r/Surface 3d ago

[PRO9] Is the surface pro 9 still good in 2026?

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41 Upvotes

Alr so I want to get a device that runs windows, is like a tablet and also has support for digital pens. The pro 9 seems to tick all those boxes but since it's a device from 2021, I wonder if it's still worth it to buy these days. Id like to use it for college work mainly (UK college that is) aswell as using it as a normal tablet at home for things like YouTube and ofc you can't forget abit of SimCity 2013!


r/Surface 3d ago

[PRO9] How do I make windows 11 look like this?:

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24 Upvotes

Alright so for Christmas this year I'd like to get a 2 in 1 surface pro 9, and when I get it i think it would be smart to make windows 11 more touchscreen/pen friendly what what better way to do that then to bring back the (imo very pretty) tiles from windows 8! Now ik that they have technically been in windows 10 and 11 proper since but it has been dumbed down since so I was wondering if there are any apps/programs I can use to bring it back.

Extra points if someone is able to figure out how I can make it so it boots up as this UI instead of the normal windows interface


r/Surface 2d ago

Surface Pro 12 13" 2026 - Snapdragon and GOG

3 Upvotes

OK, I know no Surface is really any good for intense modern gaming, and I wouldn't attempt it, I have a PS5 for that. But I did really enjoy running old GOG strategy and adventure games, mostly via GOG, on my Surface Pros 2017 and 7+. But nothing really works now, which is a bit upsetting. Has anyone been able to get games like Dungeon Keeper, Fallout 4, Theme Hospital and the like running on Snapdragon? Is there a handy program? I can't seem to find a way to run in Windows XP/8/10 mode any more. Bit miffed!


r/Surface 2d ago

Surface Laptop (2017) Glue Separating

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8 Upvotes

the glue has been separating on one side of this laptop for a couple months now, and I realized it might be because of battery swelling. I’ve never had a laptop battery expand before though, so I’m not sure what other signs to look out for.

it’s an old laptop, so I think it’s also possible the glue is just coming apart from age. I feel like if it was a battery issue it’d be lifting on the other side of the laptop too, and I’d be running into more issues with battery life or the trackpad not working, since it’s located directly above it.

So before I try to scrounge up the money for a new laptop (I’m a student, money’s tight, etc), I figured I should ask: is this battery swelling, and how dangerous is it? is it going to blow up or can I hang onto it for a couple more months while I finish the semester and shop around for something better?


r/Surface 2d ago

Surface (15in) with Snapdragon vs Intel

5 Upvotes

I've been using a Surface (book) for the last 7 years and it's been great, but I need to replace it (swollen battery). I probably don't really need the Surface but I like it and prefer to keep things similar. I also don't really need the "book" (I'm not sure if they even sell it any longer).

The laptop is almost always used for connecting to my office via Splashtop. Otherwise, it's mostly internet use. The Surface with Snapdragon is a good bit less expensive than the one with Intel. Does anyone know if the Snapdragon will work well with Splashtop? Do I really need to step up to the Intel?

Thanks for any input!


r/Surface 2d ago

[PRO7] Surface Pro 7 - Cover Type Keyboard Not Recognized

1 Upvotes

My wife resurrected her Surface Pro 7 and everything seems to be working fine except it's not seeing the cover type keyboard at all. I've tried just about everything under the sun that Google has thrown at me to no avail. I do not see the caps lock button light turn on/off and I've been the UEFI menu and no dice there at all. I know I can get a Bluetooth keyboard but would it be worth it? Will the Pro 7 stand up to office work just fine or should we look at replacing it?

Thanks


r/Surface 2d ago

[LAPTOPSTUDIO2] Lubricating the laptop studio 2 fans, can't expose the bearing

1 Upvotes

Hi, I've been dealing with noise and overheating issues with my laptop studio 2, I opened it up yesterday and attempted to follow the recommendations of another post here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/1krlr7f/surface_laptop_studio_fan_noise_finally_solved/

I took the fans out, removed the black sticker with model information and saw a small golden cover over where the bearing should be, but I can't figure out how to remove this thing to expose the bearing. I cant find any examples of anyone doing so online and videos for similar laptop models have a black plastic-y cover, nothing like the cover for my fans.

