I HATE my Surface 3

[920Walker]

a normal non-tech person probably would just stick with 8.1.

But how does one stick with 8.1 if buying a device preloaded with W10?

 

[Dewg]

I had battery and sound issues with the S3 after upgrading to Windows 10. I eventually went to my local MS store and asked for an exchange with a new S3. They offered me a refurb (that had Windows 8.1 on it). I declined and said that I've upgraded it too many times and ran into too many problems to try again. I insisted they offer me a new S3 with Windows 10 preloaded. After some very polite discussion with a manager, she agreed and we swapped it. I'm a smooth talker (believe you can catch more flies with honey...), and I think that worked much better than throwing a fit in the store.

The new S3 is running much better - battery life still isn't as good as Windows 8.1, but significantly better than my old one. Audio issue remained, but was solved by disabling audio enhancements. So far I'm quite pleased.

 

[michail71]

I had a crackling audio problem but it coincided with runaway system CPU usage on interrupts. I fixed it with one if my many resets.

Thing I really don't get is people blaming users for these problems or calling others Apple shills for point these problems out. The Surface 3 and Surface Pro 3 are Microsoft's flagship devices. Whatever they put out, be it a new OS or TP it should run great on these things.

Am I really expecting too much to think my Surface should have fewer problems than my Lenovo or home built desktop rig?

 

[drtek]

Both.

 

[Geodude074]

This sounds more like a Windows 10 issue.

I have Windows 10 on my desktop, it's a glitchy stuttering mess. I've discovered a bug which freezes the desktop, every single time, and it's quite repeatable. Just terrible overall. I'll be rolling back to Windows 7 soon when I have time.

 

[prlundberg]

I am feeling the same way. If I could go back to 8.1 easily I would, but I committed to 10 and deleted the old stuff and am not motivated enough to go through the hassle. And why should I have to? This was a premium-priced device!

It really is inexcusable that Microsoft can't get things right on the Surface. My battery life is dreadful. Sound on apps sometimes works sometimes doesn't. Crashes about once per week. Constant OS updates. Edge isn't a full browser, and Firefox and Chrome can't scroll worth a damn. And lots of random lag and glitches on a daily basis. Reset didn't do anything and was a huge hassle.

It's not acceptable. Android has never been this bad for me, even in the Gingerbread days. It's great hardware and Windows 10, when it does work, is pretty slick for the most part. But I'm just fed up. I wouldn't recommend a Surface 3 to anybody, and I wouldn't count on Microsoft ever fixing it.

 

[6029KingStephen]

I like my Surface 3, but I've just reset it to 8.1 after a couple of months on 10.
The biggest issue for me was Miracast not working properly, but a variety of screen/touch issues were also irritating.
I'll wait another few months before trying again.

 

[Dewg]

This sounds more like a Windows 10 issue.

I have Windows 10 on my desktop, it's a glitchy stuttering mess. I've discovered a bug which freezes the desktop, every single time, and it's quite repeatable. Just terrible overall. I'll be rolling back to Windows 7 soon when I have time.

What is the procedure? Is it limited to just your PC, or is this a Windows 10 problem that affects everyone?

 

[Geodude074]

What is the procedure? Is it limited to just your PC, or is this a Windows 10 problem that affects everyone?

Whenever I maximize the top of my Chrome browser. I didn't know what was causing it at first and thought it was random, but now I can reproduce it every single time. Very annoying whenever I have two browsers open, because I know as soon as I maximize each one, that darn desktop is going to freeze each time.

I don't care if this is a Chrome issue either, Chrome works fine in Windows 7 and 8, should also work fine in 10 but it doesn't.

 

[Steve Adams]

I use only internet explorer on 10. Edge is not good yet. It has lots of promise, but lack of an ad killer does not sit will with me. IE works great as usual. I don't know what the adversion to IE is. I find it faster, and more stable than any other browser.

 

[Dewg]

Whenever I maximize the top of my Chrome browser. I didn't know what was causing it at first and thought it was random, but now I can reproduce it every single time. Very annoying whenever I have two browsers open, because I know as soon as I maximize each one, that darn desktop is going to freeze each time.

I don't care if this is a Chrome issue either, Chrome works fine in Windows 7 and 8, should also work fine in 10 but it doesn't.

Thanks - I just tested my SP3 and tower PC, both with Windows 10 Pro and Chrome. I can't seem to duplicate your hang - I tried snapping to the top, edge, minimize, maximize, double click the top bar, etc. It may be something else with your system.

Have you looked into your Event Log (right click on Start - then Event Viewer)? Check the Applications and System event logs under Windows Logs. See if something is screaming in there.

 

[Dewg]

I use only internet explorer on 10. Edge is not good yet. It has lots of promise, but lack of an ad killer does not sit will with me. IE works great as usual. I don't know what the adversion to IE is. I find it faster, and more stable than any other browser.

I solved the problem with a HOSTS file replacement. Check out this site for a great ad block option that's browser agnostic (direct link to the latest file).

Now Edge runs great - and no more ads!!

 

[Steve Adams]

I was looking at that but was confused on how to do it. Maybe there is a quick video on it so I can get my head around it. I will do it on both our new surfacesssssss. ha ha.

 

[3earnhardt3]

I was looking at that but was confused on how to do it. Maybe there is a quick video on it so I can get my head around it. I will do it on both our new surfacesssssss. ha ha.

Simple copy/paste. Go to C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts and open in notepad as administer. Copy source file contents into the hosts file and restart! Saves an hour or so battery life while browsing on edge. Webpage rendering is vastly improved as well.

 

[Geodude074]

Thanks - I just tested my SP3 and tower PC, both with Windows 10 Pro and Chrome. I can't seem to duplicate your hang - I tried snapping to the top, edge, minimize, maximize, double click the top bar, etc. It may be something else with your system.

Have you looked into your Event Log (right click on Start - then Event Viewer)? Check the Applications and System event logs under Windows Logs. See if something is screaming in there.

This happens on both my desktop and my laptop. You're probably not doing it the way I described, or maybe I just didn't describe it very well.

Nope I can't be bothered to troubleshoot the issue, I'll be rolling back to Windows 7 later when I have time.

 

[Dewg]

This happens on both my desktop and my laptop. You're probably not doing it the way I described, or maybe I just didn't describe it very well.

Nope I can't be bothered to troubleshoot the issue, I'll be rolling back to Windows 7 later when I have time.

What if you uncheck "Use hardware acceleration when available" under advanced settings in Chrome?

 

[ng4ever]

I returned my Surface 3 a while ago because I didn't like it. Static from speakers, keyboard would sometimes not respond when connected, etc

 

[Geodude074]

What if you uncheck "Use hardware acceleration when available" under advanced settings in Chrome?

Not sure what that has to do with anything. Regardless I tried it and it did nothing.

So here's how to reproduce the bug:
1. Drag Chrome to either top right or top left of the desktop to snap it.
2. Take the bottom edge of the browser, pull it all the way to the bottom of the desktop.
3. Your Chrome browser is now frozen.

Very annoying, I'm rolling back to Windows 7 tonight. No more bugs for me.

 

[920Walker]

Firefox, Edge and IE do not do this. They are options, as is rolling back to 7. My dad uses Chrome on his new Toshiba preinstalled with W10, I was visiting last night and tried snapping multiple Chrome windows from the top of the screen to the taskbar, 1 window, 2, 3. Could not simulate the problem. Another option is to try changing some taskbar settings: Auto-hide, etc.

 

[Geodude074]

Thanks for the advice, but I've already rolled back to Windows 7.

I forgot how fast a clean install of Windows 7 is, it's nice.