Surface Pro 3 i7 OVERHEATING, Fix coming 'soon'

[AMD Lover]

So the reports flying around is that the 12" version of the Surface Pro 3 has 'MAJOR' overheating problems after continuous use and doesn't cool down quickly. Theres a forum thread on WPCental with over 70 posts talking about the issue they have had. One person "Jarem" says

 "... the back of the unit becomes uncomfortably hot and its fan spins very loudly on idle and while performing minor tasks such as web browsing (even sites without flash or heavy ad use)."

 

A different person claims that when he received his unit he went to go watch a YouTube video in almost immediately he had a 'overheating icon' (Pic Below) on the screen. This phenomenon is with a select group of units so I'm guessing that the thermal paste or the fans are defective.

 

 

 

 

UPDATE: So Microsoft supposedly has a fix for this issue coming 'soon' however Microsoft has said to be ONLY addressing the problem with the 'Thermometer Gauge' showing too soon. Sounds to me like they don't want to admit theres a physical flaw with the unit or that they made a major software mistake. In a statement Microsoft said 

"Our investigation reveals that the system is triggering this event sooner than it should for some people, only when the device restarts, and this does not occur when the device is booted and running. We have an update that will address this that will be ready for our customers as soon as possible."

 

 

 

 

Microsoft also said that they expect the tablet to get 'slightly' hotter than the other models but I would say this is a little more than 'slightly'.

 

 

 

 

 

Sources: WPCentral

 

• Original Overheating Info: http://www.wpcentral.com/many-surface-pro-3-intel-i7-owners-report-their-tablet-overheating
• Updated Article (Firmware Fix): http://www.wpcentral.com/microsoft-issue-update-soon-fix-surface-pro-3-intel-i7-heating-problems

 

 

 

 

Overheating Emblem:

 

 

 

 

Surface Pro 3 Spec Sheet:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest Kloaked]

Intel and a possible TIM issue?

 

Why I never would have guessed.

 

 

But seriously, I would have expected the heat dissipation to be covered on such an expensive unit.

[flibberdipper]

That bites.

[nj4ck]

I smell the burnt smell of a major recall once these things start killing themselves or catching fire

[JAKEBAB]

I saw this the other day Microsoft really should replace the units (if they are defective) they don't need bad press like this on an already underselling product.

[LukaP]

damnit MS, you had one job, one tablet, and you fail at it -.-

[AMD Lover]

I saw this the other day Microsoft really should replace the units (if they are defective) they don't need bad press like this on an already underselling product.

 

 

Intel and a possible TIM issue?

 

Why I never would have guessed.

 

 

But seriously, I would have expected the heat dissipation to be covered on such an expensive unit.

 

Yeah all the errors should have been ironed out before they released it and honestly this isnt a firmware issue, even it was and it was causing the unit to run hotter it NEEDS to have enough fan headroom built in to compensate and I think they need to replace the faulty units like @JAKEBAB said...

[mr moose]

I wonder if Bill gates has issues with his?

[Commander Llama]

Between this and the number and variety of problems showing up on r/ Microsoft Surface, it's getting a little harder to side with a SP3 for my laptop.  I wasn't going to go with the i7 anyway, the difference is so marginal between i5 and i7 in the Haswell U series.  Still, it is troubling.  Might just go with a Dell XPS 15 or something for the bigger keyboard.

 

Fuck I just wish the Surface Pro series would stop cockteasing me with the high-powered all in one ultralight sci-fi datapad I've been salivating over since... Mass Effect 1.

[mr moose]

Yeah all the errors should have been ironed out before they released it and honestly this isnt a firmware issue, even it was and it was causing the unit to run hotter it NEEDS to have enough fan headroom built in to compensate and I think they need to replace the faulty units like @JAKEBAB said...

how do we know there isn't enough headroom built into the cooling system?

 

EDIT: it could also just be a case of trying to stick an I7 into small case, apparently MSI are having similar issues (local reseller stopped ordering them because they were coming back).  And we all know about the macbook thing.

