Microsoft Will Re-Release Surface Pro 2 Firmware Earlier Than Expected

Last week, I reported that Microsoft had pulled the most Surface Pro 2 firmware update after users complained that it effectively halved the battery life of the tablet. But I also fumed that the company wouldn't fix the issue until after the holidays. Well, here's some good news. Microsoft has realized the error of its ways and will now fix this firmware update ASAP.

In Microsoft Pulls Surface Pro 2 Firmware Update, I wrote that much of Microsoft takes much of the month of December off, and that this tradition was negatively impacting those Surface Pro 2 customers who had happily installed the firmware update when it was released last Tuesday. In a prepared statement at the time, Microsoft said that it was "working to release an alternative update package after the holidays." I found that schedule to be unacceptable, and also ranted about it a bit on last week's Windows Weekly podcast.

Good news. They listened.

"To ensure the best experience for our customers, we have taken steps to remove the update for Surface Pro 2 that was previously published through Windows Update on December 10th, 2013," a new quote provided by the company says. "We are working to release an alternative update package as soon as possible."

To be clear, "as soon as possible" is much better than "after the holidays," which means "sometime in January." It could still end up being January, for all I know. After all, it will take some time to fix the problem and test it accordingly. But it's nice to know that someone is actually working on it now and not leaving this hanging out there until 2014.

So a thoughtful tip of the hat to the Surface team. This is absolutely the right thing to do, and it's appreciated.