Latest Surface Pro Updated to Improve Reliability

Surface Pro with LTE Will Begin Shipping in December

The 2017 Surface Pro received three firmware updates overnight aimed at improving the PC’s reliability.

“We’ve released new updates for Surface Pro devices running Windows 10 Version 1709 and above,” Microsoft’s Brandon Records notes. “These updates include new drivers … which improve system stability.”

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As the Surface Pro Update History website explains, these firmware updates apply to both the original 2017 Surface Pro (which is model 1796) and the second version which includes LTE cellular data capabilities (model 1807).

Available firmware updates include:

  • Intel Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework Processor Participant version 8.3.10207.5567 improves system stability.
  • Intel Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework Power Participant version 8.3.10207.5567 improves system stability.
  • Intel Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework Manager version 8.3.10207.5567 improves system stability.

The updates are available via Windows Update only, Mr. Records adds.

 

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Conversation 23 comments

  • briantlewis

    26 May, 2018 - 9:33 am

    <p>Thr surface pro is what happens when you nail the hardware and let the software ruin the whole brand.</p><p><br></p><p>I want another surface pro, I just don't trust them to keep it stable.</p>

    • dvdwnd

      26 May, 2018 - 9:45 am

      <blockquote><a href="#278946"><em>In reply to briantlewis:</em></a></blockquote><p>It is amazing that after years of updates, the SP4 is the most unreliable PC I have ever used. By now I have lost count of the failure modes related to suspend/resume. Guessing they will never get this right. </p>

      • captobie

        26 May, 2018 - 10:04 am

        <blockquote><a href="#278948"><em>In reply to dvdwnd:</em></a></blockquote><p>And it's amazing to me that after a year and a half of ownership my SP4 is still the best PC I've ever owned. The only problem I've had is that the Windows Update service occasionally gets wonky and needs to run the troubleshooter to fix, but that's a Windows problem in general.</p><p><br></p><p>Knocking on wood right now, but I've been fortunate to not have any of the issues that people complain about…</p>

        • jimchamplin

          Premium Member
          26 May, 2018 - 10:35 am

          <blockquote><a href="#278949"><em>In reply to captobie:</em></a></blockquote><p>A really big Windows problem. The fact that major parts can simply break automagically is annoying :(</p>

        • innitrichie

          26 May, 2018 - 6:37 pm

          <blockquote><a href="#278949"><em>In reply to captobie:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>I've not even experienced any Windows Update problems either. SP4 is literally the most perfect device I've ever owned. You'll always get a few unhappy people looking for problems, but I urge everyone who doesn't own a SP4 to buy one now.</p>

      • briantlewis

        26 May, 2018 - 10:55 am

        <blockquote><a href="#278948"><em>In reply to dvdwnd:</em></a></blockquote><p>The absolute worst part of the SP4 was the one time, ONE TIME, they fixed all the wake from sleep issues, the very next cumulative update broke them.</p><p><br></p><p>Most frustrating computer I ever had.</p>

  • Tony Barrett

    26 May, 2018 - 10:43 am

    <p>The Surface range is, without a doubt, some of the best hardware you can buy, ruined by some of the worst software ever to come out of Redmond. How they still cannot get their own software working properly on their own hardware is just mind boggling. Four generations in, and the thing is still riddled with bugs and performance issues.</p>

    • Waethorn

      26 May, 2018 - 11:52 am

      <blockquote><a href="#278951"><em>In reply to ghostrider:</em></a></blockquote><p>Not just software. Remember that Microsoft helped designed the power management hardware and firmware with Intel that led to all of the problems with the last few generations of Surface products. That hardware (and firmware) only exists in Microsoft's products. The fact that this "firmware" (really just a driver) exists only on Windows Update means that there is no guarantee that this hardware works properly with any other operating system. There are other OEM's products that are nearly identical, but lack these issues. Other OEM's are smart enough not to issue firmware updates on a monthly basis too, whether real, flashed firmware, or software-defined "firmware". If the hardware works, you don't touch it. This is the Linux way of thinking, which is why most drivers are just included in the kernel. If the hardware doesn't work, you get it right the next time – you don't keep poking it with a sharp stick. This is also why Torvalds commonly flips out over bad hardware code in the kernel source tree.</p>

      • skane2600

        26 May, 2018 - 12:48 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#278957"><em>In reply to Waethorn:</em></a></blockquote><p>I doubt it has much to do with whether drivers are in the kernel or out. Drivers either work properly or they don't regardless of where they are located. One can debate the virtues of a monolithic kernel vs micro-kernel but code quality isn't one of them.</p>

        • Waethorn

          26 May, 2018 - 3:34 pm

          <blockquote><a href="#278966"><em>In reply to skane2600:</em></a></blockquote><p>Well they certainly don't make monthly changes to the hardware driver portions of the Linux kernel. Meanwhile Microsoft wants to continually flash the hardware.</p>

