Can I purchase a Surface Pro 4 NOW?

[bucfan11]

I've been wanting one for a while but with all the issues reported I have been waiting. My Dell laptop now sleeps and wakes with no problem so I am assuming an update has corrected that issue. Is the SP4 now ready?

 

[Marcelo Siciliano]

Im asking myself the same question. If I decide to buy, I'm buying it January 15. I'm thinking on the i5 256Gb model

 

[D3xt3rSM]

Most of the issues have been fixed. Sleep seems to be fixed, the video driver issue is fixed...
I still have some very rare random disconnects of the keyboard or pen ( in one month had one disconect ). Not a big deal.
The keyboard, if it loses connection can be quickly fixed just by taking it off and back on again. The pen needs to be reconected via BT

 

[thatdennis]

Wondering the same thing too, will buy in a week or two.

Most of the issues have been fixed. Sleep seems to be fixed, the video driver issue is fixed...
I still have some very rare random disconnects of the keyboard or pen ( in one month had one disconect ). Not a big deal.
The keyboard, if it loses connection can be quickly fixed just by taking it off and back on again. The pen needs to be reconected via BT

For the pen losing BT connection, can you write on the surface despite the pen losing connection? It's crucial for note taking for me.

How has the sleep issue been fixed, did you use any special power plans?

 

[PaddiWaddi]

Wondering the same thing too, will buy in a week or two.



For the pen losing BT connection, can you write on the surface despite the pen losing connection? It's crucial for note taking for me.

How has the sleep issue been fixed, did you use any special power plans?

Yes you can! Only the clicking functionality requires bluetooth. Writing and erasing works without.

 

[jcomey]

I never had the issues others have reported. The only issue I have had is with the WiFi needing to reset when I come out of hibernate. But, other than that, nothing. I'd go ahead.

 

[mc511]

I have been using it for about a week and havent really experienced any issues. Maybe the touch pad wasnt working but that was fixed by reconnecting the keyboard. I am using it as my main computer while my desktop is getting repaired. I also have it connected to a 1080p monitor with zero issues. Occasionally the fan will kick in when I am playing a flash video full screen but nothing too major. I have the i5 256gig with 8gig of ram.

 

[TheAsbo]

I've been waiting too. The Surface 2 was so so buggy. Really upsetting. I don't want a seriously buggy device. I'm okay with putting my device on hibernate. Connected Standby would have been nice though.

 

[ajay singh supahiya]

I am surprised no one is talking about battery issue. I have i7 256 gig and I am getting 3-4 hrs max when I'm doing graphic intensive work. Other than battery life I don't have any other issue. This little beast works perfectly when it comes to performance and stylus.

 

[Marcelo Siciliano]

I am surprised no one is talking about battery issue. I have i7 256 gig and I am getting 3-4 hrs max when I'm doing graphic intensive work. Other than battery life I don't have any other issue. This little beast works perfectly when it comes to performance and stylus.

But you are doing intensive graphic work on tablet/notebook with a i7. What did you expected?

 

[ajay singh supahiya]

I was expecting at least 6 hours in return of 9 hours advertised by Microsoft. Even if I am just browsing it is giving hardly 5 hours max which is really low. There is this whole thread of poor battery life where ppl are having same experience. I hope next update will add at least something in battery life.

 

[krabby]

It's unfortunate that they advertised a best case scenario battery life for this device, business as usual but unfortunate. I get between 3 and 4 hours but use a lot of battery unfriendly settings and flog the bejesus out of it.

I haven't had any problems with mine which I purchased just after the big update at the start of December. No regrets on buying in and I'm happy with my purchase.

 

[Athavan]

I'm having the same issue with my SP4 i7 16gb 512gb. I only get 2 to 3.5hrs. It's a huge downside of this. I was hoping at least 5 to 6 hrs. I am thinking of returning the i7 back and getting an SP4 i5 16gb 512gb. Anyone else have better battery on the i5 while using Photoshop and graphic work?

