Microsoft speaks up about Surface Pro 3 overheating

Yesterday, we told you about an overheating issue plaguing Surface Pro 3 tablets. It seems the tablet fans were running overtime, with the tablet shutting itself down for safety reasons. All indications are that it's not a hardware issue, either. Now we've got word from Microsoft on the issue, and they seemed to have identified it's cause.

According to Microsoft, they're aware of the issue, and note it only affects Core i7 models. More to the point, it affects Core i7 models only on restart. Here is their commentary, in its entirety:

The Surface Team is aware of a very small number of Surface Pro 3 Intel® Core™ i7 devices that are temporarily restarting and incorrectly showing a "Thermometer Gauge" icon while attempting to boot up. Our investigation reveals that the system is triggering this event sooner than it should for some people, only when the device restarts, and this does not occur when the device is booted and running. We have an update that will address this that will be ready for our customers as soon as possible.

The i7 version of Surface Pro 3 is a first-of-its-kind tablet delivering i7 processing power in a thin and light package. As such, the increased power calls for the fan to spin more regularly and at higher speeds – and for the unit to run slightly warmer. If customers have any questions or concerns, they should contact Microsoft Support.

There you have it. Do you have a Surface Pro 3 with a Core i7 processor? Have you experienced these issues? Let us know in the comments section below!