My Surface Book 2 i7 256gb is experiencing coil whine.

Anonymous
2017-11-21T08:05:28+00:00

Is there anyway to get around this?

Definitely notice coil whine whenever my SB2 is plugged into charging and on high performance mode. I am concerned about this issue as I was hoping issues like these didn't come with such a high price tag.

Surface | Surface Book | Power and battery

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Anonymous
2018-04-16T18:14:15+00:00

Update 8/1/2018:

Thank you for your feedback. We have published a set of drivers and system updates which helps mitigate this issue. This is now available in Windows Update.

We recommend that you install the latest updates to keep your Surface performing its best. You can get updates now by checking Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update.

As a temporary workaround, we suggest that 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.”

You can find the details of the latest update on our Surface Book 2 update history page.

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-02-24T23:35:58+00:00

    It's really sad, I had to return my Surface Book 2 (Switzerland) due to excessive coil whining. Microsoft really should react and at least acknowledge the problem. I think they would sell more units and the customers would be more happy with this otherwise very cool device. Since Razer could fix theirs with a bios update, there is at least  a little hope. If they fix the problem, I will buy it again in no time.

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-02-24T09:45:54+00:00

    We understand that it may be causing the undesired noise when using the device. This is normal given the high-powered component and the specs of this model. 

    Dearest Microsoft,

    You say "This is normal given the high-powered component and the specs of this model."

    I cannot agree.

    This is not "normal". Surface Book 2 is making this noise even when the only program I have open is Notepad.

    If SB2 were a normal device with high-powered component and specs, it wouldn't be making this noise when it's trying to run Notepad.

    Or, are you saying that Notepad is pushing SB2 to its limit? Honestly, how can you call this normal? You defy logic.

    There is a problem here. The first step to solving a problem is acknowledging the problem. Please take the first step.

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-02-23T21:44:23+00:00

    Same thing here, especially when plugged into an external display.  Having more than one application open, albeit Google Chrome, gives me coil whine.  

    It was so noticeable on mine I returned it to Best buy to get a replacement.

    The new one still makes the whine, but a bit quieter.

    WTF Microsoft... This is not "Normal."  Especially for a "premium" device.

    I'm not doing any high end computing or gaming (Which does make a lot of expected fan noise)

    All I can say, is that I'm so disappointed with this SB2 and most of the Surface "premium" peripherals I bought to go with it.  high priced junk IMO.  And I REALLY have been trying to like it!

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-02-21T22:36:13+00:00

    I have a 15" SB2 and today for the first time since purchase (about 3 weeks ago) I now have the coil whine when wall power is attached.  Gets louder if move from low performance toward high performance.  The higher the "performance" setting the louder the coil whine in the laptop lid (tablet portion).  Going to spec a Dell Precision now (besides - hard to believe the SB2 maxes out at 16GB RAM)

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