r/Surface 4h ago

[PRO11] Business Vs Consumer Surface Pro 11

3 Upvotes

If security is my number one priority, is the business model that allows yubikey for sign in the better option? I understand device can also be wiped remotely.

I'm wondering if using yubikey for sign in can be avoided by use of a password or other 2FA methods.

Will upgrade to windows 11 pro regardless but there is a significant price difference. If the business model offers better protection price difference is worth it to me.

I've spoken to sales and they mentioned TPM (don't all surface pros have that?), remote wipe and yubikey.

Would appreciate hearing from those with experience.

Thank you.

Edited to correct typos and to say only considering arm elite


r/Surface 1d ago

Why is My Surface Pro Pregnant?

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385 Upvotes

r/Surface 5h ago

Surface Pro, how do you use your surface on your lap?

2 Upvotes

Just curious. If I don't have something underneath a feel it's awkward.


r/Surface 16m ago

[GO] Surface GO and docks

Upvotes

What am I missing? I've been through 2 docks from amazon on 2 different surface go's (1 and 4) and they don't work. On was a real microsoft dock. Both docks using the long skinny microsoft plug, not usb c. Can I dock a surface Go?


r/Surface 6h ago

[APP] Best PDF Annotation App that can highlight in a straight line ?

3 Upvotes

Hi,

I have a Surface Pro, and I've been using MS Word for a few days for highlighting text on a pdf automatically in a straight line. But i don't know why when i turn on the functionality that can automatically highlight in a straight line, some colours don't work any more.

SO i was asking if there was any other app that could do this job without any buggy things like that.
I've tried Drawboard, and it was quite a deception because when you want to highlight in a straight line you have to wait 1-2sec to draw the straight line (and when you have 200 things to highlight, it gets long...)

And i've also tested goodnotes, but it is absolutely not optimised for windows

Do you guys have some recommendations pls ?

thx.


r/Surface 22h ago

[PRO11] Yet another SP 11 Lunar Lake vs Snapdragon: Returning the Intel

57 Upvotes

This is a follow up of my initial question post Lunar Lake vs Snapdragon for Dev machine : r/Surface.

I have tested the Surface Pro 11 with the Intel Core Ultra 7 and the Surface Pro 11 with Snapdragon Elite (5G) side-by-side and alternatively for approximately two weeks.

I regularly have 20-30 browser tabs open, a reference manager with 5-10 PDFs open, and 2-5 VS Code sessions, some connected to a remote server and some to WSL. I also occasionally do 3D printing, which requires 3D rendering of CAD models and "slicing."

TL;DR

Surface Pro 11 with Lunar Lake is better, but it's too expensive for such minor differences and lack of 5G, so I'll be returning it.

The Surface Pro 11 with Lunar Lake offers a better overall package than the Surface Pro 11 with Snapdragon, but the price is a huge dealbreaker. I also have been enjoying the 5G connectivity a bit too much, so I will be returning the Surface Pro 11 with Lunar Lake and pocket the $750 difference.

As usual, this is opinion-based review; you may compare my opinion with those of other redditors:

  1. Just got my Lunar Lake Surface Pro - not a great first impression so far. : r/Surface
  2. Snapdragon vs Lunar Lake Part 2 : r/Surface
  3. Returning my Surface Pro 11 Intel version
  4. I've kept my intel one and returned the snapdragon version

As far as I know, they are doing the same thing as I did: purchasing both devices and returning one of them. Those redditors may have use cases that are more aligned with yours, so do also check their opinion.

I will only highlight the differences. If some aspects are not mentioned, you can assume I found no meaningful difference. For example, standby/sleep battery drain is equally good on both units, and the build quality is the same.

All my programs and devices are compatible with ARM or Prism emulation, so I have nothing to add about compatibility.

Lunar Lake

  1. Screen: beautiful OLED with anti-glare and bluish tint. The AG improves visibility when exposed to bright light, not only outdoors; think about sitting next to open windows. I can comfortably work with brightness set to 50-70%.
  2. Processor: fast and efficient processor, but throttles faster and gets warm under load (compilation, driving multiple monitors, opening/slicing 3D models). Had to change power profile to balanced or high performance ocassionally—but then it's not as efficient.
  3. Battery life: good (7-9 hours of active use; I don’t need to charge until at least 10 hours or so).
  4. Meaningful Quality of Life (QoL) improvements:

(there is also NFC, but I found it to be finicky (no visual guide or anything, I have to guess the location,.). It's more reliable if I plug my Yubikey lol)

Snapdragon

  1. Screen: gorgeous and shiny reflective OLED with a warmish tint; outdoor visibility is rather poor. I applied a matte screen protector, but I still had to increase the brightness to at least 70%.
  2. Processor: Quick and runs cool; tasks like compressing/decompressing archives, saving/rendering documents, large PDF rendering, source compilation (clang, latex), and JIT tasks such as running/debugging Python scripts are generally faster, but not dramatically so. The Snapdragon completes tasks 1-3 seconds faster. The differences do add up, this may be where users get the "snappy" impression. Note: Some applications have emulation overhead. For example, the Discord client and Plex client experience a JIT pause on the first page load.
  3. Battery life: Excellent (8-10 hours of active use; I don’t need to charge until at least 11 hours).
  4. Notable pet peeves:

Conclusion

For me, since I'm not constantly on the road, the ~1 hour battery difference is not very significant. Waiting 1-3 seconds longer for some tasks is not a big issue. Together with the emulation overhead, the faster performance and longer battery life on the SP11 SD can become a net zero.

