WiFi deteriorates after closing the lid on Surface Book connected to Surface Dock

Anonymous
2015-12-03T05:04:27+00:00

If I close the lid of my Surface Book while connected to a Surface Dock, WiFi speed will drop from 54 Mbps to as low as 1 Mpbs.  The WiFi router is an AT&T U-Verse Pace 3801 HGV and the power setting for close the lid while plugged in is Do Nothing.  I am taking this thing back to the store for a refund if it can't be fixed.

Surface | Surface Book | Network

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-04-07T02:54:45+00:00

    I started this thread a long time ago.   The reason for the problem is the location of the WiFi antenna at the front top of the screen, when the lid is closed the antenna is isolated by the Faraday effect.  Unless you are sitting right next to the access point the signal will deteriorate.  Future Surface Books may not have this problem if Microsoft moves the antenna, but for those of us that already own one the solutions are few and unsatisfactory:

    • Leave the lid open
    • Get an external WiFi adapter
    • Connect the Surface to a Surface Dock or equivalent and use an external WiFi adapter or Ethernet connection on the docking device

    Really bad UX design by Microsoft.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-04-04T17:02:13+00:00

    Thanks Tim!

    I don't have a real docking station. It's just a USB dual display adapter.

    Maybe I will invest in one and use your solution. I have a USB WiFi adapter that I could use now, but then both of my USB ports would be used.

    Again, I don't feel I should have to be rigging things up for a device that costs this much.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-04-04T14:30:50+00:00

    It's far from ideal, but as I mentioned earlier in this thread - if you're using a docking station, just connect a USB wi-fi adapter to the hub.  Then set the USB wi-fi adapter to connect to your home network, and your internal adapter not to.  Anytime you dock it should switch over to the USB wi-fi.  

    Hardly ideal, but it works.  The only slightly annoying thing is if you're not docked, you'll need to manually connect to your home wi-fi.  I haven't figured out a way to tell it to disable one adapter when another one is present - that would make me pretty much OK with the deficiency.

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-04-04T13:33:46+00:00

    Hello!!!

    It's been over a year since this was first reported and it's still happening!

    I bought my SB about 10 days ago, everything was fine until I got my external monitors set up.

    I assumed I had a defective laptop, so I exchanged it for a new one. Same issue.

    I even got a new modem (Netgear CM300) and a new router (TP-Link AC1900) just in case that was the issue.

    Nope!

    So if I want to use my home office setup, I have to keep the lid ajar.

    For a laptop costing nearly $3,000, I find this unacceptable!

    Microsoft? Are you listening?

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  5. Anonymous
    2017-02-04T08:21:47+00:00

    Microsoft are aware of the issue, they are working on a software workaround but not sure its possible as the issue is design, of all of the externam modem i tried the two id recommend are the netgear 6210 or the tp-link archer if you prefer a smaller model.

    ifnit were a car there would be a recall, given how many units they have sold thats unlikley, next best thing would be to issue a microsoft branded external modem in conjuction with a company and issue them for free to owners

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