14 DAY TRIAL // Several Surface Pro 3 tablet buyers complained on Microsoft’s Community forums that their devices were getting extremely hot in normal conditions, such as browsing the web or watching YouTube videos, but the Redmond-based tech giant has remained completely tight-lipped until now.
And even though so many owners confirmed the issues, the company now says in a statement that only a “very small number” of tablets are affected by a problem that isn’t directly related to overheating.
Instead, the thermometer symbol that some Surface Pro 3 users are seeing is incorrectly displayed on the screen, Microsoft says, mostly due to an error that makes the operating system trigger this even sooner than it should.
“The Surface Team is aware of a very small number of Surface Pro 3 Intel Core i7 devices that are temporarily restarting and incorrectly showing a ‘Thermometer Gauge’ icon while attempting to boot up. 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 explains in a statement sent to us this morning.
At this point, it appears that the i7 version of the Surface Pro 3 tablet is the only one affected by the problem, but some users who posted on the company’s Community forums also confirmed similar issues on the i3 and i5 models.
Microsoft however recommends everyone experiencing problems with the Surface Pro 3 to contact the company’s support teams, which would in most cases lead to replacing the tablet with a new one.
“The i7 version of Surface Pro 3 is a first-of-its-kind tablet delivering i7 processing power in a thin and light package. As such, the increased power calls for the fan to spin more regularly and at higher speeds – and for the unit to run slightly warmer. If customers have any questions or concerns, they should contact Microsoft Support,” the company notes.
A fix is already in the works right now, and although no timing has been provided, expect the company to introduce it sometime next month, most likely around the Update Tuesday rollout taking place on September 9.
In the meantime, if your Surface Pro 3 is suffering from overheating and excessive fan noise, a workaround could help you deal with it until a fully working patch is released.