Microsoft recently pushed a new update to its dual-screen Android smartphones Surface Duo and Surface Duo 2. The update brought the latest May 2023 Android security patch to the devices. But it appears the company has messed something up here. Several users have reported that the new patch is causing random reboots on their Surface Duo.
According to user reports on Microsoft’s community forum and Reddit, the affected Surface Duo and Surface Duo 2 units shut down abruptly with no apparent cause known to them. Upon restart, the devices ask users whether they’d want to reboot again or perform a hard reset. Selecting the former option works fine, but only for a while. The device reboots randomly again.
As mentioned in a Reddit thread, the affected build number for the Surface Duo is 2022.829.13, while that for the Surface Duo 2 is 2023.425.15. The same thread also states that turning off Wi-Fi fixes the problem as long as you don’t turn on Wi-Fi again. You must rely on cellular data (4G or 5G) for internet connectivity. At least a few of the affected users have found respite with this workaround. Others are out of luck, unfortunately.
Meanwhile, resetting all connections appears to be a more effective solution. You can do that by navigating to Settings > System > Reset options > Reset Wi-Fi, mobile & Bluetooth. Note that this may erase your downloaded SIMs. More importantly, there’s no guarantee this will permanently solve the problem. Some have found this workaround worthless while it worked for others. Microsoft has yet to release an official fix.
Microsoft is investigating this reboot issue on the two Surface Duo models
Shortly after users started reporting the new-found issue on the Surface Duo and Surface Duo 2 on Microsoft’s community forum, a company representative responded by saying that the concerned team is “actively investigating” the cause of the problem. Unfortunately, they didn’t proving any further details. It’s unclear how long it will take Microsoft to fix this issue.
Meanwhile, when reached out for a comment on the matter, the company gave the following statement to Android Authority: “Microsoft is aware and is looking into it. For additional information please refer to our Microsoft’s Q&A community page”. It statement contained a link to the aforementioned community forum thread. Hopefully, a fix will land soon. Watch out for a notification on your Surface Duo or Surface Duo 2. Meanwhile, if you haven’t installed the May security patch yet, hold off on it for the time being.
2023-06-02 15:11:33