Apparently the SP3 Firmware Update released last week has a faulty Wireless Driver in it, so your WiFi slows to a crawl on coming out of sleep (on battery power). Don't update at present. There are ways to roll back, but expect a fresh driver release very soon to fix the issue.
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Surface Pro 3 arrived
- Thread starter narikin
- Start date
For sure there is a fault with the wireless driver. I noticed and tried the updated firmware/drivers, the 06-14-14 load.
For me this gives me better battery life, maybe as much as 25% and the wireless seems to connect more solidly, however like Narikin mentioned, if you go to sleep or just close the lid, and don't do a full shutdown, you will have connection issues.
Mine also seems to come up, make a strong connection, work for 5 minutes or so, then you get a timed out wifi connection. You will see the strength bar in the lower right hand corner with the Yellow ? mark (never good with windows). I have found that when this occurs, a simple fix, turn off wifi, then back on and reconnect, seems to lock more solid after that.
After working with this machine for a 1 week, my net:
Edit-- Microsoft has created a issue with the WiFi due to their attempt at improving the power management on the Pro3. You can fix this based on the post my Narikin, which takes you back to the power management style of the pro2 which works better. This whole situation surprises me since with all new devices, the user is tied only to WiFi, the hard Ethernet ports are most gone except for PC main boards. Thus issues like this with WiFi show up immediately
The wifi issue is interesting as it appears to be the same wifi that the S Pro 2 has, i.e Marvell.
I may return this unit and wait a couple of months. as really none of these issues happen with the Pro2. It's a pretty solid box.
Paul
For me this gives me better battery life, maybe as much as 25% and the wireless seems to connect more solidly, however like Narikin mentioned, if you go to sleep or just close the lid, and don't do a full shutdown, you will have connection issues.
Mine also seems to come up, make a strong connection, work for 5 minutes or so, then you get a timed out wifi connection. You will see the strength bar in the lower right hand corner with the Yellow ? mark (never good with windows). I have found that when this occurs, a simple fix, turn off wifi, then back on and reconnect, seems to lock more solid after that.
After working with this machine for a 1 week, my net:
Edit-- Microsoft has created a issue with the WiFi due to their attempt at improving the power management on the Pro3. You can fix this based on the post my Narikin, which takes you back to the power management style of the pro2 which works better. This whole situation surprises me since with all new devices, the user is tied only to WiFi, the hard Ethernet ports are most gone except for PC main boards. Thus issues like this with WiFi show up immediately
The wifi issue is interesting as it appears to be the same wifi that the S Pro 2 has, i.e Marvell.
I may return this unit and wait a couple of months. as really none of these issues happen with the Pro2. It's a pretty solid box.
Paul
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Here is a work around fix for the WiFi driver that works: (till the update is released)
It's not a biggie for me, I'll be keeping my machine. Yes MS Surface Pro's can be a bit more buggy than Apple's products, it goes without saying, but they are trying hard, and fast to be on top of things. The SP2 was simply an SP1 with an updated processor in it. That's it. Virtually everything else identical including the dreadful TrackPad. By then they had squashed most major issues. The SP3 is the first real new Surface Pro. Hence these minor niggles.
---------------------------------------
"Fix coming
Talked to a former peer and a hotfix should be released in the July patch cycle.
Ran into the same issue myself. Not so much a WiFi issue directly but more a power mgmt issue trying to tweak every place that can conserve battery...in which case wireless adapter power reduction.
Temp Fix:
Enable Hyper-V to expose advanced power options settings, restart, open power options, click change plan settings, click advanced settings, expand wireless adapter power settings, change to max performance. Disable Hyper-V and restart. Now connects everytime and fixes connection speed display. May suck a little more juice but only for a week and half.
Image
-Tom
29 June, 2014 01:32"
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To expand somewhat on Tom's fix, Hyper-V is is found under Programs and Features>Turn Windows Features on and off
After making the change and turning Hyper-V off, you'll have to go back to Power Management and set "what to do when I close the lid/press the power button" back to "sleep".
