Today is 5/31/16. This device has been available for well over 6-8 months. These issues have widely reported for many months - long enough for Microsoft to completely resolve them. FWIW, almost all of the issues were related to Intel's Skylake processor.
Look, I read Apple Insider because I use Mac's (And Windows). Why the writers on the site seem to want to denigrate anything not Apple is ridiculous. Report on AAPL. If I want to read about MSFT, I'll go to Windows Central (Which, by the way, never mentions either AAPL or GOOG in a derogatory manner.). Grow up!
On May 24, Microsoft released another driver update for Surface, but it appears not to have fixed the Sleep of Death issue. In a recent comment on one of the support forum threads, one Surface Book owner posted: “I updated last night, closed the SB and this morning found it had crashed and restarted. I too am starting to think it might be hardware related, in which case MS should just own up to it instead of keeping silent."
Fixed or not? Sounds like not, at least for some people.
I use Apple in everything but a single program which only runs on MS hardware. I used to willingly buy a PC for that one use, but with all the recently announced hardware vulnerabilities and the OS 10 "upgrades" looking like a scam, I am thinking MS has been taken over by a bunch of incompetents. I'll stick to Windows on my Mac for that one program from now on, even though I may not get all the performance I might like.
Ok, now all hardware can have issues. Apple is not safe from this. For me, the buggie here is how the manufacturer is dealing with this. From my personal experience I can only say that the few occasions I was in touch with Apple service each time it was more than helpful in that they were a) friendly b) professional (eg when they did not have an answer right away they'd immediately escalate p and then is get a call back) and c) resolved my issue each time in a satisfactory manner.
So kudos here again for Apple's service.
Oh, and yes, a few weeks ago I was in touch with MS service. One word: abysmal.
Addison Snell, the chief executive of Intersect360 Research, wrote about his "nightmare" experience with a top of the line Surface Book he paid over $4,000 for, noting for The Register UK that Microsoft hasn't offered a solution and refused to replace or return his defective machine.
$4K for a POS Microsoft Tablet? Sheesh... and iHaters bitch about Apple being expensive?? smh...
This issue also affects the Surface Pro 3 and 4 along with windows losing audio drivers which is a pain in the hoop as to fix it you have to remove the drivers and reinstall them from scratch to fix it. Not to mention the display port issues with the surface dock causing external displays to not wake up or be seen randomly, the fix there is to get active DVI adaptors or connect the screen directly to the surface which makes having the dock pointless.
There was a time when you could blame Microsoft Windows instability on inferior hardware, buggy device drivers, and vendor infused bloatware. But this is a case where Microsoft has total control over both the hardware and the software so you'd expect a somewhat smoother experience. I'm sure Microsoft will iron out most of the bugs by the 3rd or 4th release like they usually do.
I'm totally astounded that anyone would pay $4000 for a Windows laptop, whether or not it has a detachable screen and an armadillo hinge. You could easily buy a very decent Windows laptop and a loaded iPad Pro for much less than $4000. Ouch!
Parts of this article resonate with my experience - 20-30 abrupt system crashes since purchase, the manufacturer not acknowledging the problem and showing no apparent interest for a couple years - only in my case it is a RMBP. And if that weren't enough, the insulation on the power cable is disintegrating. That one is a safety hazard and Apple should institute a recall.
This story is so far outside of the norm for the quality of support that I have experienced with multiple Apple products. So how many times have you brought the system into Apple / Genius Bar for diagnostics and received no feedback whatsoever or a denial of a problem existing? And how many times have you shown the disintegrating power cable to a an Apple service employee and they said ... what? What's the rest of the story?
Sleep issues are why I use a Mac. If I am forced to use Winblows, I install it on the Mac and run the OS in VMWare. Thankfully it is essentially no longer an issue as I use iOS on the iPad Pro which is supported by my company.
Surface issues have been ongoing for many months and have even caused a great deal of distress to Paul Thurott the ultimate Windows evangelist.
I actually like the Surface Book. However, I would not purchase one because when all is said and done, I would still rather own and use a Mac. If I need Windows there is always VMWare.
These days, for what I do, my iPad Pro is sufficient to do all of my computing needs. I am actually thinking of ridding the iMac and MacBook Air altogether. There is only a single reason I don't. There is no simple and quick way to move files off of the iPad without the need for a computer for local storage and archiving on a USB stick. Also with the large iPad Pro using a thunderbolt to USB-C converter results in incredibly fast media transfers.
