Microsoft Responds to Surface 2 Overheating Issue
Microsoft plans to release an update to fix unnecessary screen dimming.
Having trouble with the screen on your Surface 2 or Surface Pro 2 dimming for seemingly no reason? You’re not the only one, and Microsoft is reportedly working on a fix to resolve the problem. When this fix will be released is unknown at this point, but expect it to be a part of Patch Tuesday in the near future.
The screen dimming problem seems to stem from long use of graphic intensive applications like gaming. "I have been using my Surface 2 for a week now and everything has been great except when I play Halo: Spartan Assault. The back gets pretty hot while playing (which I don't mind) but then my Surface automatically dims the screen to the lowest level. I have to pause and wait for the Surface to cool down before playing again," states one Surface 2 owner.
Many owners complain of screen dimming when using an Xbox controller, assuming that because of a lack of touch input, the screen automatically goes into power saving mode. Others believe that their Surface 2 unit is merely defective, but that’s not the case at all. Microsoft blames the problem on overheating, and calls the dimming "unnecessary".
"Surface devices may dim the screen as thermal temperatures rise from extended, high CPU intensive activities-- like gaming. In some scenarios this does not appear necessary. Our top priority is for customers to have the best possible experience on their Surface device. We’re working on a tuning update that will remove this unnecessary dimming event. You can expect this update in an upcoming Windows Update package," Microsoft forum moderator Steven B. explained.
"In the meantime allow the Surface to cool down for a minute or so in order to return the screen to previous brightness levels," Steven B. added.
The Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 have been on the market for several weeks, the former sporting a Tegra 4 chip and Windows RT 8.1 and the latter featuring Intel’s Core i5-4200U “Haswell” processor and Windows 8.1. The ARM-based Surface 2 has a starting price of $449 and the x86-based Surface Pro 2 has a starting price of $899.

Interesting... I wonder if the fix will also apply to Surface Pro 1's... I'll keep my eyes open for it. Now that it's been mentioned and brought to my attention, I'll probably see it more often =(
(ya, suck it Apple lovers, you've had more problems with your gear than the Surface has)
Either way, I've not seen this with my first or 2nd gen Surface Pro and I've played intense games like The Secret World, CounterStrike, Hitman...
No doubt, that's why I don't buy anything with Foxconn parts
Yikes... In a world where you cannot find a single major tech company without some serious blemish marring at least marring of their major products, a dimming screen when getting too hot makes a product inferior? Could you tell us who you buy products from, so I can check their records and see what "inferior product" you've dumped money into?
Issues like this happen. If they CAN fix this with a software update, it's an incredibly minor issue in the grand scheme of things. If they can't fix it with an update, in a world of red/yellow/blue rings of death, exploding batteries, software updates that brick system, "you're holding it wrong"s, and all that jazz, it's still a relatively minor tech issue. Yet another case of blowing something out of proportion because it's MS...
All that being said, this is a tech problem and, no way around it, MS screwed up. The Surface products tend to be quite solid - just read some reviews. Well constructed, good form, good support, relatively easy to use. Mistakes happen, one happened here, but the line itself tends to be quality.
As for Wilco... Could you tell us what Chinese sweatshop-labour manufacturer you support that doesn't product "inferior products"? Plenty of Foxconn made stuff goes off without a hitch, and plenty of non-Foxconn stuff has problems when hitting the consumer's hands. Heck, even made in the Western World goods have gads of problems.
Yikes... In a world where you cannot find a single major tech company without some serious blemish marring at least marring of their major products, a dimming screen when getting too hot makes a product inferior? Could you tell us who you buy products from, so I can check their records and see what "inferior product" you've dumped money into?
Issues like this happen. If they CAN fix this with a software update, it's an incredibly minor issue in the grand scheme of things. If they can't fix it with an update, in a world of red/yellow/blue rings of death, exploding batteries, software updates that brick system, "you're holding it wrong"s, and all that jazz, it's still a relatively minor tech issue. Yet another case of blowing something out of proportion because it's MS...
All that being said, this is a tech problem and, no way around it, MS screwed up. The Surface products tend to be quite solid - just read some reviews. Well constructed, good form, good support, relatively easy to use. Mistakes happen, one happened here, but the line itself tends to be quality.
As for Wilco... Could you tell us what Chinese sweatshop-labour manufacturer you support that doesn't product "inferior products"? Plenty of Foxconn made stuff goes off without a hitch, and plenty of non-Foxconn stuff has problems when hitting the consumer's hands. Heck, even made in the Western World goods have gads of problems.
That was sarcasm for Apple products
I just love it when people bash a product, because like you said, EVERY product or company has issues. Apple folks make it sound like they don't ever poo even though there's clear evidence every human does...