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Problems of the Connected Standby 'feature'

Junwei

New Member
First of all, let me just mention how badly designed I think the Connected Standby feature of the surface pro 3 is. If SP3 is meant to be used as a true Tablet/PC hybrid, it should have the following basic functions.

1) Be able to turn off the screen only after a certain time untouched.
This is very important when doing presentations and you are away from your laptop. In the current state, whenever the discussion extends beyond a certain timeframe, the SP3 goes to sleep and the presentation shuts off. I usually set my screen-off time to 3mins to save battery life. Setting the screen-off time any longer defeats this purpose.

2) Disable keyboard/mouse to wake the SP3 from sleep
As it is, I can never put the SP3 into my bag in the sleep state on because it is almost certainly going to wake due to an accidental keypress from the keyboard. I carry the SP3 in my backpack which causes a small amount of unavoidable pressure on the keyboard surface as I walk. Hence I now always have to shut off the SP3, which makes using it as a tablet an inconvenience due to always having to reboot on start.

3) Disable screen waking when keyboard is closed.
Isn’t this feature the standard across all ipads/android tablets with magnetic covers? Without disabling connected standby, the SP3 goes to sleep when the keyboard is closed, which is fine if problems 1) and 3) is solved. With connected standby disabled, it only allows either a full shuts down or doesn’t do anything.

I have disabled the Connected Standby feature of my surface pro 3 via the registry and enabled screen timeouts. However I am still unable to solve problems 2) and 3) with connected standby disabled. More importantly, could i enable the sleep function with connected standby disabled? Currently i do not have that option. Could anyone offer assistance?
 
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Junwei

New Member
Hi,

The conventional sleep is not exactly the same as connected standby. When u disable connected standby, the options available when u want to shut down your computer is only Shutdown/hibernate.

Basically i disabled connected standby to be able to turn off display while keeping the comp fully running. However disabling connected standby has the undesired effect of remove the sleep mode entirely. I want to re-enable the conventional dumb 'sleep' mode.
 

jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
Hi,

The conventional sleep is not exactly the same as connected standby. When u disable connected standby, the options available when u want to shut down your computer is only Shutdown/hibernate.

Basically i disabled connected standby to be able to turn off display while keeping the comp fully running. However disabling connected standby has the undesired effect of remove the sleep mode entirely. I want to re-enable the conventional dumb 'sleep' mode.
It is not an option unless MS changes the Firmware for the Power Management/Cooling EEPROM that is on the SP3. The SP3 uses a specialized chip that operates below the OS level for Power Management, hence the ability to use 2 different hibernation schemes with a Connected Standby Machine.
 

nipponham

Active Member
...The SP3 uses a specialized chip that operates below the OS level for Power Management, hence the ability to use 2 different hibernation schemes with a Connected Standby Machine.
Could you please clarify what you mean by "2 different hibernation schemes"?
 

jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
Could you please clarify what you mean by "2 different hibernation schemes"?

0-4 Connected Standby instant on (S0iX Power State)
4-12 Hours Light Hibernation feels almost instant (modified S4 Power State)
12+ Hours Traditional or Deep Hibernation feels like a cold boot (S4 Power State)
 

nipponham

Active Member
Hm, I've never heard of that. It's not on any Microsoft site that I know of. Do you have a cite for that information so I can check it out further?
 

jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
Hm, I've never heard of that. It's not on any Microsoft site that I know of. Do you have a cite for that information so I can check it out further?
It was in the engineering brief video and Panos Stated it on the launch day video...

At 2:03 Panos talks about deep sleep....


At 3:42 the Design Engineer talks about the Chip controlling the Power Management and Cooling


The actuals hours were described to me by the Surface Engineering Team and a Conference Call.
 
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Junwei

New Member
If i were to enable connected standby, is there anyway i can prevent the mouse/keyboard from auto waking the SP3? Also can i enable the screen-timeout feature? Any hacks to do so?
 

nipponham

Active Member
Thanks for digging that up, jnjroach. I have some more questions about this "2 hibernation schemes", but I won't hijack this thread any further and will make a new thread about it later. Cheers.
 

jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
If i were to enable connected standby, is there anyway i can prevent the mouse/keyboard from auto waking the SP3? Also can i enable the screen-timeout feature? Any hacks to do so?
When you applied the Firmware Updates did you have the cover attached? I have no issues with my cover waking the device unless I press a Key. I guess you can disable this from Device Manager.

I don't know of any hacks for Screen Time Out, as it is part of Connected Standby, like a phone or tablet. If there are background functions I would suggest finding a MUI App to do them. As for PowerPoint if the device knows your are presenting it typically doesn't time out...
 

Henning

New Member
1) PowerPoint overrides and stays awake, but if you use something else like Adobe Reader you have to do something. I use Windows Mobility Center (C:\Windows\System32\mblctr.exe). Turn on "Presentation Setting" and the device will stay awake. Well, you'll have to remember starting it before the presentation--good idea to put it on a start tile right beside the program you'll use for presentation...

For 2/3.) Go to Device Manager->Surface Type Cover ... -> Power Management and disallow the device to wake up the computer. Same for the mouse.
 
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