Surface Book susceptibility to problems in hot climates?

[GAYNOR CHURCHWARD]

Surface Book susceptibility to problems in hot climates

I recently took my new Surface Book (bought 2 months ago in UK) from temperate England to a country where the heat was up to 105 deg F (40 C) The cursor disappeared, the keyboard stuck on the letter R and repeated Rs until the computer was forcibly switched off. Prior to being switched off, the icons juddered and made pinging noises. Cursor only reappeared if I removed the screen, as the keyboard could not be used without a cursor. Also when charging it in tropical heat, the laptop became almost too hot to touch. I'm now back in England and it's working fine. Is this a known glitch with Surface Books that they do not tolerate hot climates?

 

[Chintan Gohel]

Re: Surface Book susceptibility to problems in hot climates

I recently took my new Surface Book (bought 2 months ago in UK) from temperate England to a country where the heat was up to 105 deg F (40 C) The cursor disappeared, the keyboard stuck on the letter R and repeated Rs until the computer was forcibly switched off. Prior to being switched off, the icons juddered and made pinging noises. Cursor only reappeared if I removed the screen, as the keyboard could not be used without a cursor. Also when charging it in tropical heat, the laptop became almost too hot to touch. I'm now back in England and it's working fine. Is this a known glitch with Surface Books that they do not tolerate hot climates?

How long have you had it? Do you still have the manual? They usually specify temperature ranges for the device in the product manual

 

[zerospace-net]

Re: Surface Book susceptibility to problems in hot climates

Chintan, the OP said they've owned the unit for 2 months.

That said, 105 F is ridiculous for expecting electronics to function normally. Seriously. That's hot. It gets that hot here where I live, but where I am, it is dry. Hot & humid can absolutely destroy a device like a Surface Book.

I don't know if this document applies specifically to the SB, but it generically denotes "Surface devices" and suggests a max of 40C with no greater than 85% humidity, so OP, you were operating your Surface Book at the absolute maximum end of the range -- I'm not surprised you had problems. I'd be concerned about potential damage to the components, though.

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee947225(v=surface.10).aspx?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396

 

[Chintan Gohel]

Re: Surface Book susceptibility to problems in hot climates

Chintan, the OP said they've owned the unit for 2 months.

That said, 105 F is ridiculous for expecting electronics to function normally. Seriously. That's hot. It gets that hot here where I live, but where I am, it is dry. Hot & humid can absolutely destroy a device like a Surface Book.

I don't know if this document applies specifically to the SB, but it generically denotes "Surface devices" and suggests a max of 40C with no greater than 85% humidity, so OP, you were operating your Surface Book at the absolute maximum end of the range -- I'm not surprised you had problems. I'd be concerned about potential damage to the components, though.

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee947225(v=surface.10).aspx?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396

It was late and I was so sleep -I guess my mind was already shutting down. Yes, you're right about the temperatures - good catch

 

[GAYNOR CHURCHWARD]

Re: Surface Book susceptibility to problems in hot climates

Thanks. Suppose it is common sense. I nearly expired in that heat too.

 

[chuckdaly]

Re: Surface Book susceptibility to problems in hot climates

I was recently using my surface book outdoors, while in the shade, on an 87F day and it got very warm doing nothing but browsing the web. The same happen with my phone if use any apps like Netflix.

 

[zerospace-net]

Re: Surface Book susceptibility to problems in hot climates

I was recently using my surface book outdoors, while in the shade, on an 87F day and it got very warm doing nothing but browsing the web. The same happen with my phone if use any apps like Netflix.

87F plus the heat generated by electronics crammed into a thin metal housing with fairly minimal cooling (because, you know, people whine about fan noise) and yeah, it's going to get very warm. My cell phone gets disgustingly hot when in use outside on a warm or hot day. Like almost burn-your-skin hot, and that's just from reading email. This is normal (though not necessarily good for the device itself). No one wants to listen to fans in their computers these days, so all manufacturers can do is use minimal fans, attempt liquid cooling (MS has done this with the 950 and 950xl phones), or use ever more inventive/aggressive heatsinks and engineering designs to dissipate heat faster. The problem is that dissipating heat via passive means when the ambient temperature is already high is... well.. there's nowhere for that heat to go and no real natural process to move it anyways (passive cooling uses basic physics to transfer heat via heatsinks and other fanless options like heatpipes). Without much active cooling (fans) and virtually nowhere for the excess heat to go, the device is going to get warm. Maybe even hot (like my phone).

My Surface Book is treated with extreme care -- I paid way too much for this thing to risk it to the 100+ Fahrenheit heat my location sees daily this time of year, even if it isn't humid.

 

[Chintan Gohel]

Re: Surface Book susceptibility to problems in hot climates

I was recently using my surface book outdoors, while in the shade, on an 87F day and it got very warm doing nothing but browsing the web. The same happen with my phone if use any apps like Netflix.

netflix is about streaming which means high data rates which means high bandwidth usage which means a lot of battery usage

 

[chuckdaly]

Re: Surface Book susceptibility to problems in hot climates

I wasn't surprised or complaining, just giving a real world example how the environmental heat and humidity will not allow electronics to properly maintain cool running temps.

 

[becosemsaida]

Just had to say something about this, but i'm feeling very angry.......

So here where i live you'll get frequently temperatures above 40?C so in this case we will not have any electronics running according to your ideas. Don't get me wrong this is not an attack, i just want to explain that all works IF you take care of your devices. Don't let them be in the sun for too long (pool/beach side especially) Don't let them sit in your car even if it is parked in the shadow (if you find one) and you will be ok. Yes i have a Surface (not book) and YES it has a fan for cooling down, and NO i don't even hear it running unless i'm outside or playing games....... " Life " will be shorter on all my devices i know that for sure and i also know that heat on the devices will take things beyond limits, still have to find a device that lets me down...... I'm a power user so i know how things work (or not) .

 

[Chintan Gohel]

Just had to say something about this, but i'm feeling very angry.......

So here where i live you'll get frequently temperatures above 40?C so in this case we will not have any electronics running according to your ideas. Don't get me wrong this is not an attack, i just want to explain that all works IF you take care of your devices. Don't let them be in the sun for too long (pool/beach side especially) Don't let them sit in your car even if it is parked in the shadow (if you find one) and you will be ok. Yes i have a Surface (not book) and YES it has a fan for cooling down, and NO i don't even hear it running unless i'm outside or playing games....... " Life " will be shorter on all my devices i know that for sure and i also know that heat on the devices will take things beyond limits, still have to find a device that lets me down...... I'm a power user so i know how things work (or not) .

very true- my old hp laptop lasted for a few years (nearly 7) before it died completely - And I used to stay along the coast where temperatures were as high as 36C and humidity at 80-95%. I just made sure to use it in a cool area, with plenty of air circulation

One thing I would suggest laptop users do is annual dedusting of the internal components

 

[chuckdaly]

No one uses their laptop in 40C heat. A house or building will knock off a minimum of 10 degrees even without air conditioning. Depending on how hydrated one is, a laptop will outlast the user in 40C heat. When the body temp reaches 41C, its considered heat stroke.