If you want to use your Surface Pro as a second monitor, you need to ensure you have the proper features installed, configure the Surface Pro settings correctly, and be able to connect the devices.
Having a dual-monitor setup can make everything from work, to playing games, to surfing the web much easier and more streamlined. It makes multi-tasking a breeze and as someone who has used a dual-monitor setup, it can be difficult to go back to only using one.
While some people will buy a whole second monitor, that isn’t required. In fact, you can use your Surface Pro device as a second monitor for your main PC. Unfortunately, there are a couple of steps involved that might not be obvious to most users.
With that in mind, this guide is going to go over how you can quickly and easily set your Surface Pro up as a second monitor.
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Key Takeaways
- Before doing anything else, you need to ensure both devices are on the same network, have been updated, and have the right features installed.
- You need to go through your settings and enable various options to ensure you can set up and maintain a proper connection.
- Connecting the main PC to your Surface Pro is as easy as choosing the Connect option from the Action Center.
Setting Up Your Computers
Before you can actually configure your Surface Pro as a monitor and connect to it from your main PC, there are a few things to do. First of all, you need to ensure that both computers are connected to the same Wifi network so that they can share data with one another.
Each computer also needs to be updated to at least the Windows 10 Anniversary Update or newer in order for this method to work. If they are outdated, simply perform the necessary updates ahead of time.
Also, you need to go to Settings > System > Projecting to this PC on your Surface Pro and if the options are grayed out and cannot be clicked on, you need to add the Wireless Display feature from Optional Features in order to project to the Surface Pro.
Configure the Surface Pro Properly
Once that has all been done, you can begin setting your Surface Pro up to act as a second monitor. The first step is to go to the Projecting to this PC page and you will be greeted by several different options.
For the first option, which is Some Windows and Android devices can project to this PC when you say it’s OK, you should select either Available everywhere or Available everywhere on secure networks.
The option you choose depends on your level of comfort. Available everywhere is easier, but the other option is a good choice if you are a little concerned about security and want to make sure you are always safe.
Next, there is Ask to project to this PC. You can set it to First time only or Every time a connection is requested. For safety, we generally recommend that you choose Every time a connection is requested, but if you don’t want to confirm every time, choose the first option.
The next option is Require PIN for pairing, and you can either choose to always require one, or disable it if you want to be able to pair faster and easier.
Below that, you have the option to choose whether the Surface Pro can only be discovered for projection when plugged in or not. If you plan to use the device as a portable display, you will want to turn this off so it can be discovered on the go.
On this page, you can also choose the name of your PC so you can make sure you select the right one when you want to project.
Connecting to Your Surface Pro as a Second Monitor
When you are done configuring, you can finally project to the device. Simply open the Action Center on the right side of the taskbar and choose Connect. From the list of options, you need to choose your Surface Pro to start the connection.
Once you are connected, you can also choose to allow mouse, touch, keyboard, or pen input from this device, too. You can also choose from different projection modes (like extend or duplicate) by clicking the Windows key + P.
When you are done, you can simply press Disconnect to end the connection.
Final Thoughts
Whether you want to work more efficiently or simply browse the internet more effectively, having a second monitor can be a huge help. We hope that this guide has been able to help you learn how you can set your Surface Pro as a second monitor.
Is there anything else you feel that we should have mentioned in this guide? If so, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below.
