Isolated reports of new Surface Pro suddenly going into sleep leave some users frustrated

Surface Pro
Surface Pro

Microsoft's recent release of the new Surface Pro (2017) and Surface Laptop have mostly gone without controversy, but there is one issue that a select few Surface Pro users are experiencing (and I've seen myself).

When actively using the Surface Pro the device abruptly turns off, or rather, it goes to "sleep" or "hibernate" mode. For most users, merely hitting the power button resumes the Surface Pro leaving where you left off, but for some others, they may lose some work.

The incident seems only to be affecting a few users as the Microsoft support forum thread is just two pages deep. Likewise, on Reddit and the Windows Central Surface Pro support forum there are only a handful of users reporting the problem.

I have seen the bug happen twice over the last two weeks and it is jarring since there is no warning.

There is no guidance for now from Microsoft. Reinstalling devices drivers does not seem to alleviate the problem, although one user did report that doing a factory reset (Settings > Update & security > Recovery > Reset this PC > Remove everything) did do the trick. However, that is a very extreme solution as it will wipe all your apps, settings, photos, and documents.

Microsoft Support Thread: Surface Pro 2017 turning off randomly

For now, Microsoft is investigating. Anyone with the problem should jump into the official Microsoft support forum and to assist Microsoft to help better understand what is happening. Surface Pro users can expect an initial bug fix patch in the coming weeks as Microsoft collects information from consumers now that the device is in the wild. The good news is this is the only problem I have heard about regarding Surface Pro, and even then, it seems very limited.

Luckily, so far, no serious issues with Surface Laptop are widely reported.

Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007, when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and watches. He has been reviewing laptops since 2015 and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, ARM processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.