Fixing an Overly Hot Sleeping Surface Book

While Microsoft is hard at work (we hope) coming up with fixes for post-launch problems for its Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book, a few temporary, community fixes are already rolling in. In We Now Know What is Included in the Day 1 Updates for Surface Book and Pro 4, I detailed some additional fixes that have already been proposed.

Another temporary fix has now come to light. This one is for a Surface Book that gets overly hot when the lid is closed and the device is supposed to be sleeping. By default, the Surface Book (or any other Windows 10 device) will stay connected to Wi-Fi even when the lid is closed and the device is supposed to be sleeping. For most devices, this isn’t a problem and it works just fine. For the Surface Book, it can cause the device to run extra hot, particularly when it is being toted around in a bag.

Until a permanent fix is available, you can modify the On battery power, stay connected to Wi-Fi while asleep setting in the Windows 10 Settings applet. Turn this off by unchecking the box.

Incidentally, there’s been more reports of Surface Book issues than Surface Pro 4 problems. But, that’s really to be expected, considering the Surface Book is a Gen 1 product.