Surface 2 with all the firmware/system-updates - are you happy with it?

[wLhg]

To all Surface 2-owner with all the firmware/system-updates: Are you happy with it? I read a lot about battery drain because of the tegra-chip and bad drivers; especially in idle mode (look at the threads). Is this problem common for the surface 2? Should i go for the surface pro 2?

http://forums.windowscentral.com/microsoft-surface-2/300949-surface-2-july-updates.html
http://forums.windowscentral.com/mi...july-system-updates-tegra-gfx-usage-high.html

 

[berty6294]

I am STILL very happy with my Surface 2. I have said it many times before, and ill continue saying it. The Surface 2 is the best piece of technology I have every purchased in my life. It gets close to 100 hours of use a week and it is my school device, my work device, and my fun device! Battery life is still excellent, I get an easy 8-10 hours of LOTS of use (streaming videos, taking notes, web browsing). My Surface 2 is my go to device because it is always fast, always reliable and super portable!

 

[trance56]

I sold my iPad mini for the surface 2 and I'm very happy with my purchase. I want to get a windows phone now.

 

[rmeigs]

I still really enjoy mine. No issues at all and use it for hours a day.

 

[omgitsnick]

Yup. Best laptop-form tablet I've owned. Light and easy to carry anywhere with the incipio sleeve and the Bluetooth arc touch mouse plus a microhdmi adaptor fits right into the pocket sleeve. Complete with type cover 2 backlit keyboard and excellent battery life (lasts a week with 20% left on connected standby wtf!!) I never have to take it out of my bag, unless of course when I charge it, but point is I use it in college to write my notes and watch lecture recordings, and while at work on my break I go on Hulu to catch up with my tv and at friends house with the Play To function to Xbox (or microhdmi if they don't have Xbox) to watch movies from Netflix or Xbox video.

 

[omgitsnick]

Yup. Best laptop-form tablet I've owned. Light and easy to carry anywhere with the incipio sleeve and the Bluetooth arc touch mouse plus a microhdmi adaptor fits right into the pocket sleeve. Complete with type cover 2 backlit keyboard and excellent battery life (lasts a week with 20% left on connected standby wtf!!) I never have to take it out of my bag, unless of course when I charge it, but point is I use it in college to write my notes and watch lecture recordings, and while at work on my break I go on Hulu to catch up with my tv and at friends house with the Play To function to Xbox (or microhdmi if they don't have Xbox) to watch movies from Netflix or Xbox video.

 

[bdball]

While the hardware finally seems more stable after several updates, the software available through the app store leaves much to be desired. If all you do is Word, Excel, and Web Surf then yes, it's a great tablet. If you want to do much else then the Pro would be a better option. Make sure between the two you go with the TypeKeyboard and not the TouchKeyboard. The Touchkeyboard is pretty worthless if you do much typing. I have an old fold away Palm Bluetooth keyboard that I use if I do much typing and a small usb laptop mouse that I also use. For me though the lack of useful apps is the biggest downside. I have started taking the old iPad to work again. There isn't an app for the Surface that can match Awesome Notes for the iPad's usefulness all in one app or Auditorium Notes for recording a meeting and taking notes. By the way the old Palm Bluetooth keyboard works great with the iPad too.

 

[exkerZ]

Yeah sometimes it... Can get annoying glitches. Sometimes they go very bad.. Sometimes they fix up.

Overall, it has wormed like a dream. I dont have my app games on it because in my opinion, 10 inches is too big for mobile gaming.
Apps are not the best.
But office, onenote, IE, hulu/Netflix, and a multitude of video apps make this little tablet my current baby. (My friend says she wants to see if i get this excited once i have a child of my own).

Needless to say, i could make a strange child with this tablet.

Posted via Windows Phone Central App

 

[conorn]

Had issues with poor battery life, Sleep of Death (Black Screen), Phantom touches, display driver issues, SD issues. But, finally, on my 4th device (3 replacements) everything works as it should. Very happy for what it is. Mostly used as a companion device - email, web and remote desktop, OneNote. Here maps and Tweetium are great too.

So, if you are having issues, don't be shy, get it replaced.

 

[4everForever]

I'm having the same issues with you i.e. poor battery life, Sleep of Death (Black Screen) and Phantom touches which are quite annoying.

Sleep of Death (Black Screen) - some time the tablet has problem to wake up after being idle for few hours. When I press the power button, it only shows me the black screen where i need to touch the screen, touch the home/windows button a few times to get the screen on.

Phantom touches - sometime the tablet recognized some phantom touches on the screen which caused me hardly use or navigate the tablet. I have to restart the tablet to get it back to normal.

Poor battery life - The tablet drains 15-20% of battery when it is in idle mode for 8 hours.

Can i report these issues to Microsoft? I always thought that these were the software problem which will be fixed by the windows update..

 

[cgallaer]

I sold my Surface RT when the Surface 2 came out, and have had my Surface 2 since launch. I love it so much I'm considering getting a 64gb or LTE version while they're selling for $100 off the original price. The Surface 2 keeps getting better with each update. I bought mine as a companion device for my laptop, and used the Surface 2 primarily during my last year of law school for note taking, research, writing papers, etc.. It has served me very well, and is still going strong after a year of heavy use. Great battery life (which is even better if you get the power cover), fits great in a backpack or briefcase, and Office works great. I use it for work too, and thanks to Remote Access, I have no problem accessing my work files when I'm out of the office.

 

[conorn]

Yep, had all those issues and only repeated replacements solved them. MS surface support were really good. They'll get you to refresh, etc, but finally will process a replacement.

As I said it took three replacement devices before I was satisfied. One of them had mental phantom touches out of the box. Couldn't even complete the setup.

I'm having the same issues with you i.e. poor battery life, Sleep of Death (Black Screen) and Phantom touches which are quite annoying.

Sleep of Death (Black Screen) - some time the tablet has problem to wake up after being idle for few hours. When I press the power button, it only shows me the black screen where i need to touch the screen, touch the home/windows button a few times to get the screen on.

Phantom touches - sometime the tablet recognized some phantom touches on the screen which caused me hardly use or navigate the tablet. I have to restart the tablet to get it back to normal.

Poor battery life - The tablet drains 15-20% of battery when it is in idle mode for 8 hours.

Can i report these issues to Microsoft? I always thought that these were the software problem which will be fixed by the windows update..

 

[4everForever]

Yep, had all those issues and only repeated replacements solved them. MS surface support were really good. They'll get you to refresh, etc, but finally will process a replacement.

As I said it took three replacement devices before I was satisfied. One of them had mental phantom touches out of the box. Couldn't even complete the setup.

Just wondering when they gave you the replacement unit, did the unit come with the ori surface box together with the charger? or did they only give you the tablet?

 

[conorn]

Just the S2, in a plain shipping box.

 

[SteelSteve]

Took me two replacements, but have had this device for a year now with no problems. Definitely a more useful device than my ipad2.