It's not a biggie for me, I'll be keeping my machine. Yes MS Surface Pro's can be a bit more buggy than Apple's products, it goes without saying, but they are trying hard, and fast to be on top of things. The SP2 was simply an SP1 with an updated processor in it. That's it. Virtually everything else identical including the dreadful TrackPad. By then they had squashed most major issues. The SP3 is the first real new Surface Pro. Hence these minor niggles.
---------------------------------------
"Fix coming
Talked to a former peer and a hotfix should be released in the July patch cycle.
Ran into the same issue myself. Not so much a WiFi issue directly but more a power mgmt issue trying to tweak every place that can conserve battery...in which case wireless adapter power reduction.
Temp Fix:
Enable Hyper-V to expose advanced power options settings, restart, open power options, click change plan settings, click advanced settings, expand wireless adapter power settings, change to max performance. Disable Hyper-V and restart. Now connects everytime and fixes connection speed display. May suck a little more juice but only for a week and half.
Image
-Tom
29 June, 2014 01:32"
-----------------------------------------
To expand somewhat on Tom's fix, Hyper-V is is found under Programs and Features>Turn Windows Features on and off
After making the change and turning Hyper-V off, you'll have to go back to Power Management and set "what to do when I close the lid/press the power button" back to "sleep".
Narikin:
Thanks for the information.
The whole thing about the wifi had really been bugging me. This really fixes it.
I normally turn the wifi off, by disabling it via control panel, device manager when tethered so I wasn't seeing the issue in the field, but it was starting to really get on nerves when using the Pro 3 as a laptop.
This basically allows you back to the old power management setup, of the Pro2, where you now have all 3 power plans available. This is SOOO much better than Microsoft's keeping you locked out of things. You now can go into each of the 3 power plans, and fine tune them. Awesome.
The tip for the HyperV is really great and I may post this on my blog later as ever one needs to know this.
If you read between the lines, this is how Microsoft got to the 9 hour run time claims. They are attempting to tweak the power of everything even the wifi and that for now is a bit hard to manage. 'This is so critical and it actually might have a bit issue with tethering also, depending on what they did as a "set"power setting for the USB connection. If it also has the same type of range that the wifi has, then it's possible that the connection may time out.
Being able to get back to the basics and have the 3 power settings that then can be tweak, is really great. I can't thank you enough for this info. If and when Microsoft gets a fix in place, I may go back to the HyperV off, but trust me, Microsoft is not going to tell someone about this.
I had posted earlier on their official line on the power settings for the S pro3 in that balanced was the only power setting that would be offered. BS, all you have to do is know where and what HyperV is and turn it on. Of course Microsoft may write out the ability to change this later on, you never know.
Many thanks.
Paul
Thanks for the information.
The whole thing about the wifi had really been bugging me. This really fixes it.
I normally turn the wifi off, by disabling it via control panel, device manager when tethered so I wasn't seeing the issue in the field, but it was starting to really get on nerves when using the Pro 3 as a laptop.
This basically allows you back to the old power management setup, of the Pro2, where you now have all 3 power plans available. This is SOOO much better than Microsoft's keeping you locked out of things. You now can go into each of the 3 power plans, and fine tune them. Awesome.
The tip for the HyperV is really great and I may post this on my blog later as ever one needs to know this.
If you read between the lines, this is how Microsoft got to the 9 hour run time claims. They are attempting to tweak the power of everything even the wifi and that for now is a bit hard to manage. 'This is so critical and it actually might have a bit issue with tethering also, depending on what they did as a "set"power setting for the USB connection. If it also has the same type of range that the wifi has, then it's possible that the connection may time out.
Being able to get back to the basics and have the 3 power settings that then can be tweak, is really great. I can't thank you enough for this info. If and when Microsoft gets a fix in place, I may go back to the HyperV off, but trust me, Microsoft is not going to tell someone about this.
I had posted earlier on their official line on the power settings for the S pro3 in that balanced was the only power setting that would be offered. BS, all you have to do is know where and what HyperV is and turn it on. Of course Microsoft may write out the ability to change this later on, you never know.
