Microsoft owns up to issues with the Surface Book and Pro 4

And one big issue remains for Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 owners: erratic power management. Some users are reporting that the devices simply don't go to sleep properly when you close their lids or put them into standby. Instead, they continue to drain power, which could be a nasty surprise if you don't bring your charger along. That's a particularly surprising issue for flagship devices in 2015 — it's something that's mostly been fixed by laptop makers over the past decade. Making things even worse, a Surface engineering manager noted earlier this month that the issue might not be fixed until 2016. 

"We are focused on delivering a great experience to every Surface customer," a Microsoft spokesperson told Engadget. "We know a small set of Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 customers are experiencing issues and addressing that is a top priority for us. We have dedicated engineering teams working to get updates and fixes out as quickly as possible and we will continue to use our Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 support forums to share new information directly with our customers as it becomes available." 

Microsoft also issued a brief apology last Friday for the "less than perfect" Surface experience, which basically urged users to keep updating their devices. There was no mention of the ongoing power issues. 
It's not unusual for brand new hardware to exhibit some growing pains, particularly unique devices like the Surface Book. But in those situations, being completely transparent with customers is usually the best response. It's been nearly two months since the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 have been released, so it's also surprising that they're still exhibiting debilitating power issues. 

Microsoft reps tell us that they typically don't offer up timing expectations when it comes to fixes, as the Surface engineering manager (identified only as "Joe") did. Every update requires extensive testing to make sure they don't cause new issues, so it's not simply a matter of writing up a fix and deploying it. Still, at least "Joe" actually said something about the power issues. Microsoft has yet to acknowledge it otherwise. 

It's not as if Microsoft is ignoring the Surface issues, though. It's constantly tracking all of the issues being reported; some just take longer to fix than others, reps say. The company has also sped up the timing of Windows Updates so they can be deployed as soon as they're ready, rather than just a few times a month. 

Mostly, it seems that most of the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 issues caught Microsoft by surprise. While the devices went through plenty of internal testing, most of the problems only became apparent when they reached consumers. That may be a sign that Microsoft should open up its testing process a bit to a wider audience, before releasing new hardware. The company doesn't have plans to do that yet, reps say, but that'll ultimately be up to its engineers. 

So where do things stand now? Microsoft is updating its Surface devices with all of the currently available fixes at the factory. If you've already got one, be sure to install all of the updates that get released. The company isn't offering any special customer support path for Surface issues, but I hear the replacement process is fairly painless if you're near a Microsoft store. Otherwise, contact Microsoft support and hope for the best. In some cases, they can send you a replacement before receiving your faulty device. 

It's always tough to judge just how extensive product issues are based on forum complaints. Consumers having a negative experience with new products are generally louder than the rest. But when those issues are being reported consistently, it's worth noting. We've also seen a major issue with our pre-production: One Surface Book crashed after running a 3D benchmark and refused to boot. We initially chalked that up to just being early hardware, but some users are reporting similar booting issues. 

One Surface Book owner I know -- who was particularly eager to get one -- had to replace their device three times at a Microsoft store. After getting tired of the issues, he just got aDell XPS 13 instead.

Microsoft launches survey for its insiders

If you’re one of the millions of insiders who participated in the development of Windows 10 for PCs or mobile device, you now have the chance to win Microsoft’s new Surface Book laptop by completing a 10-minute survey. 

In an email sent today, the Windows Insider team explains that it’s looking into ways to improve the testing program, so it wants the opinions of those who have already brought their contribution to products such as Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile for a closer look at methods to do that. 

“Your feedback is most powerful when we can triangulate it across the Feedback App, your bug reports and error logs—and especially when we can understand a bit more about you as a person, your motivations in taking part in the Insider Program, and what you think about our progress to date. To deepen this understanding, we'd like to invite you to take a short survey to help us improve the Insider Program for you,” the email sent today reads. 

How to enter the Surface Book sweepstake 

But undoubtedly the most appealing part of this survey is the possibility of winning a Surface Book laptop with 256 GB of storage space and Intel Core i5 CPU if you answer all questions. 

