Surface Laptop 3 Faint Buzzing Sound

Hi guys,

Have the same issue with 15 inches, i7.

Indeed - this buzzing/static sound appairs only when the processor is in the idle state.

I read some topics - it 'buzzing' with other brands (I found the same with DELL laptop).

I found here some answers that you can run some application (docker panel) to hit the processor :-) and not allow to go to the idle state. well, indeed - it works.

From the other sources I found that you can disable this mode from the register:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Processor]

"Capabilities"=dword:0007e066

But in this case, I hope, everyone understands that your battery will go faster. Even during sleep mode. So, I don't recommend this approach.

I contacted MS support about this issue. They replaced me with the laptop but the new one has the same issue. The official answer was:

"We are currently investigating this issue. As a workaround, when your Surface is plugged into the power supply, click on the battery icon in the Windows taskbar and set the Power Mode slider to either 'Recommended' or 'Better performance'."

I can say only - Shame on you, Microsoft!

BTW - this didn't help me. The processor went to the Idle state event on the 'Better performance'.

The laptop itself nice: fast enough, quiet, and cold (no fans on the middle jobs, the temperature is around 40 degrees).

I couldn't say that this noise makes me crazy, but this situation when I spent 1.5 weeks for a replacement, 1 week for the investigation - makes me angry. I was expecting to find that this is a known issue (or even expected behavior, I don't mind) from Microsoft but I just see that a lot of people are spending time doing MS work...

First SL3 I bought had a bad battery and had to replace it within a week of buying it. Had to wait over a week to receive a refund. Bought a new one and now I have this problem. Also, I can't return it because I'm a student and can't go without a laptop. Lovely Microsoft.

i've had mine since late december now, and i went on and off for a long time about returning the laptop because of the buzzing noise. i decided to hang in there in case my brain somehow got adjusted to it, and even though it still annoys me when i hear it, it's no longer all i think about. during normal daytime use it's not noticeable unless i lean in close to the keyboard, so it's only a problem late at night in quieter conditions. that's when i start the winstep nexus dock which makes the computer completely quiet (i just hide the dock in the upper left corner of the screen)

i didn't want my ocd to get the best of me and return an otherwise perfect laptop because of a minor annoyance. i'd be more worried using a new dell xps 13 which reportedly suffers extreme issues with overheating. at least the buzzing noise won't damage the laptop.

the other week one of the rubber feet fell off. easy to fix, but it still brought some perspective on the whole thing. the laptop has been so flawless in every other way that that the buzzing problem seemed bigger than it really is.

I have the same issue.  The buzzing sound is persistent and regardless of what setting the batter setting is set to.

hope there is a solution.

Quang

Same as the other almost 200 people on this thread alone. 15 inch i716GB RAM.

Had the first once "serviced", which they just replaced. The second one's buzzing is louder than the first one. Sounds like constant TV static.

It's hard to tell when people are overexaggerating online but I am not. I use an external monitor, and the laptop is 6 feet away from me at least. I live off a busy road and get a lot of traffic noise but I can still hear this constant TV static sound clearly from across the room. Using the laptop without any accessories, right in front of me, sounds like a cicada. At least with the first device I had the buzzing seemed to wane a bit. This second device, the buzzing is constant.

Even though they replaced it (which didn't resolve the issue), there was no communication from Microsoft acknowledging the issue I described or affirming the replacement wouldn't have the same issue (which is does).

I'm going to try again as my $2,000 is worth more than this. I was an Apple user before this. Microsoft has closed, or is closing, all its physical stores and all customer support is automated so there's no hope in talking to an actual person. I want this to work out so badly with Microsoft but thus far it has been a disappointing experience.

EDIT: Did get in contact with a real person, eventually. It's not easy but it's possible. TBD on the overall issue though.

EDIT2: Third unit (second replacement) same issue right out of box. I think they're just cycling out the same units with the same issues, running out the clock until the limited warranty expires and they no longer have to deal with us. I'm not going away though. Going to keep trying.

EDIT3: Jumped through many, many hoops of system settings, updates, and frankly insulting obvious assumptions for... nothing to work. Had a back and fourth exchange with a nice support rep for awhile. Even sent them multiple videos so they could hear the noise. Nothing has worked and I don't think anything ever will. This is a manufacturer defect that the manufacturer, Microsoft, refuses to address. I've had it. Once Apple comes out with their Arm processor devices, I'll be unloading this junk Surface and switching back to mac. When it comes time to upgrade my team, I'll give them a choice of macOS or Linux.

Sadly, buyer beware. Beware Microsoft.