If some third party or Apple itself fixes this one issue, all of my computing will be done on the iPad Pro. Besides the Apple Pencil is far superior to the Microsoft stylus for drawing or taking notes.
Can't you just use an adapter and plug your pro on the network, there are plenty of Server software then to make quick transfer. If you use something like "Document 5" (or the like) as your central repository, you could map any local or even remote resources and let it rip in and out.
I was just speaking with one of my coworkers the other day and discovered the shocking news that she shuts down her work make every night. We were like "why" and she said it was because she's always used Windows so that's what you're trained to do. Wow. I can't remember the last time I shut down my MacBook Pro... any of them!
Parts of this article resonate with my experience - 20-30 abrupt system crashes since purchase, the manufacturer not acknowledging the problem and showing no apparent interest for a couple years - only in my case it is a RMBP. And if that weren't enough, the insulation on the power cable is disintegrating. That one is a safety hazard and Apple should institute a recall.
This story is so far outside of the norm for the quality of support that I have experienced with multiple Apple products. So how many times have you brought the system into Apple / Genius Bar for diagnostics and received no feedback whatsoever or a denial of a problem existing? And how many times have you shown the disintegrating power cable to a an Apple service employee and they said ... what? What's the rest of the story?
As a technician, if you can't reproduce the issue then to me its not an issue. I can't make up the issue you've explained and then try to resolve it. How would I know its resolved? Of course I'll try everything I can to reproduce the issue, but if I can't then what would you want me to do, replace your Mac? Its no different than taking your car into the dealership for a noise while turning and they can't make the noise come back so they send it back to you.
I've never had any issues with getting power cords replaced. Its always been replaced for safety reasons.
Today is 5/31/16. This device has been available for well over 6-8 months. These issues have widely reported for many months - long enough for Microsoft to completely resolve them. FWIW, almost all of the issues were related to Intel's Skylake processor.
Look, I read Apple Insider because I use Mac's (And Windows). Why the writers on the site seem to want to denigrate anything not Apple is ridiculous. Report on AAPL. If I want to read about MSFT, I'll go to Windows Central (Which, by the way, never mentions either AAPL or GOOG in a derogatory manner.). Grow up!
The fact that Microsoft bashes what it calls its competition (the MacBook/MacBook Pro) I think deserves a little mentioning. You cannot bash something like an Apple product in multiple TV ads and then have a POS product with issues that don't get resolved. And then, come here on an Apple centric site and bitch about an article that bashes something that bashes Apple in its ads. (confusing sentence I know!). Nobody made you click on this article and reply back to it.
Look, I read Apple Insider because I use Mac's (And Windows).
Why the writers on the site seem to want to denigrate anything not Apple is ridiculous. Report on AAPL. If I want to read about MSFT, I'll go to Windows Central (Which, by the way, never mentions either AAPL or GOOG in a derogatory manner.). Grow up!
Did the article say something factually untrue about its subject? If so, what? And if not, then what is this "denigrate" you speak of?
P.S. "Mac's"?
You might want to look up the definition of "denigrate" before attempting to call out the misuse of the word. "Denigrate" doesn't refer to something being false. It's about saying something with the intention to disparage. So while yes, everything was factual, it's presented here with the intent to show how shitty the Surface tablet (Microsoft in general) is.
Sleep issues are why I use a Mac. If I am forced to use Winblows, I install it on the Mac and run the OS in VMWare. Thankfully it is essentially no longer an issue as I use iOS on the iPad Pro which is supported by my company.
Surface issues have been ongoing for many months and have even caused a great deal of distress to Paul Thurott the ultimate Windows evangelist.
I actually like the Surface Book. However, I would not purchase one because when all is said and done, I would still rather own and use a Mac. If I need Windows there is always VMWare.
These days, for what I do, my iPad Pro is sufficient to do all of my computing needs. I am actually thinking of ridding the iMac and MacBook Air altogether. There is only a single reason I don't. There is no simple and quick way to move files off of the iPad without the need for a computer for local storage and archiving on a USB stick. Also with the large iPad Pro using a thunderbolt to USB-C converter results in incredibly fast media transfers.
If some third party or Apple itself fixes this one issue, all of my computing will be done on the iPad Pro. Besides the Apple Pencil is far superior to the Microsoft stylus for drawing or taking notes.