Many thanks.
Paul
Yes you are right, if you wish to keep Power Options in your control entirely (and suffer a modest hit in battery life) then you can leave Hyper-V enabled. It's that simple.
However, if you want max battery life, then re-enable Hyper-V after adjusting the WiFi adapter to Max power. It will stick at that, and no more WiFi issues.
Am sure this is a simple Driver update blunder that will be fixed in the near future.
However, if you want max battery life, then re-enable Hyper-V after adjusting the WiFi adapter to Max power. It will stick at that, and no more WiFi issues.
Am sure this is a simple Driver update blunder that will be fixed in the near future.
One other note, the "sleep" option goes away when you take back control over power management. You now have the old "hibernate" option available, which to me is better anyway, as the machine is truly off in hibernate, but remembers exactly where it was on reboot.
However the win 8.1 boot process is so much faster than win 7, it's kinda moot.
It appears if you want "sleep" you have to turn the Hyper V manager off.
Paul
However the win 8.1 boot process is so much faster than win 7, it's kinda moot.
It appears if you want "sleep" you have to turn the Hyper V manager off.
Paul
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A note to say a new firmware is out that fixes the wireless driver problem outlined above. All good on mine so far.
Apparently the SP3 was maybe going to have the new Broadwell 14nm mobile processor architecture, with even less power draw for slight performance bump, but Intel have pushed that back twice already (nobody sure if that is a real production issue, or some marketing ploy) but it is unlikely to arrive in an SP3 for now. I would guess that this SP3 configuration will stay in place to summer '15 or thereabouts.
Apparently the SP3 was maybe going to have the new Broadwell 14nm mobile processor architecture, with even less power draw for slight performance bump, but Intel have pushed that back twice already (nobody sure if that is a real production issue, or some marketing ploy) but it is unlikely to arrive in an SP3 for now. I would guess that this SP3 configuration will stay in place to summer '15 or thereabouts.
I went on a shoot with only the surface pro 3. it's amazing and completed transformed the way I work. I do not only view, but also edit my images using the full suite of software: photoshop, lightroom, and capture 1. load time is very fast, comparable to a modern day mac book pro. Other than pano stitches which took longer, and crashed my surface once (I tried to start 4 stiches at once, so probably my fault).
the stylus is awesome. now it is very natural for me to edit my images using the pen instead of a mouse. the only annoying thing is that a lot of photoshop commands cannot be accessible through the touch screen or the pen. so you need to flip out the keyboard. other than that, maybe the font is too small on the smaller screen.
highly recommended piece of gear. buy the mid level option.
the stylus is awesome. now it is very natural for me to edit my images using the pen instead of a mouse. the only annoying thing is that a lot of photoshop commands cannot be accessible through the touch screen or the pen. so you need to flip out the keyboard. other than that, maybe the font is too small on the smaller screen.
highly recommended piece of gear. buy the mid level option.
Have you figured out a way to select two images (e.g., the image plus the LCC shot) so that you can apply the LCC in the field with only pen and no external keyboard? I can't find any guidance on how to do a <CTL>click or <SHIHT> click....
Thanks,
Bob
please explain what 'crappy video' you are talking about?
if you mean watching regular videos (i.e. nothing to do with Photographic Applications), then all I can say is I watch Netflix, Hulu, You Tube, etc, on mine perfectly well. No pixelation to speak of.
8 gig. i find it to be totally sufficient. the CPU will become the bottleneck in really big files, before the RAM becomes a problem
Nope absolutely no problems watching hi res video trailers on YouTube.
However, this is a Pro photography forum, and, with respect, you are probably better off seeking help for general SP3 issues not connected with MF camera tethering elsewhere.
Thank you for your advice, however, with respect, some may want to know, before they spend their hard earned cash, that "some" of these units have video pixalation issues. True, it does not seem to effect tethering, but if you would like to use a Surface as a general purpose device (I know I would), you may be disappointed in its video performance.
The following applies to Windows. See if it makes any sense in Capture One. I don't have a Windows tablet to try it.
