The third time might be the charm for Microsoft, which just released a third update in as many months meant to fix Wi-Fi connectivity issues plaguing the Surface RT tablet.
Since its release late last year, hundreds of Surface RT users have taken to Microsoft’s support forums to complain about spotty Wi-Fi woes. They reported wireless connections get flagged as “limited” after a certain period of use, and troubles connecting the tablet to the Internet. The problem appears to be intermittent and many users reported that a reboot helps fix the issue.
Microsoft engineers first attempted to fix the problem in February, with a software update for the Surface RT that addressed “several ‘Limited’ Wi-Fi connection issues,” according to the release notes. But this didn’t seem to work universally, and some users continued to report Wi-Fi connection woes.
In March, Microsoft took another stab at resolving the problem and released a second update that was meant to bring “improved Surface Wi-Fi reliability, connectivity in various scenarios, and performance improvements.” More specifically, Microsoft said in the release notes it “fixes Wi-Fi reliability allowing for better roaming and improvements to ‘limited’ connectivity scenarios.”
Yet the problems still persisted for some users.
The third Surface RT update, released on April 9, is back on the case. This time around, Microsoft says all the fixes in the software are meant to address the Wi-Fi issue. In the release notes, Microsoft says that “certain ‘limited’ connectivity issues [have been] resolved,” and that it also “improves Wi-Fi to handle a wide range of access points,” and “resolves system crashes caused by certain Wi-Fi issues.” Fingers crossed!
The latest Surface RT update is also a cumulative update, which means that it also includes fixes from the previous release if you have not downloaded them already.
Updates are automatically installed on the Surface RT tablet through Windows Update, or you can also manually install the Wi-Fi fix by opening the Charms bar, then selecting Settings > Change PC Settings > Windows Update, where you can select Check for Updates.
Microsoft also has an April update for Surface Pro users. The patch resolves some Surface Type and Touch cover connectivity issues, fixes a bug with on screen touch navigation in the UEFI boot menu, and corrects an issue where toggling airplane mode would disable the Wi-Fi driver. The Surface Pro fix is also a cumulative update, bundling two previous updates from March for the tablet along with it. You can manually check for the upgrade in the same way as with the Surface RT.