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
    2018-08-01T03:34:26+00:00

    My surface book 2 is still emitting the coil whine even with the slider set to the Recommended battery mode.

    Any official updates would be appreciated.

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-07-15T10:13:58+00:00

    This is an extremely disappointing issue from a device that is supposed to be top of the line, is supposed to show other manufacturers how to make a device properly and comes with an extremely premium price point to match.

    I cannot stand using my device when it's plugged into a power adaptor. The coil whine is extremely loud and very annoying. Dramatically reducing the CPU frequency by changing the power options to the lowest level while plugged in decreases the volume of the coil whine but does not eliminate it completely, and as others have said, certain actions such as opening the built-in camera app re-introduce loud coil whine at any power setting. If I wanted a low performing CPU, I wouldn't have bought a top of the line laptop that cannot be used in performance mode.

    The ironic thing is that now when my device is unplugged, I can use the CPU to its full potential on the highest power mode and when it's plugged in, I have to severely limit the CPU by using the lowest power mode. IT SHOULD BE THE OTHER WAY AROUND!

    Microsoft need to come out with a more detailed statement for this, formally acknowledge the problem, apologise to existing users, however more importantly, they need to release a firmware upgrade to reduce or fix this issue. Razor were capable of releasing a firmware upgrade which eliminated coil whine from their laptops that have near identical specs (8th generation i7 with a GTX 1060) so I'm sure that Microsoft, with all their resources are well positioned to do the same. This is not the first laptop or surface device they have produced.

    The temporary note "marked as an answer to raise visibility" is unfortunately not good enough. 3 months ago your post said you were "investigating the issue." Could you please provide us with an update on the investigation, proof that you are actively looking into this and an update on what you have found and preferably a timeline for a fix. This is a top of the line device from Microsoft and it is imperative that you update this device to overcome this issue now.

    Thank you for your understanding.

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-06-09T18:14:41+00:00

    Just want to add that my brand new SB2 15'' has an awful coil whine whenever the mouse moves, even when no programs are open and when the battery is on "recommended" settings. It's really upsetting how loud it is...

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-04-17T18:59:42+00:00

    Please do not mark this thread as "ANSWERED". Until you have a proper fix, please leave the thread as "UNANSWERED" as this is misleading new comer to read your FALSE instructions. 

    I don't understand how this will "raise visibility". Surely it has the opposite effect.

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