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Surface Docking station issues

abcefg

New Member
Hi all,

I just am experiencing some strange behaviour with the docking station and the SP3 that was bugging me.

There are times when after some period of non use trying to wake the SP3 again in the dock takes a while. You can hit the keypad and the buttons but nothing happens. Usually, after a few minutes it wakes up and things are back to normal.

That isn't so bad, but recently I have been having issues with random reboots after removing the SP3 from the dock. I will do so and find out that the unit had reset itself when I want to use it next. I check the reliability history to check if there has been an unexpected reset, but there is no log of that occurring.

Has anyone else had similar issues?
 

Tsurugaya

Active Member
I have the same issue, going to sleep in the dock requires way too long time to wake up. I solved it by turning off sleep when powered.
 

JimB

Member
same issues since day one. I just remove the surface now and power off/on/hibernate outside of doc. Otherwise it either hangs or sometimes crashes windows. If you just use the dock as a plug and play it seems to work. Only doc when the device is already started and at the login screen. Remove before shutdown or hibernate. Definitely a hardware problem and I don't see any solution other than a replacement. Seems like they've addressed the issue in newer builds of the doc.
 

bluegrass

Well-Known Member
I haven't read any instruction on the use of the dock but I just assumed it would be best practice to shut your Surface down when plugging or unplugging it from the dock. It would kind of be like plugging or unplugging a circuit card from a desktop computer without shutting down first. If it hot pluggable, maybe someone could point to a link to Microsoft where they state it.
 

JimB

Member
I've owned 2 different Surface 3's and the behavior hasn't changed with this doc I have. And when the surface is completely shut down if I doc it and push the power button I just get a Surface logo without any spinning circle below and it hangs.
 
Long shot, but they pushed an update for the dock a while back. Have you tried checking Windows Update while docked?

FYI, my miniDP port quit working on both my docks last week (obviously caused by a problem with the SP3 and not the docks themselves). But the most recent firmware update fixed it. I think simply reflashing the firmware fixed some corruption or simply reset something that doesn't normally lose state even on power down. Might be worth reapplying the newest firmware while in the dock to see if it fixes anything.
 

Tsurugaya

Active Member
Long shot, but they pushed an update for the dock a while back. Have you tried checking Windows Update while docked?

FYI, my miniDP port quit working on both my docks last week (obviously caused by a problem with the SP3 and not the docks themselves). But the most recent firmware update fixed it. I think simply reflashing the firmware fixed some corruption or simply reset something that doesn't normally lose state even on power down. Might be worth reapplying the newest firmware while in the dock to see if it fixes anything.
All my updates are done while docked since I'm connected through Ethernet instead of Wi-Fi.
 
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abcefg

New Member
Likewise, all the updates have been done and with the Surface docked, but then again, I don't think that I am the only one who has the situation where firmware updates try to install multiple times despite being "successful" in the first round.

I did manage to buy the dock early on, so perhaps it is a hardware issue. I don't quite remember this happening though until recently, so maybe firmware updating took something while giving something.

I just find it strange that when it reboots I don't get a sudden crash log through reliability history, though perhaps it is showing up somewhere else?
 

TheTruQ

New Member
Is anyone here still experiencing this issue? It appears the latest update (with the device docked of course) seems to have resolved my awake from sleep/hibernation issue.

I will keep an eye on it of course to ensure this has been resolved.
 
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abcefg

New Member
Is anyone here still experiencing this issue? It appears the latest update (with the device docked of course) seems to have resolved my awake from sleep/hibernation issue.

I will keep an eye on it of course to ensure this has been resolved.

Still is an issue, even with the latest firmware updates, for me. Sometimes when I hit the keyboard or the capacitive button and it either takes 30 seconds to respond, or doesn't at all.
 

TheTruQ

New Member
Still is an issue, even with the latest firmware updates, for me. Sometimes when I hit the keyboard or the capacitive button and it either takes 30 seconds to respond, or doesn't at all.
What I did was install all of the optional updates (with the dock attached, of course). Following a reboot (with the dock), I allowed the device to reach hibernation, and it awoke in about 2-3 seconds.

I will keep check on it though; this being one of the most frustrating issues I've had to deal with using my SP3 - reboot city.
 
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