Header banner
Revain logoHome Page
Charles Lewis photo
Jordan, Amman
1 Level
723 Review
49 Karma

Review on Microsoft PD9 00003 Surface Dock by Charles Lewis

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Works great with the right video adapters

**Updated August 15, 2017** See updated review notes at the bottom of this review. The Surface Dock is truly the only quality option for docking a Surface tablet. Microsoft has discontinued Surface Pro 3 docks that snap to the sides, so this is our only choice for a dock that will charge the Surface and output data to multiple displays etc. Here are my pros and cons: Pros: - With the right mini-display adapter, they work great. Tested many adapters and only Fosmon brand worked each time (VGA - Fosmon HD1826 Mini DisplayPort (Thunderbolt) to VGA Adapter Male-Female, White or DVI - http://www.amazon.com/Fosmon-HD1823-DisplayPort-Thunderbolt- adapter/dp/B0056403DE). I'm not affiliated with the company, but I've used a lot of adapters and they work with everything. The dock should be future proof for Surface Pro 5, 6 etc if the main charging port stays the same. , even if it is a larger area. - It's nice to have two mini display ports in the dock instead of just one on the previous generation dock. - Smaller footprint than the previous docking station. - Charges the surface in the docking station (like the previous generation). - No mouse. Lag at all (if you've ever tried a dock connected via USB and noticed mouse lag, you know how annoying that can be)! Cons: - Zoom is still lame, but it feels more like an interface than a dock. Thing. If you dock/undock frequently, be prepared to restart LOTS or log out. Same as every time, unless you don't mind if your permission gets mixed up. Microsoft really needs to figure it out. Very demanding for adapters for mini displays. I tried half a dozen and only the Fosmon brand worked. It works great with the right ones, but it can still be difficult to figure out what works. The screen sometimes flickers very briefly when you disconnect and reconnect the USB ports. Third monitor. I haven't tried higher resolution monitors. In general I like the dock. The cons can be a little disappointing, but the pros outweigh the cons in my opinion. It's possible that the issues will be fixed in the future when Microsoft releases firmware updates through Windows 10 for the dock. I will update my review if/when that happens. ** Updated August 17, 2017 ** Zoom issue is not related to Surface or Dock. This is a Windows issue that will be fixed in the upcoming Fall Creators Update (a free update). I'm on the Insider Preview Edition testing the new zoom features and they work fantastic! It's time!

Pros
  • Quick replacement
Cons
  • Almost never