[AMD Lover]

how do we know there isn't enough headroom built into the cooling system?

If the systems arent able to keep up with lets say even a TDP 15-20w over the rated limit (~15w) that in my opinion is not enough headroom. Yes if the fan ramped up really loud I would be a little annoyed but it should keep it cool. In this case the fan is trying its hardest and it cant get close to keeping up. You can miss-mount a CPU block and if you haven't OC'd the fan may run a little louder but it can still keep up.

[Xorbot]

Actually, I never knew that AMD chips were in the Surface Pro 3.

[AMD Lover]

Actually, I never knew that AMD chips were in the Surface Pro 3.

Theres not, there intel. The Surface RT had Nvidia chips and SP2 had Intels

[Xorbot]

Theres not, there intel. The Surface RT had Nvidia chips and SP2 had Intels

 

It's a heat joke,

[LAwLz]

In before <insert name of a certain forum member> explains how this is not Microsoft's fault but rather the customer using their device the wrong way, or points out how other manufacturers has the same issue so it's not a big deal. Or maybe it's all Intel's fault!

 

 

Do we have any stats on how many people are affected? If it's everyone then it's obviously a design flaw. If it's just a few then it's probably defect products. Since Microsoft is going to push out a "fix" to everyone it sounds like it's pretty widespread.

Reminds me of when Apple "fixed" the reception issue on the iPhone 4 by simply releasing an updated that changed the number of bars being displayed (didn't do anything to the actual reception though).

 

 

 

It's a heat joke,

You should take it easy with those. You don't want to start a flame war.

[Blackterror25]

Microsoft having issue's with the products overheating? Well that's a first.
 

[Panda689]

I wanted to love this thing so bad, guess I'm sticking with my 2009 MBP.

[AMD Lover]

Microsoft having issue's with the products overheating? Well that's a first.

 

<OP Picture Above>

Well they fixed that problem and if you bought a aftermarket fan for those as soon as you bought one and kept it dusted it was fine. People were just sticking them in entertainment centers and not blowing them out with compressed air (Microsoft says not to do this I think its necessary)

[mr moose]

Well they fixed that problem and if you bought a aftermarket fan for those as soon as you bought one and kept it dusted it was fine. People were just sticking them in entertainment centers and not blowing them out with compressed air (Microsoft says not to do this I think its necessary)

 

I had a friend who fixed them, all he did was use a higher quality thermal compound and make sure the heat sink was attached properly. It appears it was a manufacturing process that caused those issues not the fan size.   I wouldn't be at all surprised if it is the same with the surface, or a dodgy cooler.   I just can't believe an engineer (of any company) would knowingly use an undersized cooler.

[geogga]

Oh, so burning hot to the touch and a loud ass fan is "too soon"

[GoodBytes]

From what I read, the issue is a Windows process being stuck at eating the CPU.

Killing it, solves the problem.

 

Also the device isn't too hot. the device shows the sign, but the system is just warm.

 

The Surface Pro 3 (1 and 2 as well), processor will throttle if it heating too much. As this seams to be a recent problem, not pointed out by reviewers who pushed the system to its max for benchmarks and such, it's probably has to do with a bg in the latest firmware.

[1HyperCube1]

Looks like I have one of the defective units. (I have the 500GB i7) doesn't give me any 'overheating' icon, however the back gets 'burning' hot and unable to touch when watching YouTube for about 10 minutes or so! Fan ramps up so loud!

 

The only things that I have changed about the unit is to change over to upgrade to Windows 10. And that's all.

 

Can someone tell me if it is all the i7 units that are overheating, or could I just have a defective one. If so I might just take mine over to where I purchased it to get it replaced.

[Bouzoo]

47xx i7's can get really hot when doing stupid stuff like watching Youtube videos, it is not exclusive to MS. 

[Sidiox]

Eh I have an SP3 and doing fine. It doesn't get hot or over heats when doing normal stuff, only under load it gets hot fast. If I run something with 50% cpu usages for a few minutes the fan starts to ramp up but that is to be expected.