Surface Studio topics

how to move my win 11 activation to a new machine?

gerrycrumbley — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 02:50:04 GMT

So, my Surface Laptop Studio 1 display driver must have gone bad. I understand it is built into the motherboard. I purchased a new Studio 2 and would like to move all my stuff to it including the OS. But I understand that the Win 11 Pro OEM version cannot be moved. Now what? I can't move my OS and stuff to a new machine, and I can't replace the motherboard without losing my Win 11 Pro activation? How do I resolve this?

Surface Laptop Studio (1) No Surface monitor driver

gerrycrumbley — Sat, 29 Nov 2025 15:18:19 GMT

Surface Laptop Studio/Win 10 Pro upgraded to Win 11 Pro/Iris Xe graphics

Event History:

I Use 2 monitors, Surface screen and external. One day my I noticed my Surface went blank. Device manager showed no Surface Monitor Driver, and display was Iris Xe.

Microsoft support chat: had me download and install a new .msi file - problem solved.

3 days later, same problem. (on boot the Win icon showed up on my external monitor and not the Surface screen). So, I re-ran the .msi file. This time BOTH screens went blank. after many failed Shift+Power and Volume Up+Power reboots, I gave up. The next morning I tried again and Wa-La! the external monitor showed up.

This time Device manager showed Display Adapter as Microsoft Basic Display Adapter (not the Iris Xe, and NO Surface driver. Only the external monitor driver.

I contacted MS support again - they linked me to a different .msi file. I was hesitant to run it, but I did . . and Poof! No more monitors at all.

During this time I could hear Win boot system sound, so I new I as at the PIN screen. I could hit Space +my PIN but I couldn't see anything. I even tried WinKey+Shift+Ctrl+B to reset the display, to no avail.

I continued many Shift+Power and Volume Up+Power attempts. Nothing helped. I finally gave up and waited several hours. Tried again, and Wa-La, the external monitor is now back! (I haven't shut it down since!) Device manager/Display is MBDA and still NO Surface monitor driver.

I have run the Surface Diagnostic and it shows I need to install the Iris Xe, but it won't install. It says "failed" and try again. I'm guessing I have a hardware issue either with loose cables, or bad graphics card? Which ever, I'm afraid of it now.

I used Macrium Reflect to build an image of my C: drive (really don't want to re-install all my software).

I have purchased a newer Surface Laptop Studio 2. It is supposed to come with Win 11 Pro

Question:

If I restore my image to the new device:

will it restore the failed graphics driver?
will it restore MY version of Win 11 Pro (with proper Product Key/Activation Key/PIN etc)?
Should I keep the newer Win 11 Pro and all associated drivers and just re-install all my software? (I have all my files on an external USB)

Please advise . . .

Laptop Studio 2 Windows Hello PIN Subsystem Smartcard Error

real-napster — Wed, 22 May 2024 11:25:50 GMT

Authentication via Windows Hello PIN is not working.

The error message says: ‘An error has occurred in the Smartcard subsystem.’ However, I am not using a Smartcard and do not wish to use one. I checked the Device Manager to see if there was a driver for the Smartcard that I could uninstall, but there isn’t one. After looking at the services and stopping the ‘SmartCard’ service, the option for the PIN in User Account Control is no longer displayed.

Can anyone help me with this problem?

Cheers

Ben

Windows 10 end of support on Surface Studio

johnnyheisenberg — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 17:30:53 GMT

I've searched this forum but couldn't find any comments on this. Am I the only one that is really angry?
I bought a Surface Studio from a Microsoft Store in 2019 for the princely sum of just over $4,000, the most expensive PC I've ever bought. Only five years later and today I received the anticipated notification that Windows 10 is soon to go 'end of support' and a reminder that my PC *still* is capable of upgrading to Windows 11.
How is it possible that Microsoft made the decision to leave their own hardware behind when they created Windows 11? I have always argued that the renowned Apple stability is due to the fact that they make both the hardware and the software, but apparently Microsoft don't care about their own hardware. The warning, incidentally, came will the helpful suggestion that perhaps I should replace my PC with something capable of running Windows 11. I can tell you what that *won't* be.
Anyone else out there in this position?

Surface Studio Pen Keeps Opening Brush Window in Photoshop

tpetro1991 — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 18:43:31 GMT

Hello,

I use a Microsoft Surface Studio to draw in Photoshop. However, my Surface Slim Pen constantly opens the Photoshop brushes window whenever I first touch my pen to the screen surface. I have tried disabling I am hoping someone know how to stop this from occurring.

I have the latest version of Photoshop, ran the Surface diagnostic toolkit, checked the surface drivers health through Surface app, and have the latest Windows updates installed.

I have already gone into the control panel and unchecked "Enable press and hold for right-clicking" (this did not solve the issue).

Thanks!

Laptop studio

Owen_Winter — Fri, 30 Jun 2023 17:06:55 GMT

Hi everyone

I looked to get a replacement up arrow key as my one has broken off

is there any way I can buy a replacement key from somewhere?

Surface Laptop Studio - No WiFi - Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX200 160MHz

Ciprian_365 — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 07:40:38 GMT

Hi All,

I have a Surface Laptop Studio with a defective WiFi. For two months i struggle with this device, after suddenly the WiFi option disappeared.

I have tried uninstalling the wifi device, installed latest drivers, latest windows updates, still the issue persist. I don't believe is a hardware issue, since i managed to revive it few times but after few hours it disappears again.

