Monitor Flicker, Input Signal Out of Range

[jeech89]

I am driving an EliteDisplay E272q from a Microsoft Surface Laptop running Windows 10 (64 bit). I have the surface dock connected, and I'm running from the dock to the monitor via a mini displayport to HDMI adapter (active) and a 3 foot HDMI cable.

Issue

The issue I'm having is that I can see noise in darker areas of the screen, the image flickers, and sometimes the monitor presents:

"Input Signal out of Range !

Current mode H=88kHz, V=60Hz

Change mode to 2560x1440 60Hz"

Troubleshooting

What I've tried so far is:

1. Via Device Manager, uninstalled the display adapter, then reinstalled/updated via Windows Updates

2. Under Settings > Display > Advanced Display Settings > Display Adapter Settings for Display 2 I changed the refresh rate from 59Hz to 60Hz.

3. Tried booting in safemode to further adjust display settings, but the monitor is not driven in safe mode

Looking for further assistance to diagnose and fix.

[jeech89]

FYI for anyone who comes across this issue:

To fix, I did the steps in my original post, plus switched to a mini displayport to displayport cable (no dongle). In my experience over the last 10 years, mini displayport to HDMI (both active and passive) has always been unreliable.