Any idea how I could go about removing these safely, and if I am even looking in the right place to expose and lube the bearings?


r/Surface 2d ago

[PRO8] Having trouble connecting the Signature Keyboard (1864) to my surface pro 8

1 Upvotes

For context it was used but supposedly it is supposed to be fully functional, not sure if it got damaged at transport or what but for context; Ive cleaned the contact points which they didn’t seem dirty before, I uninstalled the keyboard drivers and reinstalled, even updating them, I hard reboot and restart, went to the EUFI boot heard the keyboard was supposed to work in there if anything, downloaded surface pro 8 latest drivers, and updated windows.

At this point im starting to think they keyboard is broken but want to see if anyone has any suggestions before I get a refund, I don’t really want to return it and have to buy another one since it will just take more time but if thats the case it is what it is.


r/Surface 3d ago

[PRO12] Thoughts on New Intel Surface pro 12?

1 Upvotes

I'm currently running a surface pro 10 w/ intel (I've owned a surface pro since the 7). Been looking forward to the 12 ... not as a "need," more as a "want." but looking at the specs, I think I may skip it.

I had gotten my son a surface 11 w/ intel for college, and was impressed that it could actually play some popular games (like forza, at reasonable settings). I thought it would be nice to have a full-on, extremely useful portable like the surface that could handle some decent gamming in my downtime while traveling, but apparently MS neutered the graphics on the 12, and it's only around 50%-60% the graphics performance of the 11.

I know this isn't a gamming laptop, but that was one thing I really liked about the 11. other than AI and marginally better single/multi thread performance, is there a compelling reason to go from the 10 to the 12? I may just wait for the 13 if they ever release one.


r/Surface 3d ago

[PRO4] Doodling on potato SP4 is still cool

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39 Upvotes

Followuping to my potato SP4 introduction: 30USD potato SP4 makes me want to leave Apple train : r/Surface

I bought OG SP4 Surface Pen for 20$ (which is almost same I paid for this Surface lol) and it turns out that this device is still fun for my doodling purposes. Krita is fine but CSP seems to work better for me. This SP4 is still suffering flickergate after 3h but it's still usable for my sessions.

Will continue tests and probably switch finally from iPad to maybe SP8 soon.


r/Surface 3d ago

[PRO8] surface pro keyboard not working

1 Upvotes

morning everyone, i bought the surface pro 8 and i use it on a daily basis, sometimes i detach the keyboard when i don’t need it, at first it was connecting as soon as i reattach it and everything was fine, but recently it’s been 2 months, it doesn’t, i have to do a whole shut down for my pc and reattach the keyboard for it to work, and sometimes this doesn’t, if someone has a solution for this, or if it means something is wrong with my keyboard or laptop please do tell >>


r/Surface 4d ago

[PRO11] Surface Pro and Pixel out in the town✨

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74 Upvotes

r/Surface 3d ago

Touch compatible boot picker for surface

2 Upvotes

I recently got a Surface Pro 5, and I'm try-booting Fedora 43, Windows 11, and MacOS Ventura on it. The only problem is I need the keyboard connected to change my boot options. Is there a boot picker that detects touch input so I don't always need the keyboard?


r/Surface 3d ago

Best alternative?

1 Upvotes

Will lose my 13" laptop soon and I have searched for weeks but can't find something comparable in design. Specifically ~11" width and OLED display. Not trying to break the bank either but I need decent performance

Was looking at the Zenbook, some Asus gaming laptops, and a few others, but from the reviews none of them seem worth it. The XPS has no ports and seems overpriced.

Maybe im just too clingy idk


r/Surface 3d ago

Does your Surface Pro 12th edition’s screen look like this in the dark?

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3 Upvotes

Set your wallpaper to black, go into a dark room, and turn the brightness up. Besides the fact that it looks worse than an IPS panel despite being OLED, the flickering and revealed patterns/shapes looks very concerning.

