Are the Surface Book 2 and Acer XF270H monitor compatible?

cmg724

I am trying to hook up my new Acer XF270H monitor to my Surface Book 2, but I keep getting “no signal.” I am using a USB-c to HDMI cable to connect the two. The monitor works when I connect my Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and iPad to it. To connect the iPad to the monitor, I’m using the same usb-c to hdmi cable that I’m using with the surface book 2, so the cable itself doesn’t seem to be the issue. I can also connect the surface to other monitors and TVs I own using the same cable with no problems. I’m lost trying to figure out the problem so any help would be much appreciated. Thank you!

billsey

Depending on the version of USB-C on the Surface, it might only support DP over USB, not HDMI over USB.

Just did some Googling and this is what I found:

Surface Studio 2, Surface Go, Surface Book 2, and the MS OEM Surface Connect->USB-C adapter support:

• up to USB 3.1 Gen 1 @ 5Gb/s
• DP alt mode with DisplayPort 1.2 bandwidth (HBR2) for up to a 1x 4K60, 2x 4K30, or 2x 1440p60 monitors in one of the following configurations:
  • Multi-function hub:
    • DP 1.2 (HBR2) via 2 lanes for 1x 4K30, 1x 1440p60, or 2x 1080p60 monitors
    • with USB 3.x @ 5Gb/s via 2 lanes
  • DP-mode:
    • DP 1.2 (HBR2) via 4 lanes for 1x 4K60, 2x 4K30, or 2x 1440p60 monitors
    • USB devices may be connected in 2.0 mode for up to 480Mb/s bandwidth
• Additional monitors can be connected via DisplayLink technology.

So it does look like they are only supporting DP, not HDMI. That's pretty typical on systems with USB 3.1 Gen 1, since it's a it more limited in data transfer rates than Gen 2 is.