Surface Laptop 3 Faint Buzzing Sound

Anonymous
2019-10-23T21:50:20+00:00

Hello,

I’ve got the i5 8GB Surface Laptop 3 (13.5-inch), and today, while browsing the internet, I noticed a fairly faint  buzzing sound coming from under the keyboard. It was faint enough you couldn’t hear it from a couple metres away, and sometimes buzzed continuously, other times buzzed in short repetitive bursts.

It didn’t sound like the fan to me, so I opened up the task manager to see if browsing was straining the computer in some way.

I have updated the computer completely, but the buzzing persisted.

Is this a normal electronics problem? Is it actually just the fan? Or is it possibly a defective unit?

Edit/Update:

I took the device into the MS Store today to see if there was something wrong. The staff took it into the back and tested it. They found increasing the computer's workload caused the sound to increase and described it as a popping static-y sound. They replaced the device and I have a new one now. Unfortunately, I've found through usage that this one is also making the sound. I am waiting to see if a firmware update reduces the noise since it seems pervasive across the devices.

Surface | Surface Laptop | Install and update

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

375 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2020-11-25T07:22:56+00:00

    yes! that's such a shame for Microsoft. i bought my SL3 recently. and the buzzing noise still persist. its so sad. i absolutely love this laptop. but Microsoft needs to find solution to this. 

    please get an update or anything Microsoft.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2020-11-17T01:26:22+00:00

    I agree. Bought mine a couple weeks ago and I fell in love, yet when doing schoolwork I noticed it. It's a real shame and i critique laptops and set high standards for premium devices, for a product that costs $1,000 to this is unacceptable begin with. Microsoft isn't going to do anything, unless it's something as bad as shattering displays. After my first surface laptop go being "defective" (Nope, apparently jittering and screen tearing are "normal behavior" for this type of product!!) and then purchasing an SL3 then returning it and then purchasing a SL Go (which i just recently returned) and finding the screen to be BENT and still have the same behavior as the last SL Go (Oddly it didn't have coil whine) is unacceptable. Safe to say they've lost me forever as a costumer.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2020-11-09T10:40:18+00:00

    I am also having the same issue and it is driving me insane, I already have tinnitus to deal with!

    I did notice that for a brief second the buzzing goes as you remove the power cable, then returns. That surely means it is power related, either battery or PSU?

    Either way, this needs to be fixed.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2020-10-15T14:54:56+00:00

    I have had my Surface Laptop 3 for 7 months and today it just started the weird buzzing sound. It happens when on power and on battery. I only use my laptop for office and web browsing (no gaming). Not sure what's causing this, but its very distracting.

    Second day dealing with this issue and it sounds like the fan is going insane full speed and today is louder than when it started yesterday. I did an update this morning, restarted, but nothing has changed. Would be nice if someone from Microsoft would pop in and address this. I paid $1200 for this laptop 7 months ago and expect it to not sound like an airplane about to take off.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2020-10-10T11:08:34+00:00

    I have the same issue with my surface laptop 3. I thought a few people would notice this but this is a serious issue and the laptops should have been repaired by Microsoft. Looks like they don't have any solution for it.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments