Smart Dock HDMI not working w/ Note 2

[Ian Canefire]

Hi All
I bought my Samsung note 2 the first week it came out in the US. It was through AT&T. I got a replacement because it died within two months or so(can hardly remember how long before it died). My phone is not rooted. Version 4.3.

I just decided to get a smart dock last week. It just arrived yesterday. I have three hdmi enabled televisions in my home and the dock does not work with any of them.

The HDMI cable works fine, I have tested it with other electronics.
The televisions' HDMI ports work fine I have tested them.
The other ports on the smart dock work fine: mouse shows up on the Note 2 screen, usb keyboard works, external speaker jack works.

I am at my wits end. The Samsung Smart dock box says it is for Note 2. I got it off of ebay for $36.00

Smart Dock Multimedia Charging Stand for Samsung Galaxy Note II 2 S4 s IV I9500 | eBay

I have tried restarting my Note 2. I also went into settings to see if there is anything I need to change. I have tried everything in accessories.

Does anyone know if this is a known problem?
Does anyone know how to get it to work? I really was hoping to watch videos on my television.

Thanks,
Ian

 

[NeoGrandizer]

Are you using the adapter and charge cable to power the Smartdock and HDMI? Try using only HDMI and power without any USB accessories attached to see if it works.

 

[Ian Canefire]

I am using the adapter. It is plugged into my wall outlet for power. I did in fact try it without the mouse plugged in but it still did not work.

I have looked more closely at the ebay sellers pictures and I notice a line is going the word Samsung. The subject line says it is for note 2, and I stated before the sealed box it came in states it is for Note 2. Now I am wondering if this is some sort of scam by the chinese ebay seller.

Seems a bit weird to go through all of this and just mess up the hdmi port. Is it possible that there was an old version of the smart dock that did not work with note 2. (I thought that it was created for the note 2 initially)

Probably the most likely answer is that this is some sort of B stock or factory reject that is being sold when it shouldn't be.
Beware of this ebay seller. You have been warned!

Thanks,
Ian

PS I wish there was someone with a smart dock around me so that I could test my note 2 on there dock. Anyone know of a way for me to find someone else? Is there a Samsung store in the Washington DC metro area?

 

[heat57]

Hi Ian, have you gone into settings > General > Accessory > put a tick in 'Dock sound' and 'Audio output mode' and make sure the HDMI option is set to stereo. That should do it. Works fine on my dock (also OEM Samsung multimedia dock like yours).

 

[Ian Canefire]

Hello Heat,
I have tried what you suggested already. As stated before I have toggled every setting in accessories. I now think it is just a faulty hdmi port or possibly some sort of version 4.3 problem. Unless someone can tell me that they are using version 4.3 with their dock and it works.
I may just post a YOutube video about this because I can't be the only person with this problem. Seems to be hard to find information about this.
The price was lower than I expected, maybe they knew it was faulty. Not sure if I want to buy another at full price and take a chance.
Returning goods and waiting for refunds is such an annoyance.

Thanks,
Ian

 

[heat57]

My Note 2 is on JB 4.3! It does work perfectly as expected and advertised. I can't say any different. How do you power the dock? I know it sounds stupid to ask but sometimes it pays to go back to the most common issues. I have mine connected to the mains (not USB as the dock needs mains power), you probably have too, but just in case. If that is the case and you know for sure that all your settings on the Note are correct and present and your physical connections to TV/monitor are working then I would suggest a faulty dock.

You should get it replaced under warranty. I can assure you the product works as advertised. There is final thing I remember when I first had it I read the user manual and noticed that you cannot use it as a syncing station and a multi-media dock (connection with a TV/monitor at the same time)!

 

[NeoGrandizer]

I am also on 4.3 stock and have no problems with my Smartdock. Works well with HDMI and a powered USB hub with keyboard, mouse and external HDD attached. There is the occasional hiccup where it won't recognize the connection, but a device reset usually fixes that. Also sound settings are 'iffy' when outputting through HDMI. It's hit and miss with mine. Have to fiddle a bit before it works as it should.