Serious audio problem with the Surface Book

[stephanejap]

When i was on 10586 i didnt have this issue at all...i recently went back to 14393.5 and now it came back almost every other time i restart the computer. Very annoying it seems almost no one has upvoted me on feedback hub (except 1) and havent heard of this issue anywhere. I tweeted directly to Dona Sakar hopefully she responds with some kind of answer.

Please please if you have this issue post it here, post it in the feedback hub, tweet it! I can't be one of the only ones. This is microsoft hardware on a final version of RS1 (Oobviuosly fixes to come) but it seems pretty major to have this type of issue this late in the game. I would expect it on something like 14291 or smething like that.

I also don't want to believe that we are the only ones with this issue. I have found a couple of other users reporting it on the feedback hub. I just up-voted all of them as well. Hope that attracts the appropriate attention...

 

[Lumious]

I also don't want to believe that we are the only ones with this issue. I have found a couple of other users reporting it on the feedback hub. I just up-voted all of them as well. Hope that attracts the appropriate attention...

so its the same exact problem that i am describing? Surface Book boots up, no sound anywhere and when you try to play a youtube video or open an app with sound it either freezes, crashes, or fails to load (i.e. does nothing)?

Then i get notification in the action center that says "Having problems with audio? Try the audio trouble shooter" or something like that. I have tried the troubleshoot and it does nothing it just keeps spinning and doesnt find anything.

 

[marksasongko]

I am also experiencing this problem with the anniversary update. The problem happens randomly every time I login into my computer and a reboot does the trick. Once audio is working, I don't think it ever stop working until I restart/sleep/sign-out/shutdown.

 

[Lumious]

I am also experiencing this problem with the anniversary update. The problem happens randomly every time I login into my computer and a reboot does the trick. Once audio is working, I don't think it ever stop working until I restart/sleep/sign-out/shutdown.

EXACTLY! That is my experience to the T. It's random, happens about every 4th or 5th time (guesstimate?) that I boot up the surface book. When the audio is working it works until I shut down or log out. When it doesn't work nothing fixes it but a restart. Please submit this in the feedback hub, let MS know, tweet to Donna Sakar, make some noise so we can get this fixed. This is unacceptable on $3,000 MS Hardware with MS software!

 

[Lumious]

So I just got off the phone with MS Support. If this is TLDR for you, the answer is I got no help and the issue is not resolved.

I opened up the contact support app and listed my problem, put in my serial for the SB, and read through the suggested fixes (did pretty much all of them). So I requested a phone call from MS. They called me and I told the guy the problem. He asked if he could take control of my computer to do some "in-depth" testing which I agreed to. This is the first time I had any of my computers controlled remotely and it is pretty freaky the first time you see your mouse pointer moving and someone else opening and closing windows and such. But I digress. He did all the basic stuff that I have done already but I let him do his thing and did not interrupt. He went into device manager to check the drivers for sound and check for updates (which they were all up to date). He check windows update for updates (up to date of course). Everything he did I already looked into. Then he put me on hold for a while a few times to consult with other MS tech support. And at the end he suggested I do a reset of the computer with the option to keep all my files. I told him that I would not do this as I have gone down this road before and it has not fixed the issue. Then he said lets try a soft reset with volume down and power. That of course "fixed" the issue because I restarted but I told him that it would just come back again. So after all that he just said that it was new software and it was probably just a bug which MS would likely fix soon. This is what I figured as well but it can't hurt to try. Also I did this mostly in an effort to get it logged somewhere and make some additional "noise". Hope that MS hears us and fixes this soon because there is no workaround, no solution that I can see. Luckily its not that big of deal more of an annoyance to have to restart all the time to temporarily fix a problem.

Please keep my updated on your situations and if you have had any luck resolving this issue. And please up vote me in feedback and post your own! So far I have only found us 3 that have this problem so we need to make some noise!

 

[Arif Butt]

Hi Guys, I have the exact same problem since the anniversary update. First boot no sound/video, restart ok. Really annoying. I have also tried many things to fix it. Will post any fix I find.