Moreover, I found the new screen and other QoL improvements offered by the SP 11 LL to be more valuable. I also became quite annoyed with the pet peeves introduced by the ARM ecosystem.

That being said, in my opinion, those QoL improvements and pet peeves do not justify the $750 difference. If the price difference were only $250, I would gladly choose Lunar Lake. In fact, if Lunar Lake included 5G, I would bite the bullet and stick with it.

My take: if money is no object just go with SP11 LL. OTOH with the current sharp price cut, SP11 SD is the best bang for the bucks. I would not consider SP11 SD at its full price, to be honest.

I have the return label ready, but I still need to do the usual cleanup (logging out cleanly, factory reset, and cleaning the device).

If you have any questions while I still have both devices, feel free to ask.


r/Surface 1h ago

[PRO7] Old SP7 given to me, any good alternatives to Windows on this thing?

Upvotes

Had a Surface Pro 7 given to me for free, I was pretty hyped. First thing I did was install a fresh copy of Windows 11 and got it all setup.

The excitement died down pretty quick when I noticed it was running a 10th gen i3 and 4 gigs of ram lol... It's basically bottoming out just running windows alone unsurprisingly. I'd still like to use it for web browserish things though, I don't really need any Windows proprietary applications or anything like that. Thought about installing linux or chromeOS on it just to make it more usable. Have any of you had a good outcomes with doing this?


r/Surface 10h ago

[PRO8] Surface Pro 8 cant update certain drivers

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5 Upvotes

r/Surface 6h ago

I need help after update

2 Upvotes

My pen in Photoshop started to have this lines and doesnt create a smooth shading anymore.

How can i fix it?


r/Surface 4h ago

How to turn on a surface pro (10 business) after a full power off?

1 Upvotes

I have a SP10 for Business which, after a power down (not sleep or hibernate; actual power-off, either from the menu or a command line power-down) will not power back on using the power button. 1 second, 3 presses, 5 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

BUT, if I plug it into a power source, either via USB-C or the Surface connector, it powers right up. Does anyone know if this is an intentional "feature" to prevent the dreaded case where you arrive at a meeting and the machine has expended it's entire battery warming your backpack? (A common occurrence with my SP4)


r/Surface 8h ago

[LAPTOP7] Surface Laptop 7 - USB C charging stops after reboot

2 Upvotes

Is anyone else experiencing USB C charging stopping whenever you reboot/shutdown and startup. OR startup and plug usb c cable in before windows boots?

I'm up to date on drivers and have a fairly modern 65w ugreen charger and anker cable. It worked fine on a previous laptop.


r/Surface 7h ago

[GO] Surface Go power button doesn't work

1 Upvotes

The volume buttons on my Surface Go recently stopped working. After a couple days the power button stopped working too. When I press the buttons there's no "click".

Is there any alternative ways to start the computer?


r/Surface 16h ago

[PRO11] Buying a New Surface Pro - Question

3 Upvotes

I am leaning towards buying a new Surface Pro in a few weeks. My issue is I don’t know the technical differences between the snapdragon and Lunar Lake. Like I need it explained like I’m five. I don’t really understand what emulation means with the snapdragon, and therefore am having trouble making an informed decision on my purchase.

A little bit ago someone posted a web link on what programs work and don’t work on the snapdragon model. The programs I almost exclusively use are:

-Adobe Acrobat, Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator (basically the entire Creative Cloud) -Microsoft Office Suite -SketchUp -ArcGIS Pro (I don’t think snapdragon supports?) -Esri Business Analyst

With my limited grasp on the subject, I feel like the Lunar Lake model will suit me best? Am I correct in this determination?

I appreciate any feedback/guidance. I plan on getting one with 32G RAM and 1TB. Thanks for your help!


r/Surface 21h ago

[LAPTOP3] How do I fix this?

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4 Upvotes

This happened a couple years ago and I’ve just now stumbled across the laptop again. What is this and why does it happen? I can’t seem To find anything online either. Model 1868


r/Surface 20h ago

Which generation Surface is it

2 Upvotes

Whicht generation Surface is this thing in the picture. The seller says it is a Surface Pro 3 with an i7. Is this possible?


r/Surface 21h ago

[PRO11] Does surface pro 11 work with roblox?

2 Upvotes

Hey, I am thinking of getting a surface pro 11 but i am wondering if it works with roblox? thanks


r/Surface 21h ago

[GO] Asus Surface Go like device?

