Defective surface? or just expecting too much?

[CCAATbox]

Please excuse any typos as I'm using my phone

Hello all, I just got a Surface RT delievered from the Microsoft store last week. Thanks to working full time and doing school part time, I've only been able to use the Surface for a few days....
...and I'm disappointed

I got the Surface for school. I have a 17'' laptop which I can't bring with me to work. I need Microsoft office with me, so the surface was a draw.

I've experienced some things that make me wonder if my specific tablet is defective or if it's problems with surfaces in general.

One is the sound. It's just pretty weak and tinny sounding. Today it sounded q lot better when I was holding it on the couch than when I had it on the table with the touch cover, but it doesn't sound that great. Similar to my phone I would say, which is a 2011 HTC inspire (ie crap smartphone).

Two is the display itself. I have it on auto adjust for brightness so I prob need to change that. However all the YouTube videos and movie previews on Xbox video have looks very...grainy? Blurry? Just not that great. My iPod touch and phone look much better, in my opinion. I just thought it'd be better than those (and my laptop, possibly). Even pics just don't look very HD.

The last issue(s) are the most concerning for me. It doeent respond well when I try and touch certain links on web sites. It is also very very slow when opening new pages or say loadinf the next photo on an album on Facebook. Hell it even HATES this website..hence why I'm using my phone. It freezes onthis page or will load a page saying the page isn't available and I should visit later or reset my connection (which doesn't seem to work or do anything).

Overall I'm just very heartbroken how this huge purchase seems to be partly a bad decision. Do I have a whack tablet, or am I expecting too much from a tablet?

 

[YCSMD]

Im not sure since Ive only used them in store, but make sure its all updated. They've had a lot of updates including for the speakers.

 

[ninjaap]

Yes, definitely update it. There have been tons of firmware, software, etc that needs updating since its release.

 

[CCAATbox]

As far as I know, it is updated. It installed 19 updates I believe. Unless there are more? I checked for updates as soon as I got the device. The volume to me is fine, but the sound quality isn't. I just dont know what to make out of the video and internet browsing nastiness.

I think I'm probably going to just return it (hopefully I can return it) and suffer with having a huge laptop that I can't lug around easily. Super super bummed

 

[YCSMD]

As far as I know, it is updated. It installed 19 updates I believe. Unless there are more? I checked for updates as soon as I got the device. The volume to me is fine, but the sound quality isn't. I just dont know what to make out of the video and internet browsing nastiness.

I think I'm probably going to just return it (hopefully I can return it) and suffer with having a huge laptop that I can't lug around easily. Super super bummed

At the very least return it and get it for $100 cheaper at Staples after trying some in store models out and seeing if they are better.

 

[Par_T]

Hmm. I'm viewing this site on my Surface RT. It does take a little longer than my laptop to load, but it does load. I have noticed on occasion that the touch screen isn't as sensitive as I'd like, and recently had a couple of times when my wireless mouse didn't work. I closed the browser and re-opened and it seemed to work fine after. It doesn't bother me too much, but might bother some. Overall, happy with my Surface RT.

 

[stephen_az]

Most of what you describe is not normal so it is likely defective. The sound is not at all tinny and with the latest update is reasonably loud. As far as the screen goes, it will look the same as any other 768 X 1366 small screen. It is also noted for being very sharp. As for this website, that is another story. It is very poorly designed and my Surface RT will occasionally struggle and/or hang. Even my I5 laptop is slower on this site than just about any other one. I would hope they didn't pay anyone for this Easter Egg colored mess with its runaway flash boxes and periodic hanging scripts. Even between the time I started this message and hit reply it hung with the wpcentral.com is not responding message and I am on my laptop. Free is more than it is worth....

 

[ninjaap]

As far as I know, it is updated. It installed 19 updates I believe. Unless there are more? I checked for updates as soon as I got the device. The volume to me is fine, but the sound quality isn't. I just dont know what to make out of the video and internet browsing nastiness.

