Recently many Surface Pro 3 tablets featuring Intel’s Core i7 processor started experiencing overheating issues that caused the fan to kick louder and a thermometer to appear on the display. This rapidly turned out to be a bigger problem, and this week Microsoft is officially acknowledging that indeed there is an issue with a certain amount of Surface tablets running the Core i7 CPU.
I contacted Microsoft and here is the statement the company has provided to Pureinfotech on this incident:
“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.
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.”
In reality what it seems to be happening is that there is some sort of issue that causes to trigger a temperature gauge icon to a small number of users running the Core i7 version of Surface Pro 3. However the issue still related to heat, Microsoft has packed a quite powerful processor in such small form factor device that, of course, it’s going to cause serious fan spinning or auto shut down when necessary to keep things cool. So don’t be surprise if things gets hot with the Core i7 model.
Microsoft has yet to specify when a fix will be released, but as we are getting closer to the September Patch Tuesday, it’s possible that users will get a Surface firmware update in a couple of weeks.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].