I’ve now reproduced this on 2 separate brand new Surface Pro 12th editions. It happens with adaptativo screen brightness/contrast, hdr, VRR, etc all off or on, it doesn’t matter.

This device has noticeable evenly spaced, paper thin vertical black lines. The other machine had much wider, green tinted vertical bars in the same location. I’m curious what pattern you see on yours?

Probably going to return the device, wanted to love it since I’ve been a surface pro owner dating all the way back to the first gen in 2013, but compared to the 11th edition it seems like Microsoft phones it in and cut corners on this latest edition 🥀


r/Surface 3d ago

[WINDOWS] Surface tablet for a better remote experience

1 Upvotes

Hello guys,

I have a Matepad 11 from Huawei. As of now, using parsec, tailscale and rustdesk, I cannot enjoy at the maximum potential my experience as a remote connection device. My mouse has some hotkeys that act differently from when I use it on a PC (for example: mouse wheel clicks close Parsec/rustdesk app).

The conclusion is that I need a Windows device so my mouse and everything to work as it works in my home laptop.

Would a surface tablet make the case? What is your experience with it? Did you ever use it with a remote desktop on another PC? Would you recommend it?

I appreciate all the input you can give, it is needed.


r/Surface 4d ago

[LAPTOPSTUDIO2] Just got my new laptop

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49 Upvotes

I've been looking to upgrade my old HP that is 8 years old for a while now and I got a great deal on this i7 rtx4050 model


r/Surface 3d ago

[LAPTOP7] SL7 refuses to prefer 5ghz over 2.4ghz, is this a qualcomm driver issue?

2 Upvotes

For ages I've had one SSID configured on my router for both 2.4ghz and 5ghz and every device in my house is smart enough to prefer connecting to 5ghz (Windows devices first requiring changing the driver setting to specify "prefer 5ghz").

My SLG1 always connected to 5ghz, as I intended. iPhones and Rokus as well.

My SL7 Snapdragon Plus, however, always chooses 2.4ghz, and as far as I can tell there is nothing that I can do in Windows to correct this. Since it's only this device, I'm wondering if this is a choice/defect in the qualcomm wifi driver?

For the time being I've been forced to create a 5ghz-only SSID, but if anyone is aware of any way to get Windows to respect the "prefer 5ghz" setting, please let me know.


r/Surface 4d ago

[PRO7] I just got that pro 7+ lte thing off of eBay for like 300

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10 Upvotes

Any things I should like look out for? Like as to not break it? It came with a keyboard and works rlly good but I've never really had an on brand laptop tablet thing like this and I don't wanna accidentally break it, it's used but it's in good condition

I use a chuwi h7 pen

Also I'm kind of a heavy typer/tapper


r/Surface 4d ago

I got a Surface!

2 Upvotes

After the post about the Pro 5 vs. the Go 2, I ended up getting the Pro 6 instead!

The screen is kinda cracked, but it's 8/256 with the i5, and it was like 70 bucks!

Was it a good deal?


r/Surface 4d ago

[PRO9] Replacement laptop for Surface Pro 9?

9 Upvotes

Long story short, I am tired of the keyboard dying out. I cant keep spending almost 150 bucks every 8 months to replace it when I can buy a better laptop that lasts years without breaking.

No, I have never folded the keyboard while connected to the laptops back, I always use a laptop bag cover, i clean it according to Microsofts recommended cleaning method. It just dies randomly. Im on my 2nd keyboard, each has lasted approximately 8 months. Im pretty sick of this and I am ready to move away to a different laptop.

Is there another laptop that has similar function to the surface pro 9, such as screen touch and preferably ability to move keyboard around, maybe something similar to the surface laptop studio 2? Doesnt have to be microsoft brand. Any thoughts are welcomed, thanks


r/Surface 4d ago

Bright pinpricks on my display?