I manage to revive it by randomly toggling these values and restarting the computer afterwards:

Any ideas?

Surface Studio 2 +

Lholmgren — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 21:28:24 GMT

Hi All,

Any advice or guidance on the below will be very much appreciated:

One of my customers is looking to prepare a corporate image based on Windows10 with WMI list for Surface Studio 2 +.

They are looking for WMI list allowing them to use their PowerShell cmd.

Happy to share the exact command if needed if you are using Surface studio 2+.

Many thanks

Surface Studio disconnected display - how to reconnect

Larry Wall (AZURE DEV) — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 14:57:13 GMT

When I am using my docking station, I generally disconnect the actual Surface device window and use my larger monitors.

However, after I disconnected the Surface devices display in the display tools, I can't figure out how to get it back to re-display it. The result is, when I'm not using the docking station, the screen will not display.

How would I get the screen to start displaying again>

Larry

12 volt car charger for Surface Studio

PCKid — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 10:32:42 GMT

I’m in Australia so not sure if it makes a difference when talking 12 volt. Currently have a Griffin Surface 12 volt plug for my Surface 6 rated at 30 watts.

Given the i7 Studio comes with a 102 watt brick has anyone found a reliable car charger for the Studio?

I have one of these portable power stations with a 300 watt Australian plug on one end that works great for powering all sorts of devices under 300 watts.

I was hoping this would work as it is overload, over heat, under power load protection but it’s not pure sine wave.

so not sure if that matters.

Surface Laptop Studio easily stripped screws

beyaffe — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 22:51:55 GMT

Was trying to install a new memory card into my Surface, but the two side screws stripped incredibly easily, after just 2 turns. Any advice? Additionally, the screws being hidden under the rubber feet and metallic tape is a pain, especially considering they don't re-stick easily and Microsoft doesn't offer replacement feet.

Boot Loop

DrummerBoy — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 21:01:09 GMT

I have a Surface Studio that is new and recently deployed. According to the user over the weekend the Surface started rebooting in a boot loop. It doesn't appear to be directly related to an OS corruption as it doesn't matter what you attempt to boot to the boot loop continues. I was going to reset it by running data eraser and recovery but neither one will boot.

Secure Boot is disabled as is all boot devices except for USB storage. Still nothing. Am I missing something or am I stuck?

surface studio 2 not charging

yoshitweaky — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 20:05:39 GMT

HI, anyone else have an issue with the latest win11 updates which stop the laptop charging.

This was working earlier today then after latest updates the laptop does not charge.

I have tried 3 different power supplies, charger connected in all different angles etc but no joy.

Light is solid white when the laptop is on but batt symbol shows no charging. After laptop powers off the white light on the charger goes off. Is this correct?

My SP3 light stays on until battery is charged.. Its box fresh so really don't want to have to go for a repair

Ghost Keystrokes/Touches and Stuck Keys on Surface Studio 2

kylemhaas — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 13:27:47 GMT

I am working with a customer who has purchased two SS2s, and both have the same issue when connected to the Surface Dock 2. After a few minutes, the system will start detecting input (seems like touch input) in random places, and the keys on the keyboard will type erroneously. Often, it will start typing double letters (for example, dog would be ddoogg) and adjacent letters.

This occurs with both of our SS2s, which are brand new, and we have confirmed the issue with two Surface Dock 2 units. We have not tested with the Surface Dock 1. We have not had any issues with using the standard charger and a USB-C Hub rather than the Surface Dock. We also have multiple Surface Books (the majority of our fleet) which have no problem with these docks.

I initially expected this to be a heat-related issue, but the SS2 stays quite cool even when stress testing. It has something to do with the input drivers or actual hardware when connected to the dock. I appreciate any assistance, and I will be contacting technical support as well.

Surface Studio Flickering Display

RDLightstone — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 18:34:17 GMT

I have a Surface Studio 1 and the display has just started flickering.

I am located in Israel. Does anyone have an authorised Microsoft repair contact locally?

As we all know everything is inside the display case.

Case for Surface Studio

Robert_Fisher — Fri, 31 Dec 2021 10:34:29 GMT

I currently own a Surface Book 3, and am considering upgrading to a Surface Studio. What's holding me back is, I can't find a hard case for the Surface Studio. I'm a professional musician, and need to use the laptop on my gigs. I need to protect it from wear and tear. I'm using a Urban Armor case on my Surface Book 3. Will there be a similar option available for the Surface Studio?

Surface Dial

karupusamy — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 11:20:41 GMT

I can't add apps for Surface dial, please help me...

surface studio 2

shirwan30 — Wed, 12 May 2021 19:21:06 GMT

hi everyone , i have a problem with my microsoft surface studio 2 ,when i turn it on its shut down automatically after seconds

The Adventure begins - Surface Studio 2

Sbakos — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 15:56:31 GMT

I just got my new SS2 and since there aren't many posts/discussions about the true user interface for designers, Architects, etc. with this amazing machine, I plan to share my experience with all MS apps, and with graphic apps like SketchUp, AutoCAD, Concepts, Drawboards, etc. Any experiences, suggestions, etc., from members here, are greatly appreciated. Thanks and more to follow soon.

Surface Studio UI

Michaelbate888 — Sat, 26 Dec 2020 01:33:46 GMT

Can anyone provide a description of the Surface Studio user interface. I'm looking for how to connect a sound device (speakers).

Thanks in advance.