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Dual external monitors via Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock suddenly limited to 1280×800

Alisha Dietz 0 Reputation points
2025-08-10T02:22:46.2833333+00:00

I’m using a Surface Laptop 7th Edition with a Microsoft Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock to connect two external HDMI monitors (one of them an HP Omen). This setup has worked flawlessly for months at each monitor’s native resolution.

Recently, both external monitors became locked at a maximum resolution of 1280×800, despite previously running at higher native resolutions. The laptop’s internal display is unaffected, and adjusting resolution or scaling in Windows Display Settings has no effect.

Troubleshooting steps I’ve already tried:

Power-cycled the dock and reconnected all cables

Installed the latest Surface Laptop 7th Edition driver/firmware bundle

Installed the latest Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock firmware update

Checked Windows Update and Optional Updates (none available)

Swapped ports on the dock and tested with each monitor individually

Notably, when the Omen monitor is unplugged from the dock, the second external monitor immediately works at its full native resolution. This suggests the Omen is somehow forcing the dock to fall back to a lower resolution mode for both displays.

My question: What could cause this sudden change in behavior, and how can I restore both monitors to their proper resolutions while connected through the dock?

Please help! Thanks in advance!!

Surface | Accessories | Surface Dock
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  1. Harold Milan 535 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-08-10T14:01:27.1433333+00:00

    Hi Alisha,

     

    Thanks for sharing all the details that really helps. I’m sorry you’re running into this resolution issue after months of smooth sailing with your setup. It’s definitely frustrating when something that’s been working perfectly suddenly changes.

     

    From what you’ve described, it sounds like the HP Omen monitor might be triggering a fallback mode on the Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock, which limits both external displays to 1280×800. This could be due to bandwidth allocation, how the monitor reports its capabilities, or even a recent firmware update.

     

    Here’s What You Can Try:

    Check Your Cables and Ports Make sure you’re using HDMI 2.0 or DisplayPort 1.4 cables, and that both monitors are plugged into Thunderbolt 4 ports on the dock.

    Connect One Monitor at a Time Start with the non-Omen monitor and confirm it reaches full resolution. Then plug in the Omen and see if the issue returns. Try switching the connection order or ports.

    Manually Set Resolutions Use Intel Graphics Command Center or Windows Display Settings to manually set each monitor’s native resolution. Lowering the refresh rate might help.

    Check Thunderbolt Bandwidth Open the Thunderbolt Control Center to see how bandwidth is being distributed. The dock might be prioritizing one display over the other.

    Use a DisplayLink Adapter (Workaround) If nothing else works, using a DisplayLink USB adapter for one monitor can help bypass the dock’s bandwidth limits and restore full resolution.

     

    Let me know if you’d like help finding a compatible adapter or checking your monitor specs I’m here to help however I can!

     

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