Can't you just use an adapter and plug your pro on the network, there are plenty of Server software then to make quick transfer. If you use something like "Document 5" (or the like) as your central repository, you could map any local or even remote resources and let it rip in and out.
Too slow compared to the thunderbolt to USB-C solution with the Lightning to USB-C cable. The current lightning to Ethernet adapters are too limited and too slow.
Did the article say something factually untrue about its subject? If so, what? And if not, then what is this "denigrate" you speak of?
P.S. "Mac's"?
You might want to look up the definition of "denigrate" before attempting to call out the misuse of the word. "Denigrate" doesn't refer to something being false. It's about saying something with the intention to disparage. So while yes, everything was factual, it's presented here with the intent to show how shitty the Surface tablet (Microsoft in general) is.
Considering the CRAP you just posted you are one to talk hey! What's your god damn excuse to do this on this site; got lost?
This story is so far outside of the norm for the quality of support that I have experienced with multiple Apple products. So how many times have you brought the system into Apple / Genius Bar for diagnostics and received no feedback whatsoever or a denial of a problem existing? And how many times have you shown the disintegrating power cable to a an Apple service employee and they said ... what? What's the rest of the story?
As a technician, if you can't reproduce the issue then to me its not an issue. I can't make up the issue you've explained and then try to resolve it. How would I know its resolved? Of course I'll try everything I can to reproduce the issue, but if I can't then what would you want me to do, replace your Mac? Its no different than taking your car into the dealership for a noise while turning and they can't make the noise come back so they send it back to you.
I've never had any issues with getting power cords replaced. Its always been replaced for safety reasons.
Come on! if you can't reproduce the issue it's not an issue? Really? Some issues are very hard to reproduce and then are a bitch when they occur.
For example, we had a disk issue on HDD disks that occurred on certain precise disk operations after being up for some time that then catastrophically failed the disks (many others simply started to work much slower). You could get most data out if you took the disk apart but for most people it would be considered a right off.
It occurred in about 1% of the disks after on average running 3-4 months non stop (maybe 3-4% had a less severe significant slowdown). That's the kind of problem that's a bitch to find and to fix. Eventually, when we found out the numbers, we had to swap out all the disks and send them back. (we were volume buyers so we had some clout to do so).
Yes, these kind of problems are the kind that drive both Apple and the customers mad and are a fodder for endless online whining. Most people don't have them (like many bugs we hear about online).
Parts of this article resonate with my experience - 20-30 abrupt system crashes since purchase, the manufacturer not acknowledging the problem and showing no apparent interest for a couple years - only in my case it is a RMBP. And if that weren't enough, the insulation on the power cable is disintegrating. That one is a safety hazard and Apple should institute a recall.
This story is so far outside of the norm for the quality of support that I have experienced with multiple Apple products. So how many times have you brought the system into Apple / Genius Bar for diagnostics and received no feedback whatsoever or a denial of a problem existing? And how many times have you shown the disintegrating power cable to a an Apple service employee and they said ... what? What's the rest of the story?
There is no Apple store in Ireland. Nearest one is in the UK, so no Genius bar.
I bought a 15" MBPR when they were first introduced. At about 18 months the insulation next to the magsafe plug strain relief ruptured. I contacted Apple technical support and they said I was outside the 12 month warranty and that I would have to pay for a support call. I said I believed that was inappropriate and that It actually was a warranty issue. They relented and I got the call without being charged. Once again I was told I would have to buy a new €80 power adapter since I was out of warranty. I pointed out that under EU legislation there was a minimum 2yr warranty period. They tried to argue ignorance of that and insisted I would just have to buy a replacement. I threatened to take Apple to the small claims tribunal if they stuck to that position as the legislation was quite clear. I was grudgingly offered a new replacement adapter, however, they insisted I return the original and they charged me the full €80 for the replacement saying they would refund me when they received the old one. I paid up, got the replacement and posted back the original. I did get the refund some weeks later.
The replacement power adapter lasted about the same length of time before exactly the same thing happened with the insulation, only a few months after taping up the cable near the plug, it just started splitting longitudinally along the cable 15cm or so from the plug as well. I taped that up but it started splitting again beyond the tape so I taped that too. Now in the last couple days it has started splitting beyond the original tape near the strain relief/plug. The insulation material used is utterly shoddy and unfit for purpose. My Powerbook Ti cable lasted nine years of use without issue. I had no such issue with my 13" Unibody magsafe cable either.
