X

Microsoft releases batch of Surface patches

Microsoft delivers updates and fixes for its Surface RT, Surface 2, and Surface Pro 2 tablets, as part of its November Patch Tuesday releases.

Mary Jo Foley
Mary Jo Foley has covered the tech industry for 30 years for a variety of publications, including ZDNet, eWeek and Baseline. She is the author of Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft plans to stay relevant in the post-Gates era (John Wiley & Sons, 2008). She also is the cohost of the "Windows Weekly" podcast on the TWiT network.
See full bio
Mary Jo Foley
2 min read
Microsoft's Surface Pro 2.
Microsoft's Surface Pro 2. Microsoft

On November 12, Microsoft is pushing out new updates and fixes for its various Surface tablet devices -- the bulk of which are for the ARM-based Surface 2.

According to Microsoft, the Surface 2 November updates include:

  • Performance improvements for all Type Cover and Touch Cover versions;
  • Wi-Fi and Bluetooth driver updates to improve wireless display performance;
  • Camera improvements;
  • Audio improvements, including switching to speaker playback after disconnecting a headset;
  • System performance and stability improvements; and
  • Battery life improvements.

There are no new updates in today's batch for the Intel-based Surface Pro 2 devices. (Microsoft made available for download a firmware and driver update pack available for the Surface Pro 2 at the end of October.)

The first-generation ARM-based Surface RT and Surface Pro are both getting a couple of updates.

Microsoft is updating the Windows RT operating system on Surface RT to allow the use of Japanese Touch Cover 2 and Type Cover 2. There are seemingly no updates this month for Surface RT users who've moved to Windows RT 8.1.

On Intel-based Surface Pros running Windows 8, Microsoft also is providing an update to allow the use of Japanese Touch Cover 2 and Type Cover 2. For Surface Pro users running Windows 8.1, Microsoft is providing two other updates:

  • LifeCam driver update to increase TrueColor fidelity, and
  • Wireless and Bluetooth driver update to improve wireless display performance and Wi-Fi network performance and stability.

Microsoft is making these updates available as part of its Patch Tuesday set of releases. Users who want to grab the updates manually once they are available can follow the instructions on Microsoft's various Surface Update History pages (which I've linked above in this post).

This story originally appeared as "Microsoft delivers new batch of Surface updates" on ZDNet.

Watch this: Microsoft Surface Pro 2 review: Better battery and performance, same thick body