Microsoft takes down faulty Surface Pro 2 update

Microsoft has pulled a software update for the Surface Pro 2 after acknowledging that it was causing problems with users' tablets.

On Wednesday Microsoft removed the update, which had been released just over a week ago, and apologised to users for its faults.

A post from an administrator on the Microsoft Community forum said: "To ensure the best experience for our customers during the holiday season, we have taken steps to remove the update for Surface Pro 2 that was previously published through Windows Update on 10 December 2013. We are working to release an alternative update package after the holidays."

This rollback has been welcomed by some users, but others say that the damage has already been done. Comments underneath the Microsoft post question what the firm will do for machines that have had a homegrown spanner chucked in their works.

"Josh, that's a great first step. What about those who have already taken the update and are finding huge issues with battery consumption, hardware failures, and issues with booting/sleeping? The issues have made our devices almost unusable," said one.

"OK, but what about everybody who got messed up? can you guys roll this thing back? My Surface no longer charges to 100 percent," added another. "It refuses to even try. We need MSFT to at least have a way to put people back to the prior state without blowing away all their OS."

There are 216 responses to the patch alert, and most are critical. Microsoft, which is competing with the Apple iPad with its Surface, seems to have shaken its existing users. "That is hardly fast enough for those of us affected by the issue. How are we supposed to trust you when we have already received two bad SP2 updates?" asked one.

The incident is not the first time Microsoft has been forced to pull a botched software update after some devices were bricked during an upgrade process to Windows 8.1.

:story: V3.co.uk