Is InstantGo a joke or is it just me?

[Brad_86]

Hi all,

I've been reading these forums for quite a while now and I'm at the point where I had to make a post. Our company has decided that we're replacing all PCs with Surface Pro 3s for mobile computing so I've been testing them for a while and it's been a painful experience.

Most issues have been resolved now but the real issue I see is with InstantGo / Connected Standby.

Is it just me or do all network adaptors drop out when it goes to standby? From my reading I took the whole point of InstantGo as your network stays up to update background apps etc. I'm finding the complete opposite, with the wireless adaptor, Surface dock, USB dock and Ethernet adaptor. Any online applications that need a connection to a server time out and open files (Office suite etc.) complain about being open by someone else as soon as the screen locks. It's a real mess and has caught out my users a number of times while copying files, updating application data etc.

I've turned off InstantGo and it behaves much better, as you'd expect a laptop to behave while on power. The only issue here is the power button or closing the cover puts it to sleep and takes 10-15 secs to come back, defeating the purpose of an instant-on tablet.

Any ideas or feedback would be great.

Thanks
Brad

 

[malberttoo]

Welcome to forum Brad, and here's my .02--

Connected Standby only works for MUI ("Metro" if you prefer) apps, let's get that out of the way first. Anything that's running on the Desktop goes to sleep, just like you closed the lid on a laptop or put a PC to sleep, and any network connections that you had going will break.

Metro apps are designed to separate their background core processes, and while in CS, those processes are briefly allowed to run at regualr intervals, for the purpose of staying updated (Skype, Weather, etc).

See if this clears some things up for you...

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/dn481223(v=vs.85).aspx

 

[Brad_86]

But I'm not closing the lid or putting it to sleep, I'm simply locking my screen and walking away for two minutes only to come back to 10 desktop applications that have all crashed due to loss of network connectivity...
I can understand this functionality when running on battery but the same behaviour when powered in a dock is a massive oversight by MS.

The fact that there are a number of threads over the place with users having the same gripe will hopefully make MS think about this approach.

It certainly isn't the "tablet that can replace your laptop".

 

[malberttoo]

But I'm not closing the lid or putting it to sleep, I'm simply locking my screen and walking away for two minutes only to come back to 10 desktop applications that have all crashed due to loss of network connectivity...
I can understand this functionality when running on battery but the same behaviour when powered in a dock is a massive oversight by MS.

The fact that there are a number of threads over the place with users having the same gripe will hopefully make MS think about this approach.

It certainly isn't the "tablet that can replace your laptop".

This happens on all your SP3's? That's weird. I have no such issue on mine.

 

[Brad_86]

Yes, all eight I have so far on a mixture of our own SOE and the shipped environment.
According to the post above it's the intended behaviour. MS documentation states that there is a phase of CS where all desktop applications enter a sleep state and network adapters are disabled.

I'd love to know why yours doesn't.

 

[jnjroach]

Connected Standby uses the S0ix Power State as defined by Intel (ARM ODMs have there own nomenclature for their Connected Standby Power States). In Connected Standby all Win32 Applications should enter into the S3 Power State as they are not S0iX compatible. All hardware goes into a very low powered state as well (akin to an ARM based Tablet or Smartphone). WinRT Connected Standby enabled aware apps are able to poll for a push/pull to a Cloud/Internet Service at specific intervals. Skype and Lync Mobile Phone Calls will come through in a Connected Standby State as will any Modern UI Calendar Appointment Reminders.

The SP3 uses a modified version of the S0iX Power Profile in that it adds two S4 Hibernation Power States to conserve battery (I've posted these numerous times).

As far as loss of connectivity, make sure your Firmware is up to date, 98% of the disappearing networks has been fixed. If you are using Cisco APs, there is an update for them to better support the SP3, IIRC you have to reach out to your support contact to get the fix.

Also, legacy or LOB Business Applications that refuse to enter into an S3 Power State can prevent Connected Standby from functioning correctly.

We've rolled out 50 SP3 to our Consultants and are having a great success.

 

[ptrkhh]

I've posted these numerous times

Yeah, we really need to have a pinned thread dedicated for that. As it is a quite new technology, a lot of people have questions about that.

 

[jnjroach]

Yeah, we really need to have a pinned thread dedicated for that. As it is a quite new technology, a lot of people have questions about that.

Done:

http://www.surfaceforums.net/threads/surface-pro-3-power-management-sticky.14215/

 

[theveterans]

Instant Go works perfectly on mine. I receive notifications and can stream and listen to radio app while it's "sleeping". Issue is battery drain is worse than the normal sleep due to WiFi, CPU, SSD and RAM being completely on but on "low power state"

 

[Brad_86]

Thanks for all your replies.
So from what I'm seeing it's only Metro apps that will keep the connection alive?
We're not using any Store apps in our environment at this point, we're effectively just replacing our laptops with the SP3s and running existing application from our Windows 7 SOE.

Firmware is 100% up to date.
Should I test with a radio app to see if that behaves as expected?
Also is it only the WiFi that would stay up when in standby? Should I not expect my dock's Ethernet to stay alive?

Regardless of whether it's working correctly or my expectations are wrong, it would be great for InstantGo to disable itself when on power...

 

[Brad_86]

I've attached a sleep study, is it possible to give me a rough idea of what's happening and what the devices are?

 

[jnjroach]

Thanks for all your replies.
So from what I'm seeing it's only Metro apps that will keep the connection alive?
We're not using any Store apps in our environment at this point, we're effectively just replacing our laptops with the SP3s and running existing application from our Windows 7 SOE.

Firmware is 100% up to date.
Should I test with a radio app to see if that behaves as expected?
Also is it only the WiFi that would stay up when in standby? Should I not expect my dock's Ethernet to stay alive?

Regardless of whether it's working correctly or my expectations are wrong, it would be great for InstantGo to disable itself when on power...

No Win32 Apps will remain active in Connected Standby on WinRT (Store) have the ability to poll. They are not Active outside of Media Apps like Xbox Music that can continue to play music. You can set the machine not to enter S0iX when on mains.

Also, according to the Sleep Study, something on your USB Bus is preventing the machine from entering into Connected Standby, potentially a Mouse or Keyboard?