Questions/Concerns from a surface pro owner

[millersho]

Hello everyone, loving my surface pro as a laptop replacement and tablet but I have a few questions/concerns I would like to share in hopes that maybe you guys have solutions for my issues, I thank you in advance for any help provided.

Two biggest issues:

1. Wifi- Wifi is slow to connect to any wifi network. Doesn't matter if it's out of sleep or from a cold start. The OS is ready to go WELL ahead of the wifi card connecting to the network. I don't understand how MS over looked this, it leaves an impression of a design that isn't refined and quite frankly I get frustrated having a device ready to go and yet I have to wait another 15-20 seconds to use the net.

2. Browsers- IE touch is almost unusable. It pauses/crashes all the time. The back button doesn't actually go back 1/2 the time. Again it leaves an impression that it's a rushed out device without any refinement. To add insult to injury this thing has been out for almost a year and yet IE touch still has all these same flaws and no other company cares to make a good touch browser for the surface so IE touch seems to be the only option. Where is chrome? Where is firefox? Where is opera?


4 smaller issues are :
1. Desktop integration with touch/scaling isn't even something they attempted make work, desktop and touch are useless
2. Speakers, how is it this thing is $1k has two speakers and yet I can hardly hear any sound out of it with all gains maxed
3. Spell check is an after thought, it works but it's meh
4. app support, the app eco system has the lowest quality of apps I've ever seen and leaves a really bad impression


Is there anything I can do about these items? It's been almost a year now and it seems any fixes to any of this stuff is a lost cause.

I'm an IT professional that runs my own business so most of these issues I can deal with/find work arounds and generally keep an open mind about fixes but the end result is customers ask me ALL THE TIME about my surface and quite frankly I have to tell them that it's not worth the $1k price tag.

I want to so bad have everyone buy a surface pro and have MS make billions off this thing but I cannot in good faith recommend this device as they would have my head after they had to actually live with it day to day and that makes me sad for MS.

 

[demandarin]

1). I would say check WiFi drivers and make sure their all up to date. I haven't had any issues with WiFi. Mines connect instantly once its on. Never takes as long as you've stated.

2). I don't like metro IE myself either. It works fine but its too dumbed down. I always use the desktop version which has full set of features. Touch works great for me on that. I have chrome but chrome is not touch optimized yet.

On your smaller issues, 150% scaling is no good for you? I have big hands and fingers and that works pretty well for me. Even on 125%. It defaults to 150%. You could always do as custom scaling and make it even larger if you wish.
As for speakers, the pro speakers sound very good quality. The loudness issue depends on particular app or video. Some are just louder than others. If you mean as far as watching movies or whatever, I use VLC media player. Way better than stock and allows you to increase volume 200%. Works great. Actually too good as you can blow these speakers..lol but I understand what you saying. I downloaded a video from YouTube and on YouTube I could barely hear the guy. After download I played it through VLC app and it sounded more than loud enough. Its a great app along with another one called Down Tube. Which quickly let's you download the YouTube videos even in high quality.

App support, you must mean the metro apps. As pro is able to install any kind of normal laptop or desktop pc program. Sure app store could be better but there's alto of really good programs in there. Its definitely not a shortage of them. Which technically Microsoft and our tablet has the largest ecosystem of apps of any of device. We have access to regular/legacy pc apps and metro apps. Its getting there.

What type of apps are you looking for? To speak of apps is looking at this surface as just another plain tablet like Android or iPad. Which its not. I had a hard time adjusting at first and thought the same thing. Until I made myself realize I could install whatever I wanted up here.

If you want access to apps on android, just install free app called Bluestacks. Just Google it. It will install android on your device and let you install and run android apps. Whether phone or tablet ones. Works very well. Worth checking out if there's a particular app on another os that's not on windows store yet.

Good luck. I've been more than impressed with my surface pro. I also have 2 nexus 7 tablets, a galaxy note 10.1, and an iPad. I haven't even touched or used those since I got my 128gb surface pro. This is a full blown pc. On a completely different level of capabilities compared to my android or apple devices.

 

[jeffskent]

I've owned the Surface Pro since the day it was released and I am very pleased with it. I use it as an Ultrabook style mostly desktop computer hooked up to a 27" monitor, external keyboard and mouse, external Blu-Ray drive, usb powered sound bar, 6 TB usb storage, printer and scanner. All run mostly flawlessly. When I go to a computer club meeting or on a trip I only have to take the basic computer and cables in a lunch box sized case which weighs about 3 pounds. I don't normally use the touch screen apps except for a few games or Kindle or Evernote for reading. The touch screen works great for reading books and such on the go.

My biggest concern is that the touch enabled apps are required to run on ARM chips which are battery efficient, but very weak compared to Core or Haswell chips from Intel. It would be like requiring Mac OS programs to run on the ARM based iOS iPad app structure. The resulting app running on the Intel chip would never have the capability of the native Intel chips, in spite of the good battery life. I think the fact the Mac users would never accept the idea that Mac machines ran apps that were only as powerful as a smartphone cpu could run is why Apple hasn't ported iOS to its Mac platform. Touch, voice, and gesture may be the future of the computer interface, but I think it should be based upon the most powerful cpu available. Not a de tuned, almost stunted cpu that gets good battery life.

Smartphones are really pocket computers with telephone capability included, almost as an afterthought. Tablet computers are really netbooks without the keyboard included. Tablets from Apple and Android have good battery life, good displays, they are light and responsive, but they are still the golf cart compared to the automobile. A golf cart is fine for quick trips to the store, easy shopping around town, and quick trips around the neighborhood, but a golf cart will never replace a conventional car for the needs of most people most of the time. I expect the tablet revolution will someday stop as users realize that they have a stunted computer on a small screen with poor speakers, little storage, no mouse, and weak, if any multitasking. Time will tell.

 

[dlacaba]

As for your wifi issues, try this to fix it. I had the same issue and after doing this, I connect instantly.

Go to Internet Options -> Connections -> LAN Settings -> Uncheck "Automatically detect settings".

 

[machistmo]

All things I experienced when I owned the Pro. Some of those lead directly to my decision to return the unit. Wifi on SP took 8 minutes to D/L Itunes. Wired through the Dell Tocuh Screen Monitor took just under 34 seconds to complete the same task. Yes the SP Wifi sucks. Mine did anyway.

 

[hysonmb]

As for your wifi issues, try this to fix it. I had the same issue and after doing this, I connect instantly.

Go to Internet Options -> Connections -> LAN Settings -> Uncheck "Automatically detect settings".

How much impact does this have on battery life if any?

 

[dlacaba]

How much impact does this have on battery life if any?

I'd assume not much if anything probably less of an impact. I'd guess that it took so long for me to connect because it constantly tried to detect new LAN Settings instead of using Settings already stored from the first time it connected. So...... your surface should be working less instead of more.

 

[ScottyS]

I have my LAN Settings -> Automatically detect settings checked, and I have no problem detecting and connecting to WiFi; it does it almost instantly.

It seems, from this forum, that some people got Surfaces that have problems with WiFi and Bluetooth, and some people don't. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones.

 

[machistmo]

I have my LAN Settings -> Automatically detect settings checked, and I have no problem detecting and connecting to WiFi; it does it almost instantly.

It seems, from this forum, that some people got Surfaces that have problems with WiFi and Bluetooth, and some people don't. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones.

Which doesn't say much for MicroSoft.