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

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-10-29T23:36:37+00:00

    Hi, 

    I am running on "Best Performance" right now, but unfortunately can still hear the sound when I make the computer do any kind of work.

    Thank you for your effort! Please let me know if there is something else I can try!

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-11-07T05:19:03+00:00

    I currently have the i5 256GB 8GB and I am also experiencing this problem. My first one had this problem, along with heating problems and even louder noises. After returning that, I got this replacement. It is not as loud, however, I still hear the slight buzzing consistently and it becomes very annoying, especially when I'm in a quiet environment.

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-11-10T05:05:56+00:00

    I have noticed the same sound coming from my new Surface Laptop 3, and after some investigation, I have made the following observations:

    The buzzing is not affected by load on the CPU, but is consistent while the laptop is on.

    Putting the battery on high performance mode does not affect the buzzing in any way.

    The sound is coming from directly beneath the keyboard between F12, the power key, and the +/= key.

    Pitch can be altered slightly and briefly by pressing the "page up" and "page down" (F11 and F12) keys.

    Pressing the power key while the unit is unplugged causes the buzzing to stop immediately.

    If the unit is plugged in, the buzzing persists, even if the power key is pressed, which leads me to believe that this is a battery related issue.

    Hopefully this can aid in developing some sort of solution. I think this is a fantastic device, and it would be a shame if there were any kind of widespread defect that would warrant a recall, or hardware repairs.

    All the best.

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  4. Anonymous
    2019-11-12T06:31:02+00:00

    Same Problem with my 13 inch Surface Book 3. All Updates done, still there. 

    WhitePines description is on point. 

    Can get annoying in quiet environment. 

    Hope there will be some initiative, facing this issue. 

    Thank you.

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  5. Anonymous
    2019-11-13T00:44:08+00:00

    I have this sound too, I just got the unit today. I have a feeling this is normal on the SL3.

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