SURFACE LAPTOP 3 - Overheating when charging and excessive Fan Noise

Anonymous
2020-01-07T23:58:07+00:00

Edit: 16 Jun 2021

Laptop is going OK - not much fan noise or heating as I haven't been using it much. mostly my work laptop

Got a better data USB C to USB C cable to plug into the dock and using a Lenovo Dock Gen 2 for the additional screen, think they are helping in better handling and keeps fans not to rev so much

Being my 3rd laptop (replaced 2 before) battery is performing better than the other two. Haven't run the full tests yet - still in progress to test real word batt life (office work, no games, no memory or cpu intensive apps)

Edit: 17 Feb 2021

Well, this 3rd laptop replacement is not as bad as the other two, however, the rocket engine fan noise is not completely gone. 

this laptop is for light use only, any slightest workload "WHEN hooked up to an additional monitor" + Microsoft teams video call, 3-word documents, 2 webpages, this laptop cannot handle. It runs however fans rev up and won't stop until we close a few applications or disconnect additional monitor. 

I think its the quick charging or charging which using additional display via display USB-C. Not much was done during the testing phase. 

I hear dell XPS's and some other laptops rev fans too, however only when there is significant load, not just basic office work.

Example: I had sticky notes, 1 webpage, and a TEMAS interview video call: Laptop fans did not stop revving at max speed until the end of the interview and I closed all applications. 

For this time there is nothing more I want to do - there is no fix for this, so i will have to s*C* it up and make a better decision next time. 

Edit:28 Oct 2020

Nothing changed its still overheats when plugged to an external display. Fans still rev high when on Microsot teams meeting or charging. Laptop battery looks like it gave up (3 to 5 hour max) on light use. What a shame this issue is not getting enough attention. 

Edit: 28 Aug 2020 

No change - Laptop still goes crazy when plugged to an additional screen

All Microsoft Stores are temporarily closed until further notice. So I have to escalate this again to Microsoft

Edit: 17 Apr 2020

The issue still continues, Couldn't attend MS Store because of COVID lockdowns.

At this stage im hoping they can fix this via software patch. However, after research, this has been a problem for a few MS products (charging, especially fast charging) 

Edit: 21 Jan 2020

Still did not go to Microsoft store. With this COVID 19 going on, working from home most of the time.

I will give away my laptop to the store soon to test. 

Biggest change I noticed.  Battery is being effected. When ever the laptop is hot during couple of hours of work connected to dock.... remove from the dock....u get 3 hours or so max on full battery... guessing due to excessive heat I guess. 

I tried multiple times charging with power adapter. Works fine without issues, no heat, battery lasts longer a little. Daily heating issue is causing battery to deterioate quickly 

Surface Laptop 3 - 13inch, i5, 8GB, 256GB SSD.

Surface laptop overheating on every charge - even with no applications running. Brand new laptop, room temperature is under 21 C. After plugging in the charger, if you listen closely near the exhaust vents - there is a faint static electric noise, not to mention is scary as i don't want to use this anywhere close to me. 

Laptop has already been replaced with a new one, still same issue. With some research a lot of people are experiencing the same issue. Any solution for this ?????

Surface | Surface Laptop | Power and battery

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-01-12T01:37:28+00:00

    My girlfriend is having a similar problem. Her brand new surface laptop 3 will start running hot and with a noticeable fan sound even while not plugged in. I myself have the original surface laptop (refurbished) and whenever I do the exact same things as her my laptop will not heat up to her level and fan sound is non-existent.

    Do you think that this will be a software fix that can come in an upcoming patch? As it concerns us greatly that this seems to happen to her laptop but not my 2 generations older laptop, even while doing the same tasks. If at all possible we would like to not deal with the hassle of getting a new laptop and having to transfer everything over

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-01-12T00:04:24+00:00

    Hi eagelfox,

    Sorry for the late response. As mentioned, I had it escalated and as per the information we discussed about Surface Laptop 3, it's actually normal if it gets hotter than normal while it's being charged and some applications are running and specifically when you still set it up and there are several updates to be installed. In your case, this seems to be a hardware issue because it overheats even if there's no application running. But before contacting support for another replacement, we would like you to reconsider checking the following:

    • View apps with heavy CPU utilization

        - To view CPU utilization, check it in Task Manager.

    • In the search box, type Task Manager and open the app.
    • Select more details, if necessary, to expand the window.
    • Select CPU to sort the task running by their CPU utilization.

    Processes listed with high utilization are contributing to the need for the fan to turn on. Being mindful of what needs to be running, closing apps that are not needed will help lower CPU utilization and reduce the need for assisted cooling by the fan.

    Adjust CPU speed frequency

     You can adjust how you want your CPU to perform by selecting the battery icon on the task bar and adjusting the power mode. Setting thte power mode to Recommended throttles the CPU and helps keep it running cooler with less need of assisted cooling. While a seting of Better Performance or Best Performance will allow the device to run more quickly, it will also allow the fan to come on more often to keep the CPU cool and performing it's best.

    For Abnormal Sounds

    While the operation of the fan is normal and expected behavior, at no point, it shouldn't sound like there is something broken. Noise like grinding , whining or ticking are abnormal. If you hear these types of sounds then, we highly recommend to contact support for further assistance.

    Kind Regards,

    Crest_Z

    K

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-01-09T20:31:20+00:00

    Hey Microsoft... 

    Is that a classic line of you escalating internally to another team, and we never hear from you again ??

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-01-09T20:27:53+00:00

    Not good for the battery true.

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