Surface Pro 3 overheating with virtual keyboard

[Cameron]

I wonder whether any other readers are familiar with this issue:
My wife has a Surface Pro 3 and when she uses the virtual (on-screen) keyboard, the back of the computer gets very hot, very quickly. Like within less than 10 minutes. The battery life is also pitifully short, less than a hour.
However, when I use it with the real (detachable) keyboard, it does not overheat and the battery life does not seem unreasonably short in my opinion (given that the battery life on this model well-known to be pretty crappy begin with).
Has anybody had a similar problem where a computer would overheat when using the virtual keyboard, but not when using the real keyboard.
Thank you for any suggestions you might offer.

 

[dustywoodworker]

No. I have not had the same experiences with my Surface Pro 3. It does get warm but I have always concluded that was because when I use the virtual keyboard I usually have the Pro 3 in my lap. The majority of the time I use the Pro 3 with a wireless keyboard/mouse.

Yes, battery life could be better but mine does last more than an hour. I would say that I get 8 hours of reliable service if I start with a fully charged battery.

I just turned the Pro 3 on and disconnected the charger. I currently have a fully charged battery (100%). I'll check back and report later. Using a wireless keyboard and mouse.

 

[dustywoodworker]

After two hours, the battery is down to 81%.

 

[Trouble]

I may be wrong here, but.....
Wasn't there some firmware upgrades for the Surface Pro (don't remember which number)
Might be worth researching as to whether or not any of those might have addressed this issue.

 

[dustywoodworker]

Cameron: It has been 3 1/2+ hours and I am down to 73%. This looks as though it is consistent with what I thought before. I do recall that when it gets down to around 30% it begins to drop off more rapidly.

Trouble: Thanks for the feedback. I'll go looking for firmware upgrades.

 

[Trouble]

As a general rule, if your device is working well and without issue you probably either don't need a firmware update or you already have it in place.
Most of the time firmware updates (think of them like flashing your BIOS) are accompanied by notations that provide information as to why they were published and what they are intended to remedy.

 

[Wolfie]

Hi Cameron,

does the Surface Pro have the latest version of Windows 10?:

https://www.windows10forums.com/threads/how-to-upgrade-windows-10-to-the-latest-version.13015/

 

[Cameron]

Yes it has the latest version. All regular updates have been loaded. I agree with an earlier posting that once the battery level reaches a certain point - possible around 30% - it really plummets after that.

 

[Cameron]

Cameron: It has been 3 1/2+ hours and I am down to 73%. This looks as though it is consistent with what I thought before. I do recall that when it gets down to around 30% it begins to drop off more rapidly.

Trouble: Thanks for the feedback. I'll go looking for firmware upgrades.

After less than 2 hours I was down to 70%.

 

[Saltgrass]

Any chance you could leave the Task Manager open and watch the Performance section to see if the CPU or drive is related to the situation?

 

[Cameron]

Thank you for the suggestion. I hadn't though of it but I'll give it a try.

 

[qwerty0351]

Thanks a lot for the suggestions guys! I used to own the Surface Go and was thinking about upgrading to the surface pro 3. But I'll think twice before making my purchase now ;3

 

[Cameron]

I have not actually found a solution to the over-heating problem but check out some of the other threads. It seems that the Surface Pro 3 is notorious for its short battery-life. A lot of individuals, as well as reviewers in quasi-legit magazines (PCWorld etc) have commented on the poor battery-life. Many have also said that MS has worked out that issue and that the battery-life on the Pro 6 is much better.

 

[dustywoodworker]

On the exercise discussed earlier, my Surface Pro remained alive for nearly 8 hours before I had to recharge.

Let us not lump everything into the same bundle just because a few have had problems. I am very satisfied with my surface pro 3.