 

[Lumious]

Hi Guys, I have the exact same problem since the anniversary update. First boot no sound/video, restart ok. Really annoying. I have also tried many things to fix it. Will post any fix I find.

Thank you for speaking on this issue! Please please please post it in the feedback hub, upvote my feedback already posted, and tweet to donna. We have to make this issue known in order for it to get fixed.

 

[stephanejap]

Thank you for speaking on this issue! Please please please post it in the feedback hub, upvote my feedback already posted, and tweet to donna. We have to make this issue known in order for it to get fixed.

Hey Lumious, I may be wrong, but I'm on my umpteenth cold boot since installing 14901, and audio seems to be working every time... Didn't wanna jinx it by posting about it, but what the heck!!! Maybe the problem is fixed... Fingers crossed!!!

 

[Lumious]

Hey Lumious, I may be wrong, but I'm on my umpteenth cold boot since installing 14901, and audio seems to be working every time... Didn't wanna jinx it by posting about it, but what the heck!!! Maybe the problem is fixed... Fingers crossed!!!

But that is RS2, that doesn't give me much promise since I don't want to wait to Q2 2017 for the problem to be fixed. I know it is only on the Anv Update as I never had this problem on 10586.xxx

 

[stephanejap]

But that is RS2, that doesn't give me much promise since I don't want to wait to Q2 2017 for the problem to be fixed. I know it is only on the Anv Update as I never had this problem on 10586.xxx

You don't wanna get (back) on the insider program if it fixes the issue? BTW it still works! Just booted cold and sound is good!

 

[Lumious]

You don't wanna get (back) on the insider program if it fixes the issue? BTW it still works! Just booted cold and sound is good!

Yes its fine now on 14901 when they hardly added any features. But what about when there is show stopper bugs in later builds. We are talking a 3K surface book here that I use for work.

Oh and ironically the one thing that does not work on 14901 is one of the things I rely and use for work. Adobe Acrobat reader. I was listening to the MS Power User podcast and they were comparing that to the likes of Netscape and AOL like no one uses it anymore. Are you kidding me? PDFs are still huge and people in businesses use it all the time and the go to app for PDF is Adobe. I guess you can open it in a browser but not edit and do the things you can with Adobe Reader.

Anyways I would go back on the insider program to fix this issue but there is almost certainly going to be more issues that I cannot afford to have on a daily driver type machine.

 

[stephanejap]

Yes its fine now on 14901 when they hardly added any features. But what about when there is show stopper bugs in later builds. We are talking a 3K surface book here that I use for work.

Oh and ironically the one thing that does not work on 14901 is one of the things I rely and use for work. Adobe Acrobat reader. I was listening to the MS Power User podcast and they were comparing that to the likes of Netscape and AOL like no one uses it anymore. Are you kidding me? PDFs are still huge and people in businesses use it all the time and the go to app for PDF is Adobe. I guess you can open it in a browser but not edit and do the things you can with Adobe Reader.

Anyways I would go back on the insider program to fix this issue but there is almost certainly going to be more issues that I cannot afford to have on a daily driver type machine.

I agree. The thing that worries me the most is the fact that there is no mention of the issue anywhere, in any changelog for the past 2 builds (and probably not even in this one either). Which means that MS is most likely not even aware that there is even an audio problem with their flagship laptop. We just have to keep making noise on that one I guess.

 

[Arif Butt]

I have found that disabling Fast Startup is a work around for the problem. (Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Power Options\System Settings). At least for the last 6 or 7 cold starts I've done. I'm guessing it's a driver load order issue. I'm not using the insider builds.

 

[zerospace-net]

I have found that disabling Fast Startup is a work around for the problem. (Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Power Options\System Settings). At least for the last 6 or 7 cold starts I've done. I'm guessing it's a driver load order issue. I'm not using the insider builds.

This could be why I'm not seeing this bug, even with the anniversary update on my SB. I've had fast startup disabled since back when it helped fix an issue with the Windows Hello camera not turning on after a cold boot.