    • warpdesign

      27 May, 2018 - 4:29 am

      <blockquote><a href="#278951"><em>In reply to ghostrider:</em></a></blockquote><p>This is so true. On other OEMs you don't see firmware updates pushed so often. I have a 1st generation Surface Book and there are still things that don't work properly, like the dGpu disappearing from the devices list, requiring a reboot to reappear.</p><p>And each time a new update is pushed you never know what can happen because once something is fixed, it can get broken again in the next update…</p><p>Is it so difficult to build a team to definitely fix these drivers/firmwares? It's not like there was hundreds of different configurations.</p><p><br></p><p>Surface hardware is probably the best hardware out there: it's too bad it gets spoiled by so bad drivers and firmware problems.</p><p>If I were in Panos team that would seriously upset me and I would do everything I can to fix it…</p>

  • lbastie

    26 May, 2018 - 11:11 am

    <p>I get 2.5 hours of battery life on my SP latest generation, after only 6 months. Do other people see the same issue or is it normal life?</p>

    • bluhbluh

      26 May, 2018 - 12:10 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#278955"><em>In reply to lbastie:</em></a></blockquote><p>Definitely not normal! I get roughly 8 hours of solid working time (i5 4GB version)</p>

    • nbplopes

      27 May, 2018 - 8:45 am

      <blockquote><a href="#278955"><em>In reply to lbastie:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Welcome yo the rabbits hole.</p><p><br></p><p>I think you should at least try to swap it once to see if it’s a problem of your unit or you are just using it beyond what the system is capable of.</p>

  • tbtalbot

    Premium Member
    26 May, 2018 - 11:36 am

    <p>My history w/ surface pro's</p><p>SP3 – worked great for a long time until I broke the screen. 1st year had 'hotbag' issues &amp; unreliable sleep mode</p><p>SP4 – daughter's. Completely reliable</p><p>SB – More powerful – 'clipboard' too large to be useful. Didn't like it as much.</p><p>SP (2017) – nice &amp; quieter. Have had some locking up issues.</p>

    • North of 49th

      Premium Member
      27 May, 2018 - 1:46 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#278956"><em>In reply to tbtalbot:</em></a></blockquote><p>I have to agree on the SP 2107. I have a fanless i5 and I am very happy with it. It has locked up a couple of times in the past, but a forced reboot fixes this. </p><p>As for the updates, I'm happy to get them. I also have an older ThinkPad and I am still getting updates as late as last week for the BIOS. That kind of support is one of the reasons why I pay more money and buy a ThinkPad in the first place.</p>

    • jwpear

      Premium Member
      27 May, 2018 - 8:08 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#278956"><em>In reply to tbtalbot:</em></a></blockquote><p>My SP3 (i7) was a little shaky after the Windows 10 upgrade. I was seriously worried that I had made a big mistake with the upgrade. The issues settled down after about three months. Have to say, it has been pretty solid since outside of getting very hot to the touch. It is starting to feel a bit sluggish, but I suppose that's to be somewhat expected from a mobile processor that's five years old. Then again, I am typing this on a 2012 MacBook Pro with a 3rd gen i7 and the machine still runs beautifully.</p><p><br></p><p>The 2017 SP looks interesting, but I'm holding out for an 8th gen i7. Or I may just jump over to the SB2 after seeing what Microsoft introduces this year.</p><p><br></p><p>I have the SP4 at the office. I love Windows Hello, cooler to the touch, and the slightly better battery life. That's where the joy ends. It has not been nearly as reliable as my SP3–driver issues, won't wake, and Windows update failures, including necessitating a reinstall of the OS just a few months ago.</p>

  • MacLiam

    Premium Member
    26 May, 2018 - 5:45 pm

    <p>Looks like these got pushed to my SP with Insider Build 17677 a couple of days ago. They are all dated 2 Nov 2017 in Device Manager, but they have 24 May 2018 migration dates in the Events tab.</p><p><br></p><p>To my astonishment, an inking problem involving character recognition that showed up when filling in crossword and sudoku puzzles is no longer a problem. Every rs5 build I had installed on any Surface (including the Pro) had this problem until today, but my other devices that I left in 1803 continued to work as intended. I see no reason why a thermal framework driver should have that effect, so maybe they fixed something else without bothering to mention it.</p><p><br></p><p>EDITED TO ADD: The character rec issue is also resolved on my Surface Laptop, which doesn't have any of the named drivers pushed to the Pro. When I tested 17677 for the problem on these machines moments after the update, character rec still didn't work. Today it does. Magic.</p>

  • DonaClueless

    27 May, 2018 - 3:59 am

    <p>"no, this time we really, really fixed it."</p>

  • cheetahdriver

    Premium Member
    29 May, 2018 - 9:48 am

    <p>Surface Pro4 was what moved my company to Thinkpad Yogas. Not only was the 4 the single most unreliable computer we had deployed (and I waited 6 months after getting it new for the problems to work themselves out), but the attempts to fix the problems on the SP4 kept breaking our SP3's. </p><p><br></p><p>Part of the problem in sales is the bad reviews from Consumer Reports, but a larger problem I feel is the folks who actually wrote the reviews (ie, the customers who were willing to pay the premium price for a Surface product who got hosed). </p><p><br></p><p>Never again for me. </p>

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