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Surface Book 3 13" - Throttling, poor thermal management, running hot - Microsoft Customer Service use gaslighting!

Anonymous
2021-12-02T22:55:50+00:00

Has anyone ever managed to get any joy out of Microsoft about the really poor thermal management and throttling with the Surface Book 3 13"?

I have had one of these replaced, the machine reimaged repeatedly, and the best Microsoft support have come up with is they think there may have been a problem with a camera driver, or other drivers, but there really isn't a problem and they haven't heard much in the way of complaints from customers.

This computer is really bad and continues to randomly throttle when in Teams or Zoom video calls. Connecting it to a Surface Dock and external monitors, while in a Teams meeting, and doing something else, like reading emails, sends it into meltdown randomly. It severely throttles and you cannot use the computer anymore.

I am caught in a never ending loop of really poor customer support with Microsoft who seem to pretend the problem isn't real. They seem to just want to throw never-ending replacement computers at me in the hope that I will shut up at some point.

Surface | Surface Book | Performance and maintenance

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  1. Anonymous
    2022-01-26T17:37:34+00:00

    I am not "lucky" that they replaced the machine - contractually, they are required to replace the machine.

    I expected them to refund the cost of the machine, and then send me on my way.

    Instead, they convinced me that this was a one off and not something that should be happening, has now been fixed in later built models, hence, they replaced instead. I could have demanded a refund up front, but listened to them - contractually, they no longer have to now issue a refund because time has elapsed.

    Like you said, the machine runs hot and is packed into a unit not fit for cooling. Often, light loads send this machine throttling away. I would have definitely considered this before I purchased the machine if Microsoft had drawn this to my attention.

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  2. Anonymous
    2022-01-26T16:44:36+00:00

    Just to update and share what has been happening....

    Microsoft have replaced my Surface Book 3, THREE times now - each and every single one of them has malfunctioned - they overheat, throttle, and just do not work. Forget running external 4k monitors using the Surface Dock.

    Having complained repeatedly, and let them convince me that this is just a one off and not something that is that common (bearing in mind that it is exceptionally common), allowing them to replace my device repeatedly, they will now not refund the purchase price because the time period to allow for a refund has elapsed.

    I really will never purchase another Surface product. Why am I not surprised that one of the world's richest companies does not give a monkeys about their customers? I feel like customer service used gaslighting and I have been conned.

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-12-03T15:59:36+00:00

    Hi Steven

    Good luck offering advice, and I do appreciate you trying.

    There is nothing "wrong" with my device. It's currently with Microsoft "Engineering" who are apparently going to try to solve the problem. I am not too sure how they will reduce the heat generated when relying on passive cooling other than by throttling the processor or automatically turning the machine off!

    The best solution would be to redesign this machine so that we have better heat dissipation.

    Here are some ideas from Microsoft: Teams is slow during video meetings on laptops docked to 4K/UHD monitors - Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Docs

    Basically, don't use your laptop with an external monitor if you want to use it for video conferencing. Saying that, mine will throttle while docked or not.

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  4. Anonymous
    2021-12-07T14:39:58+00:00

    Thanks for keeping us posted, Pete_123_4.

    We totally understand your concern. In this case, kindly contact our support via Contact Us Microsoft Support to seek options for your device and for further assistance. You can also contact them via phone, see Global Support Phone Numbers. For detailed instructions on how to contact our support, click here.

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  5. Anonymous
    2021-12-03T15:29:22+00:00

    Hello Pete_123_4,

    Thanks for reaching out to the Microsoft Community. We're sorry to know about this throttling issue on your device. We deeply apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you. We'll do our best to get this sorted out for you.

    If I may ask, is your device connected to a domain or an organization? May we also know what version of Windows you have? Does this issue only happen when you're using Teams app or built-in camera is in used? We'd also like to know what were the troubleshooting methods you did so far.

    In the meantime, please follow these methods and observe your device:

    1. Force a shut down and restart your Surface. It resets the hardware and clears all the cache and memory for your hardware.
    2. Run the Surface Diagnostic Toolkit and check for Windows Update. Ensure all pending updates are installed.
    3. Set the power slider at the battery icon on your device to Best Performance.
    4. Manually install drivers and firmware for Surface Check what is the current OS Build of your Windows version by typing winveron the search barnear the Windows logo. Go to Download driver and firmware for Surface**,**choose (your Surface model) then click Download.
      Choose the .msi file closest to your current OS Build and click Next.
      After downloading, run and install the .msi then Restart.
    5. Scan for virus, spyware, or other malware. Use Windows Security to update definitions and scan.
    6. Run the System File Checker in Windows (microsoft.com).

    Please don't hesitate to respond to this thread if there’s anything else that needs to be addressed. 

    Regards,

    StevenK

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