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New Firmware Update 9/29

jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
Do have a link to that specific driver? Im stuck with 15.68.3091.193. The roll back option is grayed out.
Also, I still have not recieved the "System Firmware Update – 9/29/2015", I've check for updates manually, however it does not show up.

According to this article the firmware update is improving stability:
Surface Pro 3 receives system firmware update with improvements
Download Surface Pro 3 from Official Microsoft Download Center

Download the .msi dated 9/29/2015 run the .msi and it should install all of the new stuff, make sure your cover is attached.
 

hazelmaeby

New Member
Same issue here. But I can fix. How to do.
When it boot to recovery, enter UEFI setting (fn + f8. windows key doesn't do anything.) enter safe mode and simply restart. Now It should boot correctly.

This! Finally resolved constant blue screen and failed auto repair. I had to click through Advanced Settings after failed boot and find a restart option that allowed me to enable Safe Start. Typecover and touch input are disabled, so I used a USB keyboard to reboot (alt-F4).

FWIW, running 8.1 on SP3.
 

Narshredder

New Member
Thanks for the advice but no luck. Horrible performance still remains:(. Downloads peak then crash the wireless capabilities. Might have to do another system restore.

If anyone is interested I managed to figure out what was causing horrid download performance. I've been using a Bluetooth mouse that was causing interference. With the mouse's receiver being used instead of Bluetooth, download speeds were back to normal! The only downside is that I have to use the only USB port the surface has. Luckily I have a hub.
 

jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
If anyone is interested I managed to figure out what was causing horrid download performance. I've been using a Bluetooth mouse that was causing interference. With the mouse's receiver being used instead of Bluetooth, download speeds were back to normal! The only downside is that I have to use the only USB port the surface has. Luckily I have a hub.
Do you have access to 5GHz WiFi? I've found that the Bluetooth/WiFi contention only happens when I'm using 2.4GHz WiFi....
 

Narshredder

New Member
Do you have access to 5GHz WiFi? I've found that the Bluetooth/WiFi contention only happens when I'm using 2.4GHz WiFi....
Currently on a 2.4GHz band. If I can find a network with a 5GHz band I'll test it and let you guys know how it works out.
 

zhenya

Active Member
Looks like MS has pulled this firmware update, predictably with NO communication on either roll-out or retraction. Causing lots of blue screens for users and for me, still sucking up 50% of cpu time although I'm lucky enough to still be able to boot.

TWO WEEKS they have known about this and still no fix! I lost TWO days of work last week because of this issue before it mysteriously went away on late Tuesday afternoon for the rest of the week. This morning I powered on my Surface for the first time since using it Friday afternoon, and same issue is back, and the device is UNUSABLE.

Perhaps now that they are done patting themselves on the back over their new hardware they can get down to making things work for their existing customers.
 

GreyFox7

Super Moderator
Staff member
Looks like MS has pulled this firmware update, predictably with NO communication on either roll-out or retraction. Causing lots of blue screens for users and for me, still sucking up 50% of cpu time although I'm lucky enough to still be able to boot.

TWO WEEKS they have known about this and still no fix! I lost TWO days of work last week because of this issue before it mysteriously went away on late Tuesday afternoon for the rest of the week. This morning I powered on my Surface for the first time since using it Friday afternoon, and same issue is back, and the device is UNUSABLE.

Perhaps now that they are done patting themselves on the back over their new hardware they can get down to making things work for their existing customers.
Well after a couple months of erratic behavior the latest S3 updates *seem* to have calmed things down substantially. I noticed that the SP3 updates and S3 updates did not arrive at the same time and AFAIK were not the same. I can only hope that when they fix your problems they don't reintroduce mew problems on the S3 because frankly I was ready to bail on this device, now I'll give it a bit more time but I am still leery.

I was even considering replacing the S3 with a entry m3 SP4 but that might just be swapping one problem for another. With a return of the clone wars :) I may look at some reviews of the Surface clones before making a final decision. I Love the potential of these Surfaces if they could just deliver more consistent stability & reliability.
 

Red-Oak

Member
On my PC I keep backups of the drives in case updates don't work out well. Would this method work for a firmware update on an SP3?
 

VickiFL

Active Member
Well after a couple months of erratic behavior the latest S3 updates *seem* to have calmed things down substantially. I noticed that the SP3 updates and S3 updates did not arrive at the same time and AFAIK were not the same. I can only hope that when they fix your problems they don't reintroduce mew problems on the S3 because frankly I was ready to bail on this device, now I'll give it a bit more time but I am still leery.

I was even considering replacing the S3 with a entry m3 SP4 but that might just be swapping one problem for another. With a return of the clone wars :) I may look at some reviews of the Surface clones before making a final decision. I Love the potential of these Surfaces if they could just deliver more consistent stability & reliability.

I have experienced the same with my SP3 and S3's.

I just recently got my S3 through AT&T, and couldn't figure out why I hated it so much. It only has 2G of RAM. I will be exchanging it this Thursday for the 128/4GB model. I am hoping for better performance as I am used to my SP3 i5. I don't expect it to be the same, but I do expect it to at least be comparable.
 

GreyFox7

Super Moderator
Staff member
I have experienced the same with my SP3 and S3's.

I just recently got my S3 through AT&T, and couldn't figure out why I hated it so much. It only has 2G of RAM. I will be exchanging it this Thursday for the 128/4GB model. I am hoping for better performance as I am used to my SP3 i5. I don't expect it to be the same, but I do expect it to at least be comparable.
There is quite a difference between the Atom (Intel's redheaded step child) and the Core i5. The Skylake Core m3 would even be a good upgrade from Atom. My most fervent hope is that they make a Core-M 10.8" Surface 3a/4 that uses SSD not eMMC storage. :)

My guess is that Apple, in their statement that the iPad Pro is better than 80% of mobile/portable PCs shipped, was talking about all the Atom based units mostly. It's the only logical conclusion I can draw

Adding a Core-M CPU with SSD option to the 10.8" Surface 3 would give Microsoft two strong similarly priced competitors to Apple's iPad/iPad Pro lineup. The upscale Surfaces just blow them out of the water.
 
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zhenya

Active Member
On my PC I keep backups of the drives in case updates don't work out well. Would this method work for a firmware update on an SP3?

I don't think so, as Microsoft says that 'Firmware updates cannot be uninstalled or reverted to an earlier version.'
 
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