See things on a bigger screen by connecting one of the Surface USB-C to display adapters to an external monitor or TV. Here’s what you’ll need: USB Type-C has a new feature called Alternate Modes. If your USB-C cable has this feature, you can connect to non-USB devices that support the same Alternate Mode. For example, if your USB-C cable has the Thunderbolt Alternate Mode, you can connect to Thunderbolt devices. There's no setting to turn on—your device automatically uses the appropriate mode if it's supported. DVI stands for “Digital Visual Interface”, and is another common connection found on PC monitors. Things can become a little confusing when you consider there are three different types of DVI. There’s DVI-A (analog signal), DVI-D (digital signal) and DVI-I (integrated analog and digital signal). Not only that, but DVI-D and DVI-I have single-link and dual-link versions. Nowadays, DVI-A is very uncommon, as it’s no better than VGA. More often than not, if you’re connecting something to a television, HDMI will be your best, and likely only, bet. Most PC monitors will also include an HDMI input. The good news, where it comes to 1.4 versus 2, is that you don’t need to rush out and buy new cables. To take advantage of the 2.0 specyou just need both devices on each end of the cable to be 2-compatible. Any HDMI cable will do, and we’ve already seen that there’s no difference in HDMI cable quality.

Make sure the device or dongle is connected to the USB-C port on your PC that supports the correct Alternate Mode. For example, if you're connecting a Thunderbolt Alternate Mode device, make sure you connect to the USB-C port that supports Thunderbolt™.Dust or dirt inside the USB port on your device might be preventing the charger from being inserted correctly. You will likely find that your new Ultra HD/4K TV supports HDCP 2.2 on its HDMI port, but it’s not always for all of them. Some models will only support HDCP 2.2 for HDMI 1 and HDMI 2 inputs, so if you’re connecting a shiny new Ultra HD Blu-ray player, such as the Panasonic DMP-UB900 or Samsung UBD-K8500, make sure to use the correct HDMI input. The DisplayPort Alternate Mode lets you project video and play audio on an external display that supports DisplayPort.

The Alternate Mode feature must be supported on the PC or phone's hardware and software, and the connected device or dongle. You might also need a specific USB-C cable. READ NEXT: What’s the difference between WQHD, QHD, 2K, 4K and UHD? DisplayPort: 4K at 144Hz with audio and video capabilitiesUntil HDMI 2.0 became a standard, DisplayPort had it beat when it came to high resolutions. DisplayPort 1.2 has long been able to carry 3,840 x 2,160-resolution video at 60fps (or a refresh rate of 60Hz) and is the most common DisplayPort specification on most consumer monitors and devices now. This has 17.28Gbits/sec of bandwidth. Your PC might not provide enough power to the USB device. Please connect your device to external power, or try using a different PC. HDMI has seen numerous revisions since its inception in 2002. Its most common version, used in most consumer devices at present, is 1.4 but there’s a newer, more exciting 2.0 specification now becoming more prominent. The main difference between the 1.4 and 2.0 specifications focus around bandwidth available. HDMI 1.4 has a bandwidth maximum of 10.2 Gbps/s whereas the HDMI 2.0 tops out at 18 Gbps/s. There's a driver in the device you connected to that isn't supported in the version of Windows 10 Mobile your phone is running. For information about the supported devices, see Universal Serial Bus (USB).

Notes: USB Type-C has a new feature called Alternate Modes which allows you to use non-USB connections with the USB-C cable and connection. There's no setting to turn on—your device automatically uses the appropriate mode if it's supported. Here are the display Alternate Modes that your cable may support: The Alternate Mode feature must be supported on the PC's hardware and software, and the connected device or dongle. You might also need a specific USB-C cable. Disconnect the adapter from your Surface, and then reconnect it. If that doesn’t work, disconnect the video cable from your adapter, and then reconnect it.The reason that bandwidth becomes important is due to the advent of 4K content. Due to the limited bandwidth of HDMI 1.4, only 24fps was possible at 4K resolution (3,840 x 2,160). Now, thanks to the extra bandwidth available in the 2.0spec, up to 60fps at 4K resolution is possible. This also allows you to view 144Hz at 1080p (1,920 x 1,080) through a HDMI 2.0 connection.

To charge faster, your PC (or phone), charger, and cable must all support the industry standards. Your charger and cable must also support the power levels your PC (or phone) requires for the faster charging. For example, if your PC requires 12V and 3A for the fastest charging, a 5V, 3A charger won’t give you the fastest charging. The last USB device you connected to this computer malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it. An external display and video cable. The video cable and Surface adapter you need depends on which type of video port is on your external display. For example, if your external display has a DisplayPort, you will need a DisplayPort video cable and the Surface USB-C to DisplayPort adapter. Under most circumstances, you can get away with using whichever cable you have lying around – and whatever works – but if you have more specific needs, such as carrying audio, displaying a higher resolution or outputting a higher refresh rate for gaming, you’ll need to be more discerning with your choice of cable. HDMI is unique among the many connection options in that it’s able to carry both uncompressed video and uncompressed audio. This is why it’s become the connection of choice for most multimedia devices as it’s a one-cable solution.The device or dongle you connected to has new features for USB-C that your PC (or phone) doesn’t support. Make sure the device or dongle is connected to the USB-C port on your PC (or phone) that supports the features of the device or dongle. For example, if you're connecting a Thunderbolt device, make sure it’s connected to the USB-C port on your PC (or phone) that supports Thunderbolt.