Update: In mid-January, Microsoft pushed a “Surface System Update” via Windows Update which contains new firmware and drivers for the Surface series. These updates appear to have resolved the blank-screen issues that some users were reporting with DisplayLink.
Since mid-November, a small percentage of Surface Pro 1/2/3 users have reported issues with blank screens on their DisplayLink displays after rebooting from the installation of Windows Updates. In the cases that we’ve seen, things appear to be functional at the software level – Windows still shows the USB-attached displays as present and active, but the displays themselves remain blank.
If you’re experiencing similar behavior but do not have a Surface, the behavior is likely caused by a different issue. On Surface tablets, the Intel GPU driver version when the problem is present is 10.18.10.3496 dated 3/7/2014, though most Surface users with this driver revision are not likely to encounter the behavior described above.
We’ve been able to solve the problem in most cases by manually installing a newer version of the Intel HD Graphics driver. We’ve posted step-by-step instructions along with a video of the driver update process here.
For customers with Plugable products, please don’t hesitate to email us directly support@plugable.com so we can work with you to resolve any remaining issues.