Microsoft’s recent firmware updates for the Surface Book 2 have fixed a big issue that, for the past few months, has prevented some users from being able to update to the latest version of Windows 10.
The problems started following the release of Microsoft’s May 2019 Update. Some users reported that their high-end Surface Book 2 configurations no longer detected their dedicated Nvidia graphics card in the device manager. This was a big issue if you wanted to play games or run any other GPU-intensive application that relied on the Nvidia hardware.
If you’re one of those whose machine was impacted, you should download the trio of firmware updates below from Microsoft.
GPU gone
As for the ‘vanishing GPU’ issue, this one was actually caused by the Windows 10 May 2019 Update, and led to the upgrade being blocked on Surface Book 2 devices, which have discrete graphics.
It appeared to affect folks running the GTX 1060 mainly, causing the Surface to fall back on integrated graphics with predictably painful results for those trying to do more demanding tasks.
At any rate, Microsoft notes that it has resolved “an issue where the display adapter disappears from Device Manager” (although there was a bit more to it than the GPU simply not appearing there).
With this fix applied, in theory those Surface Book 2 users who have previously been blocked from the Windows 10 May 2019 Update should be able to download it.
Battery boost
So what about the Surface Pro 6 users who apparently suffered at the hands of the 400MHz bug? The October firmware update for that device doesn’t mention this particular problem, sadly.
There is some good news, though, as while the SP6 October update only does one thing, it’s a good one: it boosts battery life, Microsoft explicitly states, rather than stability.
Hopefully this means users will see more longevity from the hybrid while out and about. We have one of these devices, and the battery not lasting for all that long is one of our biggest issues, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed that this helps out as promised.
For what it’s worth, we haven’t experienced any throttling, but some users certainly have going by those previous online reports. Hopefully a matching fix for the one delivered to the Surface Book 2 is in the pipeline for Surface Pro 6 users who have been having problems on the CPU throttling front.