The new split below occurring next to the split above after it was taped.
You'd never expect me to say this, Bill Gates hater that I am ... but I have had endless fun with Windows 10 running on my new Mac Pro for Steam games. I've never had it fail to wake on my set up. Using 10 I had to learn my way around its oddities for sure like making a short cut of an app to access advanced settings to allow administration privileges etc.. However, once I did it has run flawlessly with Steam. I made several SSD with Windows 10 on just incase I hit a snag and make sure they are in sync. One thing that after 30 years roughly, Microsoft still do things like allow essential modal dialog boxes to be hidden behind other windows, or open multiple iterations of anything if you click twice. Macs never did either from 1984 onwards and there are so many small things like that that make me laugh. That all said, I'm off back to reboot into Windows and play Just Cause 3 BTW AMD have now released Crimson drivers especially for Macs running Windows, including Catalyst for dual GPU use in games that support this.
Comments
"Bootnote
On May 24, Microsoft released another driver update for Surface, but it appears not to have fixed the Sleep of Death issue. In a recent comment on one of the support forum threads, one Surface Book owner posted: “I updated last night, closed the SB and this morning found it had crashed and restarted. I too am starting to think it might be hardware related, in which case MS should just own up to it instead of keeping silent."
Fixed or not? Sounds like not, at least for some people.
#1 rule in business: Don't PO your customers!
So kudos here again for Apple's service.
Oh, and yes, a few weeks ago I was in touch with MS service. One word: abysmal.
I'm totally astounded that anyone would pay $4000 for a Windows laptop, whether or not it has a detachable screen and an armadillo hinge. You could easily buy a very decent Windows laptop and a loaded iPad Pro for much less than $4000. Ouch!
I've never had any issues with getting power cords replaced. Its always been replaced for safety reasons.
The fact that Microsoft bashes what it calls its competition (the MacBook/MacBook Pro) I think deserves a little mentioning. You cannot bash something like an Apple product in multiple TV ads and then have a POS product with issues that don't get resolved. And then, come here on an Apple centric site and bitch about an article that bashes something that bashes Apple in its ads. (confusing sentence I know!). Nobody made you click on this article and reply back to it.
What's your god damn excuse to do this on this site; got lost?
And, yes I just denigrated you.
Some issues are very hard to reproduce and then are a bitch when they occur.
For example, we had a disk issue on HDD disks that occurred on certain precise disk operations after being up for some time
that then catastrophically failed the disks (many others simply started to work much slower).
You could get most data out if you took the disk apart but for most people it would be considered a right off.
It occurred in about 1% of the disks after on average running 3-4 months non stop (maybe 3-4% had a less severe significant slowdown).
That's the kind of problem that's a bitch to find and to fix.
Eventually, when we found out the numbers, we had to swap out all the disks and send them back.
(we were volume buyers so we had some clout to do so).
Yes, these kind of problems are the kind that drive both Apple and the customers mad and are a fodder for endless online whining.
Most people don't have them (like many bugs we hear about online).
I bought a 15" MBPR when they were first introduced. At about 18 months the insulation next to the magsafe plug strain relief ruptured. I contacted Apple technical support and they said I was outside the 12 month warranty and that I would have to pay for a support call. I said I believed that was inappropriate and that It actually was a warranty issue. They relented and I got the call without being charged. Once again I was told I would have to buy a new €80 power adapter since I was out of warranty. I pointed out that under EU legislation there was a minimum 2yr warranty period. They tried to argue ignorance of that and insisted I would just have to buy a replacement. I threatened to take Apple to the small claims tribunal if they stuck to that position as the legislation was quite clear. I was grudgingly offered a new replacement adapter, however, they insisted I return the original and they charged me the full €80 for the replacement saying they would refund me when they received the old one. I paid up, got the replacement and posted back the original. I did get the refund some weeks later.
The replacement power adapter lasted about the same length of time before exactly the same thing happened with the insulation, only a few months after taping up the cable near the plug, it just started splitting longitudinally along the cable 15cm or so from the plug as well. I taped that up but it started splitting again beyond the tape so I taped that too. Now in the last couple days it has started splitting beyond the original tape near the strain relief/plug. The insulation material used is utterly shoddy and unfit for purpose. My Powerbook Ti cable lasted nine years of use without issue. I had no such issue with my 13" Unibody magsafe cable either.
The new split below occurring next to the split above after it was taped.