CHF165.–
Microsoft Surface Dock 2
Docking port (proprietary), 4 Ports
Product ratings
Pros
Cons
86 reviews
Display doesn't work over USB-C
I got two of these, one for the office and for home. Very disappointed to find out the monitor keeps frequently blacking out when connected to the docking station to the point it makes it impossible to work. Same monitor works fine when connected directly over to Surface Laptop 3. Looking up the forums, it seems like this problem has been reported for around a year, and no solution is provided to this day. Some say the signal is too weak to make this work. When you have a surface laptop, you check Microsoft website and see that they say this Surface docking station is compatible with your device, you naturally expect it work, but no...
Works much better than Dock 1 with new Surface Book
Pro
- Recognises HDMI without problems via USB 3
Contra
- Another 200 Stutz gone for an accessory
Two screens: critical!
I bought the Surface Dock with the MS Surface. In addition to Ethernet, speakers and a mouse, two monitors should also be operated with it. This only worked after a lengthy email communication with MS support. (MS support staff was top and very supportive! Respect and thanks!)
After a few weeks and some doubts as to whether the MS-Surface would be able to replace a 10-year-old ALDI-PC (the old PC could easily operate the two PCs), we finally managed it and the Surface operates both screens and its own display. However, every time Windows was updated, tension arose and the two monitors only worked after one or two restarts. For the price, all this should not be a problem.Pro
- Offers many connections
Contra
- Two screens are problematic
The docking station that actually works for my Surfacebook 2 + 2 external monitors
I went through several docking stations before arriving at this one. The most important feature is its power delivery - the other docks were simply too weak to fulfill their promises, with the most prominent consequence being that my (2) monitors tended to randomly switch off for a couple of seconds during anything graphics-intensive than running a simple text editor.
A potential downside is the proprietary Microsoft connector, but this should be fine if all you want to use it for is a Microsoft laptop. Also, it only outputs video via USB-C, so for many monitors you might need adapters, for example USB-C to HDMI. There, I also chose those from Microsoft to maximize compatibility, which works seamlessly as well.Top
I use a Surface Pro 7 and work on 3 screens without any problems.
SP7 as usual with active cooling audible but not disturbing during meetings.
Windows Hello still works (SP7 screen is not active - black) and the touch function is also still available but hardly of any use - just for information.
3 screen setups: 2 via "Surface Dock 2" via USB-C<->HDMI and the third via the "Microsoft Traveller Dock" via USB-C directly on the SP7 and with HDMI<->HDMI on the screen.
I can only recommend it if Home Office is still an issue for you.Pro
- USB-C
Contra
- No Thunderbolt
LAN performance insufficient
The product may be sufficient for home use, but in a company network we found that the LAN performance is not nearly sufficient (especially with a network application/ERP you notice the difference clearly). Various tests have shown that e.g. the docking station from HP or also the USB-C network cards from HP provide a "normal" performance (although still worse than a PCIe network card). And we are talking about a performance difference of around 50%. However, Microsoft's support finds that a comparison with other manufacturers is not relevant, so that a firmware or hardware update is probably not to be expected in the future.
We will therefore return our Dock 2 and replace it with another docking station.Pro
- 2 USB-C ports
Contra
- 2 conventional USB ports are too few
- LAN noticeably slower
6 out of 86 reviews
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