I think I'm probably going to just return it (hopefully I can return it) and suffer with having a huge laptop that I can't lug around easily. Super super bummed

There have been way more than 19 updates. That was just the first set. If you return it now, you will have to update the new one as well. Just keep manually looking for new updates everyday.

 

[HeyCori]

The last issue(s) are the most concerning for me. It doeent respond well when I try and touch certain links on web sites. It is also very very slow when opening new pages or say loadinf the next photo on an album on Facebook. Hell it even HATES this website..hence why I'm using my phone. It freezes onthis page or will load a page saying the page isn't available and I should visit later or reset my connection (which doesn't seem to work or do anything).

Overall I'm just very heartbroken how this huge purchase seems to be partly a bad decision. Do I have a whack tablet, or am I expecting too much from a tablet?

Try adjusting the input latency

http://forums.windowscentral.com/surface-windows-rt/204346-6.htm#post1972459

 

[erasure25]

As far as I know, it is updated. It installed 19 updates I believe. Unless there are more? I checked for updates as soon as I got the device. The volume to me is fine, but the sound quality isn't. I just dont know what to make out of the video and internet browsing nastiness.

I think I'm probably going to just return it (hopefully I can return it) and suffer with having a huge laptop that I can't lug around easily. Super super bummed

Second that you should return it and get it from Staples for $100 less while its on sale. Mine does not have all this slowness you are experiencing. I have it updated with all the latest firmware and patches. It's not as buttery smooth as my Core I7 desktop, with intense websites, but that should be expected. Mine is pretty smooth and better than my phone. Images are not blurry and grainy. Are you sure you updated all the patches? I heard they fixed wifi signals, which may be causing your blurry youtube vids.

 

[bsd107]

Hmm. I'm viewing this site on my Surface RT. It does take a little longer than my laptop to load, but it does load. I have noticed on occasion that the touch screen isn't as sensitive as I'd like, and recently had a couple of times when my wireless mouse didn't work. I closed the browser and re-opened and it seemed to work fine after. It doesn't bother me too much, but might bother some. Overall, happy with my Surface RT.

I actually come across this issue with my Surface Pro periodically in IE10. I think it's actually IE10 getting sluggish. As you say, closing it and reopening makes it fine.

Anyway, I used to think it was the touch screen not responding, but I think it's actually IE10 doing it.

 

[bsd107]

I'm not surprised about the images and video looking "grainy". They SHOULD look grainy compared to your iPod Touch and iPhone, as the screen is much bigger but the resolution is not very much higher.

Also, this is not a PC - it's won't have PC-like performance. Think iPad 2 in terms of what kind of performance to expect, realistically.

 

[CCAATbox]

hey everyone, thanks for all of the feedback. Wish I could go into more detail but I have out of town friends coming in tonight so I'll be brief.

I was able to check out some Surfaces (and iPads) at the store today. Can't compare the sound but the video appeared to look the same as mine does....for the most part.

when I play videos, say trailers in the xbox movie store, the video starts are very grainy and blurry, like it is buffering or something. It usually fixes itself as the video plays on. Is this a Wi-Fi issue?

As far as updates, I thinkI have them all except for three- the office update and two other updates that keep failing. I don't have time to mess around with it tonight so I'll have to figure it out later. Looks like it is something about clearing out temp files. Has anyone else trouble with updates failing?

The video thing really pisses me off. I've heard issues about the Wi-Fi sucking, is that it? Will Microsoft fix it? I;m just so annoyed with that and I'm not sure if it is a Wi-Fi issue or an issue with my surface. I'm already annoyed with trying to update Office. I don't know if I can handle another Windows device that screws up all the time....

 

[kane4fire]

If it's grainy at first and fixes itself on youtube, it could be that it's starting to play at 360p and then increasing the resolution it's streaming at. The speakers on the surface RT sucks, Microsoft went cheap on a few areas on a very expensive device--another being the screen.

Restart your machine and check for windows updates in control panel again. There are significantly more than 19 updates.