight quick and easy to use tablet. It also adds weight and thickness. That is the one thing that would be great about the tablet cover. It would be one of the best alternatives to those full cases or just a tempered glass protector.
An iPad cover almost works, if you get it in the right position it kinda does... So you'd need to make a spine that mates with the magnetic channel on the Surface like on the keyboard and a hinge to allow the cover to swing over. a tweak here a snip there ... or you can find an old Touch Cover on ebay for cheap... not quite the right size but almost.
 
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wookieelord

New Member
well i don't really need a hacked cover. I'm actually in the process of purchasing a nice leather slip case. I figure that will be the best route as that way it's lightweight and thin and i can just slide it in a bag or something. As for the other cover like the iPad one, I would hope to see a truly compatible correct and made for it =) .. Maybe I will email a couple companies and see what they say!
 

Bryanmsi

New Member
I wonder how the extra power charging works as well. The dock clearly charges the S3 faster than the external charger, particularly when using the S3 while charging. Is MS pushing more power through the micro USB port? Or providing additional power through one of the other ports?
 

GreyFox7

Super Moderator
Staff member
I wonder how the extra power charging works as well. The dock clearly charges the S3 faster than the external charger, particularly when using the S3 while charging. Is MS pushing more power through the micro USB port? Or providing additional power through one of the other ports?
If you look at a dock it has no micro USB connector.
 
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