Microsoft Surface Pro 2017 Problems: Backlight Bleed, Noise, And New Surface Pen


The new Microsoft Surface Pro has garnered some great reviews. TechRadar gives the device four-and-a-half stars.

“We’re surprised Microsoft has refrained from calling this the Surface Pro 5, as it’s the biggest improvement on a Surface we’ve ever seen. Despite losing the included Surface Pen, the Surface Pro’s huge improvements help it retain our Recommended award.”

The article especially praises the new Type Cover, the much better Surface Pen, and the improved battery life. A recent opinion piece on the Inquisitr praised the battery life as well. But like any other new product that comes to the market, there are bound to be people complaining. Perhaps the main issue people are having with the new Surface Pro is backlight bleed.

It seems to be like the lottery. Some people have been buying Microsoft’s device and not experiencing the issue at all. Windows Central gets more specific about what causes it.

“The issue is caused by the backlight behind the screen not being completely blocked by the other components on top of it. The problem is compounded by touch displays that have an additional digitizer layer that can cause more spacing and issues with bonding.”

It’s an issue that hasn’t been ignored by Twitter.

You usually won’t notice backlight bleed unless you are in a very dark-lit room and have a black screen, which you do when you first turn on a device or reset it. Therefore, it usually isn’t a big problem. However, when there is excessive backlight bleed, you will notice it when playing videos.

Some people say the new Surface Pro produces excessive noise. [Image by Daryl Deino]

You may notice excessive noise from the Surface Pro, specifically on the ones that have fans (the Intel Core i7 versions). The issue has been talked about on Windows Central as one user named CrippsCorner returned his Surface Pro due to excessive light bleed and ended up with a rather noisy replacement unit. There were some others who experienced problems in the forums with fan noise, but many seem to think that it has been greatly reduced from the Surface Pro 4. As some have noted, if you are in a completely silent room, you will always notice noise from the Surface Pro whether it has a fan or not.

Some may also notice that their new Surface Pen can’t draw straight lines. The issue with “pen jitter” was supposed to be fixed, but many are finding that at times, pen jitter still exists, and it could be pretty extreme. Reddit user Insomnibella was one of the first to notice the issue.

“Got the new surface pro last week. When writing with the new pen in OneNote, there’s a lot of jitter that creates lines I didn’t write and it makes my handwriting look awful. Any fixes to this?”

Many in the thread thought this user just had a defective pen. However, user Twoshoes34 has also experienced issues. This user notices that — at times — there is extreme pen jitter. He wonders if it’s the heat that causes the problem. However, he also says that when the new Surface Pen works, it works very well.

Microsoft has yet to comment on these three Surface Pro issues. Do you own a 2017 Surface Pro? If so, are you experiencing any of the issues on your Microsoft device talked about in this article? Let us know in the Comments section.

[Featured Image by Daryl Deino]

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