The devices’ Surface Management Engine, Surface UEFI, and Surface Integration drivers all got bumped up to a later version, making minor but notable changes. Most important is the changes to UEFI, what is essentially the BIOS on newer Surface machines. Users will need to reboot to install the firmware, and should notice an increase stability and performance when changing power states.
Full Release Notes
It appears Microsoft is also focusing on battery and power on their other tablets as a result of the negative press from the Surface Pro 3. We don’t yet know if the later tablets will run into the same issues when they reach a similar lifecycle, but this should help in the meantime. Here’s the full changelog:
Microsoft driver update for Surface Management Engine: v11.0.15.1003 improves stability and performance when you change between power states. Microsoft driver update for Surface UEFI: v106.1281.768.0 improves stability and performance when you change between power states. Microsoft driver update for Surface Integration: v1.0.103.0 improves the device usability and battery life. Microsoft driver update for Surface Integration Service Device: v1.0.146.0 makes sure the default Balanced power plan is set correctly when the operating system is updated.
To install the new firmware you need to do the following: Users have reported that you may then need to restart once more for the changes to take effect. As is standard, ensure you have at least 50% charge or the updates may not complete thean installation. If the update isn’t yet available for you, it’s probably just not available in your area yet. It should roll out to all devices within the next few days. You can access the full release notes here.