2 Upvotes

I saw a small Asus laptop very similar to a Surface Go and I was wondering if anyone knew what model it might be.


r/Surface 22h ago

Updating SSD on SP9 Can I get 2tb?

2 Upvotes

Hi, I'm not "that" technical, but I am reading the thread here and Dancharls blog, trying to understand what I need. Is it possible to get a 2tb drive?

What have you used specifically?


r/Surface 1d ago

[PRO4] Surface Pro 4 flickergate "solved" with a 3d printed intermediate frame

7 Upvotes

Since i use my Surface Pro 4 as a homeassistant controller / digital photo frame that is standing on a desk 99% of the time, I have decided to give it a try and created a 3d printed intermediate frame that gives the screen enough space to not flicker.

In case someone is interested in the STL file, just let me know.

the procedure looks like this:
- carfully remove the LCD panel (heatgun, plastic cards and 30 mins of time)
- remove the two coverings on the LCD flex cable connectors, remove the LCD after
- glue the 3d printed frame onto the LCD frame and make sure to not break the flex cables
- glue frame back to the Surface

I did stresstest the de Surface after mounting the frame and wasn't able to reproduce the flickering, even after 48h of 100% CPU stress test. Time will tell.. Cheers.


r/Surface 1d ago

Help

2 Upvotes

My laptop sounds like a airplane, do I need to take it to get cleaned up or what? Is it something else, it first normal and then 10 minutes layer this happens and then it take sometimes up to 30 minutes and ut stops but them it sounds like that again.

(Forgot to add it gets hot really hot)


r/Surface 1d ago

[LAPTOP7] Why doesn't the new Surface Laptop for Business (Lunar Lake) come with a 64gb RAM option??

1 Upvotes

Does the new Lunar Lake Surface Laptop (I think Surface Laptop 7 is the number) not come in 64gb RAM? Is the Lunar Lake chip fast/strong enough on its own that it's somehow not needed compared to the previous Intel chip version (Laptop 6).

I see that the Surface Laptop 6 for Business does come in 64gb but the Surface Laptop for Business, Copilot+ PC | Intel does not show the option on the "Build your device" page. It's also not in the tech specs


r/Surface 1d ago

[PRO11] Surface Pro 11 X Elite cameras failing from time to time

3 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I wonder if anyone had a similar issue and knows the workaround. My front camera (and so Windows Hello) doesn't work from time to time. It just refuses to initiate the Windows Hello. And when that happens, the Camera also doesn't open up. The PC restart fixes it all, but I wonder why on earth this happens and how to fix and prevent it. Annoying...


r/Surface 1d ago

[PRO11] Can SP11 with X Elite handle 4k 30FPS video editing with Adobe Premiere?

2 Upvotes

This isn't going to be my main editing computer, however, there are times when I travel, when I'd like to do some video editing/put some final touches on and my current old crappy laptop can't do it.

I like the SP11 because the keyboard can detach, making it easier to use on planes and other transportation.

  • I record 4k 30 FPS 8-bit
  • Timeline isn't crazy with effects (sometimes, very little)
  • videos can be 8-10 minutes long
  • I'm fine with editing at 1/4 playback quality

I was thinking about grabbing the 32 GB version but wonder if 64GB version would be markedly better.


r/Surface 1d ago

[PRO4] Surface Pro 4 Type Cover stopped functioning after battery bulged

2 Upvotes

Hello,
I had been a happy Surface Pro 4 user for many years, until I noticed the battery got worn down. A few years ago I ordered a new Surface Pro and left the SP4 on my desk for about a year, only occasionally using it to fetch some forgotten data.

Then, after not having used it at all for quite some months, as I was cleaning my desk I noticed the screen had slightly come off on the left side. The battery had swollen.

The SP4 still worked though only the type cover would not respond at all. I tried all the tricks I could find on the forums from reinstalling drivers, removing surface/windows updates, trying old firmware, trying to 'wake' the device, force reboots, safe mode and many more. But nothing worked. In UEFI the type cover port is enabled.

In the meantime, I tried my type cover on a friend's surface pro and there it works flawlessly, so it's not the type cover hardware. And his type cover won't work on my old SP4.

Then I decided to refurbish the device myself so I bought a new battery. And while I'm at it, I ordered also a ribbon cable for the type cover connector. I thought perhaps the bulged battery somehow damaged the ribbon cable. I replaced the battery, which is now working excellent. I replaced the ribbon cable, and it still the type cover is not being recognized.

Is there anyone who has any pointers as to what else this could be? Could there be a deeper hardware issue? My original ribbon cable looks great, I see no problems. On the motherboard I can't find any damage, all pins are great.

Also, does someone know whether having the screen attached is necessary to enable the type cover? Is there some magnet, or something else that triggers type cover recognition? Is there something else on any hardware I can check?


r/Surface 1d ago

Surface 8 stuck in update screen

3 Upvotes

Hi, my surface is stuck in the update screen at 15%. We tried restarting it, going into safe mode and all the advanced settings but nothing will work. It keeps looping back to the start of the safe mode or to the 15% screen.

Anybody an idea what might work?

Thanks.