Surface Pro 7 randomly freezes while using the Zoom app

The issue is certainly with Surface Pro 7, which does not have a fan to cool down the CPU or GPU, unless you got the top of the line model with Intel i7-1065G7 (https://surfacetip.com/is-surface-pro-7-fanless/).  It seems the computer would freeze if the CPU or GPU overheats, which can occur not only when using Zoom but also when running some other computation-intensive applications for a long time. If you get a different computer with active cooling with a CPU fan, it probably would not have a similar issue, especially if it has a dedicated GPU. Not sure why the "genius engineers" at Microsoft decided to remove the CPU fan in Microsoft Surface to render this $1000+ machine to work worse than a $200 tablet or a 10-years old computer. 

If Zoom is the only issue, it is not hopeless as long as you can manage to reduce the work of the GPU. I have not had issues recently after doing the following:

1. Disable hardware acceleration
2. Change to use Direct3D11 in Video Rendering Method (the default is Direct3D12, which makes the GPU work harder)
3. Uncheck "Enable HD" in the Video setting so that the CPU/GPU will spend less effort in processing the video

Try to logout and log back in after making the changes (or kill Zoom in Task Manager and then restart Zoom)

Of course, it also depends on the CPU you have. Mine is i5-1035G4. Not sure whether it would work with the i3 processor.

I've got the i3 with 4gb of RAM and I've done pretty much the same and it's been working for me since I did it.

Something else that I do is make sure it not plugged into the charger during the call.  That's to help with the heat as well.

Hi all,

I have the Surface Pro 7 i5. Though I haven't had the issue of it randomly freezing while using Zoom, I've experienced horrible thermal throttling which shows the device gradually until it freezes or becomes so slow it is unusable. The following setup worked for me: 

1. Set the power profile to "Best battery life" to reduce the device's heat output
2. Position a fan blowing air towards the back of the device to prevent throttling
3. Use Krisp (krisp.ai) to suppress the fan noises during calls

Hope that helped!

Oops just looked and i didnt have hardware acceleration disabled. 

but I plan to go back to Best Buy tomorrow to see if there are other touch screen/tablets. Any suggestions? : (. My 15 day window to return ends tomorrow.

I got this one for my daughter and she used Zoom daily on it. Like the Surface, it also supports active pens (must be Lenovo's pen and might need to be purchased separately).

https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/5065640/Lenovo-Flex-5-Laptop-14-Touch/

The issue is certainly with Surface Pro 7, which does not have a fan to cool down the CPU or GPU, unless you got the top of the line model with Intel i7-1065G7 (https://surfacetip.com/is-surface-pro-7-fanless/).  It seems the computer would freeze if the CPU or GPU overheats, which can occur not only when using Zoom but also when running some other computation-intensive applications for a long time. If you get a different computer with active cooling with a CPU fan, it probably would not have a similar issue, especially if it has a dedicated GPU. Not sure why the "genius engineers" at Microsoft decided to remove the CPU fan in Microsoft Surface to render this $1000+ machine to work worse than a $200 tablet or a 10-years old computer. 

If Zoom is the only issue, it is not hopeless as long as you can manage to reduce the work of the GPU. I have not had issues recently after doing the following:

1. Disable hardware acceleration
2. Change to use Direct3D11 in Video Rendering Method (the default is Direct3D12, which makes the GPU work harder)
3. Uncheck "Enable HD" in the Video setting so that the CPU/GPU will spend less effort in processing the video

Try to logout and log back in after making the changes (or kill Zoom in Task Manager and then restart Zoom)

Of course, it also depends on the CPU you have. Mine is i5-1035G4. Not sure whether it would work with the i3 processor.

Oops just looked and i didnt have hardware acceleration disabled. 

but I plan to go back to Best Buy tomorrow to see if there are other touch screen/tablets. Any suggestions? : (. My 15 day window to return ends tomorrow.