My advice for all those having issues

[chrisabril]

I decided to open a thread about this because I think this might be useful for some people.

I was having many issues with SP4 and was even thinking about returning it, blue screen of death, unresponsive touch screen after "sleep", etc.

I read that many problems were caused by conflicts with the updates, so I decided to do a resfresh (keeping all my files) and doing all the updating again, taking my time with it and not rushing them.

That was about 5 days ago and since then I haven't had any issue at all, and now the device is working as I expected it would when I bought it.

I'm not sure if this will solve it for you, but it sure has worked for me, it's like another device now.

 

[GreyFox7]

It will work for some but not for others. I had two with the same issues and Refresh/Reset didn't help a bit, some of them can't be saved. Some people got good units others didn't. There's isn't a single silver bullet solution to fix them all.

 

[leeshor]

I agree that not rushing the updates is a good thing. Not having a drive activity light in my opinion is a big issue. I use a software indicator that I feel has kept me out of trouble. Not one BSOD, no freezing, no touch problems on the screen or the keyboard.

 

[hughlle]

I decided to open a thread about this because I think this might be useful for some people.

I was having many issues with SP4 and was even thinking about returning it, blue screen of death, unresponsive touch screen after "sleep", etc.

I read that many problems were caused by conflicts with the updates, so I decided to do a resfresh (keeping all my files) and doing all the updating again, taking my time with it and not rushing them.

That was about 5 days ago and since then I haven't had any issue at all, and now the device is working as I expected it would when I bought it.

I'm not sure if this will solve it for you, but it sure has worked for me, it's like another device now.

I did a refresh on my first Sp4 (i did it because i was returning it due to a screen issue) and all the reset achieved was a boot loop and a bricked machine I also did a reset on my SP3 prior to giving it to my partner, and it will no longer allow bitlocker to be enabled. Resetting can certainly work, and be of use, but it can also achieve nothing and sometimes create bigger problems than before you started.

 

[MikemanSP4]

One of the things I did that helped immensely - I reloaded Windows 10 and reinstalled the SP4 Drivers Download Surface Pro 4 Drivers and Firmware from Official Microsoft Download Center . Although reloading Windows 10 is not for everyone, reloading the drivers in most cases will alleviate many issues.

 

[dman27]

Reloading will work for those with time and patience. for the rest of us that have work to do, take the SP4 back and get one that works. Worked So far for me.

 

[MikemanSP4]

Reloading will work for those with time and patience. for the rest of us that have work to do, take the SP4 back and get one that works. Worked So far for me.

Sadly enough some of us have work to do, so taking the time to return a machine just isn't in the cards - but forging ahead with a two hour reload whilst working on a backup machine is in the cards.

 

[dman27]

Sadly enough some of us have work to do, so taking the time to return a machine just isn't in the cards - but forging ahead with a two hour reload whilst working on a backup machine is in the cards.

Are you near a MS store? It takes 20 minutes top to replace, another hour or so to reload and your done, Not near a MS Store then Call support and they will have it next day at your door. Don't get stuck with a bad batch and regret it later.

 

[MikemanSP4]

Are you near a MS store? It takes 20 minutes top to replace, another hour or so to reload and your done, Not near a MS Store then Call support and they will have it next day at your door. Don't get stuck with a bad batch and regret it later.

I live in Germany and the nearest MS Store is hours away. After a reload - my SP4 i7 is running like a beast, and your absolutely correct - after paying right at $2000.00 I wouldn't dream of getting stuck with a huge / horrific investment. After a reload and update, and then of course a clean install of the SP4 drivers, my machine runs great. Thank God.

 

[MikemanSP4]

Are you near a MS store? It takes 20 minutes top to replace, another hour or so to reload and your done, Not near a MS Store then Call support and they will have it next day at your door. Don't get stuck with a bad batch and regret it later.

You mentioned 'getting stuck with a bad batch' Would you happen to be aware of any type of list that I could share? Mines running like a raped ape after a reload, but still - if I'm gonna be facing future issues - Knowing is half the battle - Go Joe!

 

[Zkyevolved]

Might I ask, how do you "not rush" updates? Windows Update does them automatically when I turn on my machine. And as soon as you turn on your Surface, and connect it to a wifi source, the FIRST thing it does is say "getting critical updates" or "crucial updates" I have seen this multiple times on my SP4 after a fresh install.

I have my THIRD SP4 coming tomorrow, yay! I want to do things right. I was thinking of just turning it on, let it run all the updates, and then hit refresh destroying all the files, and starting from there.

 

[MikemanSP4]

Might I ask, how do you "not rush" updates? Windows Update does them automatically when I turn on my machine. And as soon as you turn on your Surface, and connect it to a wifi source, the FIRST thing it does is say "getting critical updates" or "crucial updates" I have seen this multiple times on my SP4 after a fresh install.

I have my THIRD SP4 coming tomorrow, yay! I want to do things right. I was thinking of just turning it on, let it run all the updates, and then hit refresh destroying all the files, and starting from there.

I just want to jump in here and mention that "rushing" updates in my humble opinion means no more than going to your settings and then Updates and Security and pushing the updates through - Windows kinda takes its sweet time on updating - Ive done the same thing trying to get my updates done and over with. No offense intended if you already understood this.