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Reset Frozen Surface Pro 3

Mitch BartlettApril 6, 2016 Comments (13)
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If your Microsoft Surface has become frozen at the “Surface” screen or has a black screen, try these steps to force a shutdown and reset it.

  1. Press and hold the “Power” button for 30 seconds.
  2. Press and hold the “Volume Up” and “Power” buttons simultaneously for 20 seconds. You should feel the device eventually vibrate.
  3. Wait about 10 seconds, then press the “Power” button to power the Surface Pro 3 back on.

Hopefully, your Surface restarts without any more problems.

 

Categories: Windows

Author Mitch Bartlett

Through my career that spans over 20 years I have become an expert in Microsoft Systems Administration, Android, and macOS. I started this site as a technical guide for myself and it has grown into what I hope is a useful knowledgebase for everyone.

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Comments

  1. Steven Harvey says:
    August 7, 2022 at 8:43 pm

    Steps did not work it turns off but when I do step two it doesn’t vibrate and it wont show anything besides seither the surface logo on the black screen or it flashes back black then says surface again what else can I do to turn my surface 3 on or factory rest it manually since it won’t turn on all the way to where I can get into the settings it just says surface then black screen and every now and then it’ll show set up screen and idk if it’s configured wrong or not

  2. Nick says:
    February 1, 2022 at 5:50 am

    Method 2 worked for me

  3. Eileen says:
    March 26, 2021 at 2:58 pm

    Thank you! Was able to power off following first suggestion. Restarted with no problems.

  4. James says:
    December 21, 2020 at 8:34 pm

    I have a surface 3 and when I turn. It on it acts like it is on but all I’m getting is a black screen. I know it’s receiving power and on cause I push on the tablets win key and it vibrates but thats about it and holding down the power button, or power + vol.up together doesn’t help fix the problem either. Before this occurred it would have problems retaining the screen lock and bounced back and forth between the portrait and Landscape mode while stationary and freze for a couple seconds while its trying to re-register what picture mode its in. Anyone have these problems. At least the first one with the dark screen at bootup?

  5. Sue says:
    February 22, 2020 at 11:35 pm

    After all the steps, it still froze with “Surface” at the starting screen.

  6. stephen says:
    February 17, 2020 at 1:17 am

    Yes it worked once, but has done it again, while not in use. Also the casing gets quite hot and can’t be good for it. Ironically we have three of these, my son’s ones are fine. Maybe I should play more games!

  7. cindy Jensen says:
    October 1, 2019 at 10:07 am

    My company i work for uses surface pro as our remote order computer sometimes it freezes and I hold the power button in till it turns off, but when I go to restart I press the power button and nothing happens I have had to let it sit plugged in for quite a while before it will let me log back in

  8. S. brand says:
    February 24, 2019 at 1:16 pm

    This restart occurs often, about once every two hours of operation time.. Pressing down on the power button or F5 power is not a solution to the core problem. Microsoft has a hardware or firmware issue that needs to be fixed. This is supposed to be a top of the line laptop and is priced like one, but this freezing issue is a major problem that is not being addressed by the manufacturer.

  9. Steve says:
    February 10, 2019 at 12:00 pm

    Perfect

  10. Mary says:
    February 1, 2019 at 7:23 am

    Tried these steps, Surface Pro turns on but doesn’t turn on. Asks for password, indicates just a moment and sits there forever. It looks like it wants to sign in but doesn’t. Can you recommand anything to fix this?

  11. Yousif says:
    October 17, 2018 at 7:59 pm

    Hi
    I have Microsoft Surface pro I7
    I have problem my Surface frozen at restart
    I try those steps but it still doesn’t work
    What can I do?
    Thanks

  12. Rhea says:
    April 24, 2018 at 3:01 pm

    Brilliant

  13. Dawn McCarthy says:
    January 14, 2018 at 7:42 pm

    Thank you. Number 2 worked for me.

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My name is Mitch Bartlett. I've been working in technology for over 20 years in a wide range of tech jobs from Tech Support to Software Testing. I started this site as a technical guide for myself and it has grown into what I hope is a useful reference for all.

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Last Updated on April 6, 2016 by Mitch Bartlett