Surface Pro 4 - Screen won't wake from sleep

"Unfortunately, nearly all software publishers avoid disclosing to users when they are working on a problem and what they are doing.  I suspect they are reluctant to acknowledge the possibility of a problem they haven't precisely confirmed.  And once they have precisely confirmed it, the solution is so automatic there's no value in updating users. "

I think the reluctance more has to do with apathy and a fear of liability for knowingly selling machines that do not work as advertised.

As for the problems, if we take at face value the claims that lot 1610 or later machines work and earlier machines do not, and that problems persist despite multiple reinstalls of Windows, to me that points at one of the following:

1. Bad firmware updater that corrupts/garbles/fails to update but still reports an updated version number so it still doesn't work. This would explain why some people only start to get the problem after each successive major firmware/driver release. Also, could it be that lot 1610 and later work because they never had the disastrously bad launch firmware installed?
2. Bad hardware components with intermittent flaws. Maybe MS got a box of counterfeit board controller chips without knowing it?
3. Bad dock/connector design. Many like me experience most of our trouble when connecting to a dock. Perhaps there are fundamental flaws with whatever proprietary standard MS went with for their docking connector. This would explain the need for the Surface Dock firmware updater (although why there isn't one for the SP3 dock which was advertised as compatible with the SP4 is a mystery).

I've read a large fraction, maybe most, of the postings here.  It does not seem probable to me that this is entirely a hardware problem on specific machines.  

Certainly, that could be a factor.  But Windows inappropriately handling something that a sizable minority of SP users do better explains why the problem recurs with certain users through many different replacement machines.  That also better explains why it is hard for Microsoft to fix the problem.  

I don't claim to be an expert.  But it seems to me that Microsoft failure is more related to inadequate diagnostic software than to using cheap hardware components.  I too suffer from this wake-up problem but only about five to 10 percent of the time.  

So I have mixed feelings about the time it takes MIcrosoft to react to problems like this.  I want my SP4 to wake up EVERY time but have also suffered the mess created when inadequately tested fixes are hastily published.

Unfortunately, nearly all software publishers avoid disclosing to users when they are working on a problem and what they are doing.  I suspect they are reluctant to acknowledge the possibility of a problem they haven't precisely confirmed.  And once they have precisely confirmed it, the solution is so automatic there's no value in updating users. 

So far I'm going to have to disagree with you about it not being hardware driven. I've had four SP4s now. I have set all of them up identically. The first three started having problems in the first 24 hours. This last one--Lot 1613--has been going 3 days now with no issues. That's not to say it won't have problems two or three weeks from now, but there are some fairly significant differences on this newest SP4. It is clearly faster loading programs. Internet browsers are very noticeably faster. Battery life is hugely improved. Video playback has gone from about four hours run time to as long as seven hours. (Both at 50% screen brightness.) Normal use has gone from about 6 hours run time to about 9. (50% Brightness.) Chrome crashed regularly on the first three, it has not crashed yet on the newest device. The fact that this latest device has been waking properly and runs significantly better is almost certainly due to a hardware difference.

I've run the last three SP4 all in the last week, all identical software. Something is markedly different between the latest one and the earlier ones; if it isn't software it seems likely it's hardware. Besides, the battery life improvements alone are well worth the swap even if this unit eventually starts failing to wake.

If it is hardware MS is not at all likely to advertise that fact. If they did, they'd have to replace every SP4 out there older than lot 1610 or so. Let's face it, most people will live with hibernation or the USB bus workaround. Looking at the mixed reviews on Amazon, i think MS would be better off in the long run to replace the older devices, but what American corporation actually looks at the long run over short term profits? Very few.

The problem is that Microsoft is no longer the land of the shining star.  What it is now is the land of the drones.  The shining stars that have the ability to perform this level of troubleshooting have all left on their magic carpets of gold. 

We need a shining star.

Very small statistics, but in my office there are three lot #15xx machines - ALL of them have the sleep issue, most of the owners disabled sleep and enabled hibernate to get around the issue initially. Two of us has gone to the Microsoft store to get a newer model - and that's fixed the problem so far. I would venture to guess that if you have a lot 15xx machine (maybe even earlier 16xx machine), majority of them have the sleep issue.

With all the executives at Redmond using SP4 or SB, I'm sure they're aware of the problem.

My belief is that Microsoft is engaged in a damage control mode for this particular issue. These machines are not easy to service and the usual servicing method is to replace the machine - this has to be very costly. #1 rule is to not talk about the fight club - ur, I mean the sleep issue. #2 rule is to not let people come in to the Microsoft store screaming about the issue by ignoring them - see if you can sell them the warranty to mitigate the cost of replacing the machines. #3 rule is see if they can address the earlier machine hardware problem with software tweaks - release changes to beta test the fix with users - this might also slow down the rate of returns.

• Peter