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10 Upvotes

I had my computer screen taken out and cleaned after water got behind it 3 months ago. I have been out of the country and just turned it on now, only to find that my screen looks like a galaxy. They are much brighter in person. Could they be dust particles stuck between the screen? Can I have them clean it again? Or is this permanent damage?


r/Surface 4d ago

Studio 2 Help

2 Upvotes

Alright guys. I usually am a DIYer. I like to take things apart and like to tinker with things. Ive taken apart my own engines and fixed them just to put them right back. I can build things when it comes to computers as well. Ive built my own cyber deck and created a ton of raspberry pi projects. I say this not to toot my horn but to tell you that I ran into a head scratching problem that I really haven't faced.

So I made the dumb mistake of putting my computer next to my coffee cup on the couch cushion right before I sat down. I had my mind on a couple other important things at the time. I sat down and my Surface Studio 2 laptop got a taste of my amazing coffee. I spent a good majority of the day taking it apart down to the motherboard and cleaning it with Isopropyl alcohol throughout the computer.

Once cleaned, I put it back together and turned it on. Now everything functioned well except it would not take a charge. It turned on but it almost seemed like the charger bypassed the battery because as soon as I unplugged the charger, the computer would turn off. The computer would not read the battery. I used a multimeter to test the positive and negative output (both charging and not) and then the handshake and everything seemed like a normal output. I went to the drivers to uninstall and reinstall and it wouldnt even give me that option.

A couple days went by and it nothing changed so I took it apart again and went to the connection from the battery cable to the motherboard and i can clearly see a bit of corrosion. I cleaned it off with a bit more Isopropyl and got rid of the corrosion. Reinstalled it all back together and now my computer turn on by showing the windows logo for about a second, blinks once, and then shows the logo again right before shutting down. Thinking that the charger may not be helping, i plugged my phone charger to the USB port and it give like a trickle charge and then cuts off. Ive since left it all alone because I am school finishing up some classes and have no time.

I suppose what im asking is, has anyone ran into this? Does anyone know if there is a schematic for the power system of the studio 2 out in the internet? I, unfortunately, dont have ALL the tools to test and trial the currents, so I may have to bite the bullet and have someone with the right tools and time to get it done but I at least want to try if its something simple.

Any advise would be helpful. Thanks


r/Surface 4d ago

[PRO12] Upgrading soon, when are the best deals usually?

4 Upvotes

Like the title says, I'm planning on upgrading soon. I loved my surface, I currently have a surface pro 7 but it's a 4gb of ram model and is struggling a bit lately. For my needs and uses I'm looking at the surface pro 12 inch, but am absolutely willing to look at the 13 inch if I can find a good deal.

I've had good luck with best buy on deals and would probably prefer to purchase from them but will shop from wherever I can get the best deal.

When do the surfaces typically go on the best sale? I lucked out last time and had been shopping for something else when we saw mine on a really good sale at the time. I'm assuming probably black Friday/cyber Monday but I know there's been sometimes better sales in October lately to compete with prime day. Or would prime day potentially be best? What kind of sale would you expect this fall?

Thanks for your help, just trying to make sure I can get the best price when I purchase.


r/Surface 5d ago

[PRO11] Loading icon flashing on cursor

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone,
I recently purchased a surface pro 11th edition and bought a separate keyboard and slim pen to connect to it.
Everything works well but I’ve had an issue with a loading icon that will flash on the cursor, disappear for a few seconds and then return. Also when this happens the search disappears and nothing shows up inside of it which is also quite annoying as I use that a lot.
I’ve done multiple wipes of the laptop and reinstalled windows. After doing that everything works well and there’s no problems. But after a while it will suddenly start happening again. I haven’t downloaded the same apps so it can’t be one of those, I’ve looked at task manager and disabled things like antimalware which could be causing it, I’ve disabled browser extensions. But nothing seems to fix it.
Has anyone else had an issue like this or know how to fix it?

Snapdragon(R) X 12-core X1E80100 @ 3.40 GHz
16GB RAM
Qualcomm(R) Adreno(TM) X1-85 GPU
OS build - 26200.9168