 

[bradleyj]

I just re-bought the SP4 and it was probably a mistake. I knew the sleep issues aren't fixed so I always shut it down completely. However, it still has issues. Display driver still crashes. I notice flickering at low-brightness. In a meeting today the camera wouldn't work (just a black screen) and when I restarted the tablet to fix it the surface restarted and froze on a bright white screen. And finally worst of all, I just experienced it refusing to turn on (non-responsive to the power button for several minutes, eventually it responds for some unknown reason). This is my 4th Surface Pro 4 and I am so disappointed. Why can't they make these things work properly??? I obviously love the device (I tried 4 times!) but I strongly suggest DON'T BUY!

 

[ajay singh supahiya]

I don't think u will gain a significant battery gain with i5 over i7. Basically the problem is with bad cpu utilization coding. Even i5 users are facing same problem. Best would be to wait for the next update as promised by Microsoft. Or I am sure they will release some power case later just like they did for surface 2 that will Add some more juice in device.

 

[zkyevolved]

I don't think u will gain a significant battery gain with i5 over i7. Basically the problem is with bad cpu utilization coding. Even i5 users are facing same problem. Best would be to wait for the next update as promised by Microsoft. Or I am sure they will release some power case later just like they did for surface 2 that will Add some more juice in device.

i7 does have worse battery life because it's a CPU Clocked at higher speeds over the i5, and it has the same battery.

I'm fairly certain that the problem is coding, because when I limit my CPU to 50% (more than enough for 80% of my days) I get 6-8 hours of actual usage. Right now I'm at 1 hour and 30 min usage, with 75% left. So 3 hours for 50% and 6 hours for 100%. I did put it in hibernate about 4 times, so basically, I've restarted it numerous times. That adds battery usage without actually counting it.... I'm sure if you lowered it to the suggest 35% CPU max I'm sure you could get even more! It really depends on the applications you want to use.

I really like the SP4. I'm not having any serious issues, thankfully. Hopefully MS can work on the drivers and optimization to keep the CPU from jumping up and keeping it there. That's a real problem.

This is my 4th SP4 as well, but none of them had any issues. They were all returned due to warranty issues! The first 2 because they wouldn't let me get complete, the last one they did BUT a week after I decided I needed the next version up, i5 8gb with 256 rather than my 4 128. I use my surface EVERY day all day! I hardly ever touched my SP2 at home (heavy, screen was small, trackpad was a furry beast). Now I'm happy! I hibernate my device most of the time, and I limit my CPU and I get excellent battery life... No complaints here.

 

[Davidz]

zkyevolved, I agree with everything you said, except I wouldn't use the "Time Remaining" shown on the SP4 as reliable indicator of your remaining battery life. I've seen it fluctuate by as much as 3 or 4 hours in the blink of an eye. It's helpful, in that, it gives you a rough sense of how much time you have left, but it's not an accurate, reliable gauge.

 

[zkyevolved]

zkyevolved, I agree with everything you said, except I wouldn't use the "Time Remaining" shown on the SP4 as reliable indicator of your remaining battery life. I've seen it fluctuate by as much as 3 or 4 hours in the blink of an eye. It's helpful, in that, it gives you a rough sense of how much time you have left, but it's not an accurate, reliable gauge.

Oh, I don't. That's very unreliable. I use BatteryBar Pro, and even then, I use only the timer that shows the time it's been ON since last restart or last plug in... Sometimes the Windows indicator says 2 hours and then 4 minutes later it says 11 hours! LOL! So, I only look at the %left, not the time left.

 

[Closingracer]

It's unfortunate that they advertised a best case scenario battery life for this device, business as usual but unfortunate. I get between 3 and 4 hours but use a lot of battery unfriendly settings and flog the bejesus out of it.

I haven't had any problems with mine which I purchased just after the big update at the start of December. No regrets on buying in and I'm happy with my purchase.

Yeah but Apple manages to advertise numbers that are lower then what you actually get....I've read plenty of reviews stating the 13 inch Macbook Pro with retina display lasting 15 hours and they advertising only 9 hours

 

[Saad1990]

Yes, you may proceed! That's an awesome tablet featuring good at low cost...