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

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments No comments

305 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
  1. Anonymous
    2020-01-21T13:24:49+00:00

    I have the same issue with the fans kicking on high and the processors going nuts when I am plugged into my docking station.  I have noticed that it does it all the time if I change the setting for Power Mode to anything other than Recommended.   And it gets especially bad during a browser session (Chrome, Edge, or new Edge) when video is playing.  Task Manager shows extremely high for processes and the fans are as loud as possible. 

    I have talked with 1st and 2nd line support at Microsoft with no fix.  Just reset and bring it in for replacement.  I would but I want to make sure it does not continue with the new one though.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  2. Anonymous
    2020-01-21T03:19:54+00:00

    After a bit of testing this week, the Fan noise and heating issue still exists

    I have tested on standard applications, chrome browers (not more than 10 at one time). had regular work stuff (office applications), no games, no movies.

    Testing also done hooking up to Dell D6000 dock and a 34inch screen (KOGAN 3440*1400) 

    Laptop by itself when on charging: 

    a) its bit better now after Intel graphic driver update. fan run a **** bit smoother and not heating the laptop too much but still unable to rest on lap

    Laptop on Dock: 

    b) it still goes crazy hot and fan noise sill present - fans automatically start to a point that you can hear them in a quiet room (no way around it) laptop under load or no apps - it still runs hot with fan noise if hooked up to dock. 

    Finally:

    laptop will get hot when attached up to dock. with and without work load and battery percentage at the time doesn't matter 

    once unplugged, fan noise will die down and heat dissipates and i rarely see them go back up. 

    I'm considering a different laptop now: Microsoft may not be able to address this issue with a software/firware update (i could be wrong). overheat everytime when connected to dock (which i plan on doing once i have my table and monitor stand ready) is bad for battery in the long run.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  3. Anonymous
    2020-01-21T02:44:42+00:00

    Me with the same thought

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  4. Anonymous
    2020-01-21T02:41:00+00:00

    My SL3 i5 128GB crash with blue screen when working 30minutes left. 

    I have download the recovery image and reset Factory setting but it still stupidly hot.

    And Crash. Whether Microsoft agree for replacement or not.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  5. Anonymous
    2020-01-20T06:54:12+00:00

    Imo, Intel graphics driver doesn't fix the heating and fan bursting noise issues

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments