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
    2019-12-19T03:33:09+00:00

    I returned mine about an hour ago. I am dissapointedto say the least. 

    First laptop had a strange stain on the cover and was obvious in any light. 

    2nd laptop had loud buzzing and issues with Wi Fi after waking from sleep. The buzzing actually felt like it was vibrating through to the laptop. 

    I got my money back and will invest in a product that does not seem to have these problems.

    Let me state, I am not looking for a perfect laptop...but for the price we pay, I dont expect stains on a laptop fresh out of a box, or a laptop that has buzzing from day 1.

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2019-12-18T06:51:37+00:00

    I also have the same buzzing. 

    Again it is not that loud, and it was by pure chance I put my head up next to the laptop to hear it..

    However, this is my 2nd unit as the first unit had some weird stains on the cover of the black surface. 

    Im just going to suck up the buzzing because performance wise has not been affected.

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2019-12-05T17:02:31+00:00

    I have the same problem. When the cpu is under load the buzzing sound disappears. It would be interesting to know if it is a intel specific problem.

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2019-12-05T01:42:51+00:00

    I have the same problem，but I can hear the buzz from top left corner of keyboard，just below the Esc or F1-3 key.

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2019-11-18T19:41:46+00:00

    Experiencing the same thing. It's buzzing but also kinda sound like coil whine when I listen close to the keyboard. Though it's not super loud, I can fairly easily notice it from 2-3 feet or more in a normal quiet home environment (even with the TV on in the background).

    Also I listened to a couple of SL3s at one retailer and it sounded like they had the same sound, but hard to hear how bad it was in a noisy shop.

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments