Microsoft’s Surface Pro 7 is a refinement from previous models, but even the new avatar of the touchscreen laptop continues to suffer from familiar hibernation anomalies. Complaints about the random deactivation of the device continue to flood the forum pages from time to time. Fortunately, the fix for this issue has completed testing and is now available to users. Here’s what you can do!
Surface Pro 7 hibernates or shuts off randomly
At first glance, it seems that the problem is not a hardware problem and therefore, the exchange of the device would not be considered necessary. However, if you have a new Surface Pro and it continues to hibernate or shut down unexpectedly, you can try one of the following four methods to check if it works for you.
- Update display drivers to the latest version
- Replace display drivers with Microsoft base graphics card
- Disable the ‘Panel Self Refresh’ option in Intel Graphics Command Center
- Remove the “Modern Standby” functionality and create a new (unbalanced) power plan.
The underlying problem is most likely related to the firmware / drivers rather than the hardware itself. As such, it is advisable to try to update the Intel display drivers to the latest version.
1]Update display drivers to the latest version
Visit this Web page to download the latest Intel display drivers as a ZIP file and extract the files from the ZIP file to a local folder.
Then open the ‘Device Manager“Via the Control Panel or via the”Run‘ dialog box.
Develop ‘Screenshot taken‘Category. Right click on ‘Intel (R) Iris (R) Plus Graphics Card»And select«Update driver“
Then choose “Browse my computer for driver software’>‘Let me choose from a list of drivers available on my computer“
Select the ‘Disc suppliedAnd go to the folder containing the extracted files.
Subsequently, in theGraphicSubfolder, select the file “iigd_dch.infAnd click on OK.
Hit the ‘Next»To install the latest Iris Plus drivers. This also installs the default Intel Graphics Command Center application.
2]Remove modern sleep features and change power plan
Please note that this method requires you to make changes to the Registry Editor. Serious problems can occur if the changes are made incorrectly to Registry Editor. Create a system restore point before continuing.
Press the Win + R key in combination to open the “Run” dialog box.
In the box that appears, type “regedit.exe“And press” Enter “.
Then, in the Registry window that opens, go to the following path address –
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlPower
Change the ‘CsEnabled»Value from“ 1 ”to“ 0 ”. Click OK and restart Surface Pro.
Then choose the Hhigh performance Diet plan and see if it helps.
3]Replace display drivers with Microsoft base graphics card
Open Device Manager again if you have closed it.
Locate ‘Screenshot taken‘Category. Once found, expand it.
Right click on ‘Intel (R) Iris (R) Plus Graphics Card»And select«Update driver“
Later choose “Browse my computer for driver software’>‘Let me choose from a list of drivers available on my computer“
Finally, select ‘Microsoft Basic Display Adapter“And press”Next’To install the drivers.
4]Disable Auto Panel Refresh option in Intel Graphics Command Center
Please note that Intel Graphics Command Center is no longer available in the driver installation package with Windows Declarative Componentized Hardware (DCH) graphics drivers. So, if you want to install a DCH driver, you can visit the Microsoft Store. If the Intel® Graphics Command Center does not install automatically, you can choose to install it manually!
The above methods are among the easiest and fastest ways to prevent Surface Pro from hibernating or turning off randomly. The downside is that some of them suppress color profile switching and the possible benefits of GPU. In addition, few of them, such as hacking the registry, go against official Microsoft recommendations.
If you know of any other methods, apart from the ones listed above, share them with us in the comments section below.
Related Reading: Microsoft Surface won’t turn on, start, or wake up from sleep mode.