 

[Arif Butt]

I have found that disabling Fast Startup is a work around for the problem. (Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Power Options\System Settings). At least for the last 6 or 7 cold starts I've done. I'm guessing it's a driver load order issue. I'm not using the insider builds.

Having said that I found that logging off and on again, which I do quite often when I hook up to external monitors using the dock, can loose the sound again. :eck:

 

[anon(9603734)]

Having said that I found that logging off and on again, which I do quite often when I hook up to external monitors using the dock, can loose the sound again. :eck:

I've had a Surface Pro 4 since last Friday and I updated it to the Anniversary Update straight away. I had the issue where after turning the device on following a full shut down, the microphone and sound would not work, and videos would not load/play in any web browser. A restart fixed the issues - but the issues would return every time following a full shut down (requiring a restart to get the device functioning as it should).

I have last night painstakingly recovered back to 10586.545 and am not having the issues when starting from a full shut down - so it does appear to be a problem caused by the Anniversary Update.

However, I recovered back before I saw any suggestion about disabling Fast StartUp. Could you (or anybody else who had the issue) confirm whether, when starting from a full shut down with the Fast StartUp disabled, everything works as it should without issue and needing a restart please? If so, I think I will update again to the Anniversary Update and disable this feature.

Many thanks,
Paul

 

[Lumious]

This could be why I'm not seeing this bug, even with the anniversary update on my SB. I've had fast startup disabled since back when it helped fix an issue with the Windows Hello camera not turning on after a cold boot.

What does disabling fast start up actually do? I am assuming by the name it disables a fast start up, meaning it takes longer to start the computer from a cold boot...but how much longer? How slow is it compared to fast start up? And are there any other disadvantages besides time (waiting for device to boot)? I would like to know because it is really starting to seem like this issue is happening every other time i start the device now! And unfortunately, im just dealing with it.

I received a response from Microsoft following my phone call with them. I would like to share it with you. And please everyone, make some noise, as i have said before...post it in feedback, tweet to Dona, call Microsoft, visit your local MS store, tweet/email/msg paul thurott/dan rubino/zac bowden/ mary jo foley, anyone!

 

[Lumious]

I've had a Surface Pro 4 since last Friday and I updated it to the Anniversary Update straight away. I had the issue where after turning the device on following a full shut down, the microphone and sound would not work, and videos would not load/play in any web browser. A restart fixed the issues - but the issues would return every time following a full shut down (requiring a restart to get the device functioning as it should).

I have last night painstakingly recovered back to 10586.545 and am not having the issues when starting from a full shut down - so it does appear to be a problem caused by the Anniversary Update.

However, I recovered back before I saw any suggestion about disabling Fast StartUp. Could you (or anybody else who had the issue) confirm whether, when starting from a full shut down with the Fast StartUp disabled, everything works as it should without issue and needing a restart please? If so, I think I will update again to the Anniversary Update and disable this feature.

Many thanks,
Paul

please post a feedback in the feedback hub, and upvote mine please! I still have only one upvote on this issue! How could this be!?!?

 

[Lumious]

What does disabling fast start up actually do? I am assuming by the name it disables a fast start up, meaning it takes longer to start the computer from a cold boot...but how much longer? How slow is it compared to fast start up? And are there any other disadvantages besides time (waiting for device to boot)? I would like to know because it is really starting to seem like this issue is happening every other time i start the device now! And unfortunately, im just dealing with it.

I received a response from Microsoft following my phone call with them. I would like to share it with you. And please everyone, make some noise, as i have said before...post it in feedback, tweet to Dona, call Microsoft, visit your local MS store, tweet/email/msg paul thurott/dan rubino/zac bowden/ mary jo foley, anyone!

View attachment 129733

 

[zerospace-net]

View attachment 129733

Unfortunately, the attachment link does not work. I'd love to hear what MS told you, though. For me, disabling fast startup doesn't add more than a second or 2 to my cold boot time, but I must confess, I rarely allow my SB to fully shut down these days.