So basically, all you need to do is to start the survey here and use your Microsoft account (the one you used for the Windows Insider program!) to provide your answers. 

“We truly value hearing from each and every Insider. As a small token of our appreciation for helping us improve, if you complete the survey and choose to include your Microsoft email address (MSA), you'll automatically be entered into a sweepstakes to win a free Microsoft Surface Book!” Redmond says. 

The survey will be there until December 22, so you have just one week to enter the contest. Keep in mind that there are more than 6 million insiders right now, so chances to win the Surface Book aren’t really huge. You must be at least 18 years old to be eligible for the sweepstake.

Microsoft acknowledges Surface Book, Surface 4 Pro problems, has no timetable for fixes

When Microsoft launched the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4, the company won accolades from many users. The new laptop-style device was hailed as one of the best pieces of hardware you could buy, while the Surface 4 Pro continued to refine and improve on Redmond’s earlier Surface devices. While a few sites reported issues with early hardware, that’s fairly typical across review (Google’s Pixel C tablet is another such example). For the past few weeks, reports have been coming in that the device doesn’t sleep properly, and continues draining power at nearly the full-use rate. 

According to Microsoft’s support staff (a person identified only as “Joe”), the problem is that the CPU isn’t dropping into its full sleep state, and Microsoft knew about the problem from day one. He writes, “We couldn’t do it at RTM for a variety of reasons, power management is a very hard computer science problem to solve especially with new silicon. Currently it is not in the deepest ‘sleep’ that it can be so there are wake events that would not otherwise wake it. We will have an update for this issue sometime soon in the new year.” 


According to Microsoft, the solution is to disable Connected Standby by manually setting the chip to “Hibernate” from within Windows 10’s power management options. He also notes that users are advised not to leave any streaming browser windows open, as this will prevent the system from sleeping the CPU. 

Based on the problems people are having, it doesn’t sound like the CPU is sleeping very much at all — all in the name of giving people email five seconds faster than they’d otherwise have it, but at the cost of drastically reduced battery life. It’s baffling that Microsoft would ship a system with a problem this severe — battery life is one of the most important metrics for a system these days. There is no special path for Surface Pro 4 / Surface Book users to contact the company, so hopefully you can either wait until January or return your device if you’re unhappy with the product as it currently exists. Microsoft has pledged to continue updating the platform until it resolves the outstanding issues. 

Engadget reports that some users have had issues with multiple Surface Book / Surface 4 Pro devices, leading them to switch to other platforms. If you’ve got one of the new devices, what’s been your experience thus far?

Windows Hello with the Surface Type Cover Fingerprint Reader (video)

Windows Hello is a collection of biometric authentication technologies for Windows 10, which includes facial recognition, iris scanning, and even fingerprint reading. While the most obvious use for this technology is for convenient logins that save wear and tear on your fragile first world fingers, little-known fact is Windows Hello is designed to be used for any function that requires authentication, such as purchasing Store goods. 

We’ve already seen Windows Hello in action using an iris scanner, but did you know you can use Windows Hello via the Type Cover with Fingerprint Reader? This neat keyboard is only available in black and features a fingerprint reader next to the trackpad. 

surfacetypecoverfingerprint Windows Hello with the Surface Type Cover Fingerprint Reader (video) 
To set up Windows Hello on Windows 10 with devices such as the fingerprint reading Type Cover for the Surface Pro 3 and Surface Pro 4, first make sure the Type Cover is plugged into your Surface Pro device and that all firmware for your device is up to date. Then: 

Head into Settings. 
Tap on Accounts. 
Tap on Sign-in options 
Set up a PIN number if you haven’t already 
And tap the setup button 
Then simply follow the instructions, pressing and lifting your desired finger against the scanner beneath the keyboard several times until it’s done. If you want Windows Hello to acknowledge more than one finger, tap on “Add Another” and run the procedure again for as many fingers as you want. 

You can also use Windows Hello for other functions that require you to verify your identity, such as purchasing songs through the Windows Store. It’s important to note that Windows Hello’s functionality will be expanded in the future, enabling richer and more secure computing experiences for Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile users.