Crackling started on my surface pro (Cooling system?)

[Foreverseeking]

my surface pro is popping and crackling when being used in portrait mode( only affects it when USB is down)

sounds like there is air in the liquid cooler. does anyone else have this? there is only one other person I can find online with this same issue. Hardware failure?

edit: getting worse. flipping the sp4 removes the sound, but as soon as the USB side is facing the ground it sounds like a loud grumble belly. Sounds almost like a pumps broken and the water is having trouble circulating. I will be calling Microsoft tomorrow.

 

[Foreverseeking]

87 views, and not one response... I would love to know if you guys experience this or not. was just on help with Ms live. painful, and didn't help. Pretty sure I'm sending it back, as the noise is far worse and louder than anything the sp3 ever made.

 

[robertcan]

That's one issue I haven't had but it would be enough for me to return it. It's certainly not normal and definitely sounds like a HW issue.

 

[Foreverseeking]

Yeah it's horrible. Was using it in the kitchen this morning, with lots of background noise, and could still hear it. It only affects it in the portrait position with the USB on the bottom, but that is the normal portrait position (as the pen clicks to the top). I think it's a faulty pump. Whatever the case it's going back, as I don't want a tablet that sounds like an old fridge. Looking online, it seems to be very very rare as no one is talking about it. Just got unlucky I guess.

Microsoft have already sent me UPS return form to send it back. Now the big question is, buy an I5 replacement or the I7... Probably sticking with the I5 as love how it runs so cool!

 

[obmotum]

Just to be clear: Surface Pro 4 does not have pumps It uses normal Heatpipes, look here Heat pipe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It sounds like the bearing of the Fan might be damaged or faulty. What ever it is, I would return it.
If you are satisfied with the i5 model, then why would you go and get the i7?

 

[Foreverseeking]

If you are satisfied with the i5 model, then why would you go and get the i7?

Thanks for the info. As for the I7, for gaming on the go, lightroom on the go... that little more headroom. Also the SP3 scored better on battery use in a few reviews I read, due to race to idle. But it sounds like it's still not got a perfect solution for dissipating the heat, from what I have read and the quietness of the SP4 (before these gurgling sounds) was something I loved!