The programmers need to make a program touch enabled. If it is, you should see an item check box in the left of the column header. If the item check box isn’t appearing, open the View tab and then enable the option named Item check boxes.
To select a file, tap just to the left of a file’s icon. A check box containing a check mark appears next to the file’s icon.
This is the trickiest part. With the tip of your pinky, tap just to the left of the file’s name. When you tap in just the right spot, you place a check mark in the box that appears.
As you quickly discover, this takes practice. If just one tap is off, Windows deselects everything, and selects only what you’ve just tapped. Keep trying, and you’ll eventually find the sweet spot, just to the left of the file’s icon.
--Steve.
kdphotography
Well-known member
With the introduction of the Surface Pro 3, I think it appropriate for all MFDB Surface Pro users to share their tips/tricks/workflow here.
With regard to users seeking to have the choice of where their files are saved (to wit, to the computer or to the MFDB CF card or both someday) the latest update to the Phase IQ MFDBs includes the option to choose where your files are written/saved to.
In the Menu section, select Storage, then choose the desired storage location (Auto, CF, Firewire, USB). Auto will select by default the Surface Pro when tethered. It's a pita, but SP tethered users can now select via menu "CF" prior to shooting that final composed shot, and that final image capture will be saved to the CF card rather than the Surface Pro. Also, because the USB interface is so plug-and-play friendly, you can simply disconnect the USB3 cord, shoot, and then reconnect.
Phase One----you're really really close now. Maybe on the next firmware update please??
What needs to happen now is that under the Menu Storage options, users be given the ability to tap-select up to two selections (instead of just one) when tethered, giving users the ability to Save to CF only, Save to Surface Pro/Laptop only, or Save to both CF and to Surface Pro/Laptop---recognizing that writing the files to both may take a little more time, but with the added security of saving to two locations. Let the user decide!
Right now I'm still comfortable saving to the SP2 and then later transferring the RAW files to my main workstation, but I'd really like the option to save to both Surface Pro and to the MFDB CF card, keeping more in line with my shooting untethered C1 Pro post-processing workflow on my workstation.
ken
With regard to users seeking to have the choice of where their files are saved (to wit, to the computer or to the MFDB CF card or both someday) the latest update to the Phase IQ MFDBs includes the option to choose where your files are written/saved to.
In the Menu section, select Storage, then choose the desired storage location (Auto, CF, Firewire, USB). Auto will select by default the Surface Pro when tethered. It's a pita, but SP tethered users can now select via menu "CF" prior to shooting that final composed shot, and that final image capture will be saved to the CF card rather than the Surface Pro. Also, because the USB interface is so plug-and-play friendly, you can simply disconnect the USB3 cord, shoot, and then reconnect.
Phase One----you're really really close now. Maybe on the next firmware update please??
What needs to happen now is that under the Menu Storage options, users be given the ability to tap-select up to two selections (instead of just one) when tethered, giving users the ability to Save to CF only, Save to Surface Pro/Laptop only, or Save to both CF and to Surface Pro/Laptop---recognizing that writing the files to both may take a little more time, but with the added security of saving to two locations. Let the user decide!
Right now I'm still comfortable saving to the SP2 and then later transferring the RAW files to my main workstation, but I'd really like the option to save to both Surface Pro and to the MFDB CF card, keeping more in line with my shooting untethered C1 Pro post-processing workflow on my workstation.
kenTotally agree. Safely it might be a liming the processor/data path in that it's only a one threaded layout. If it's overhead/speed I am like Ken in that I can give up a bit if speed to write to both.
One problem might be that since in tethered mode a user can work on a file that it might create a problem in reconciling the two files. I often push up the shadows in my custom tethered workspace. This creates a Capture One folder with the settings folder. The raws off the card will not have this.
Paul
One problem might be that since in tethered mode a user can work on a file that it might create a problem in reconciling the two files. I often push up the shadows in my custom tethered workspace. This creates a Capture One folder with the settings folder. The raws off the card will not have this.
Paul