Microsoft admits Surface Pro 3 overheating issues, promises fix

Only i7 version of company's new hybrid tablet seems to be affected

After several weeks of complaints, Microsoft has finally acknowledged that the Surface Pro 3 tablet is overheating, and has vowed to provide a fix - of sorts.

Employing classic corporate double-speak, Microsoft has only admitted that the affected model - the build running Intel's Core i7 processor - is running "slightly warmer" than others, as opposed to actually overheating.

Microsoft believes that a software bug is causing the temperature warning icon to flash up on Surface screens erroneously, and then only for a "very small number" of i7s.

The software fix, then, will be less about heat management and more about stopping the Surface mis-reporting its heat levels.

"Our investigation reveals that the system is triggering this event sooner than it should for some people, only when the device restarts, and this does not occur when the device is booted and running," said Microsoft. "We have an update that will address this that will be ready for our customers as soon as possible."

There have been suggestions that background Windows Update downloads and installations are what may be overburdening the i7. It's already been reported that users are in fact managing to manually cool the machine by closing Windows Installer Module and Windows Installer Module Worker sessions by way of the Windows Task Manager.

Has Microsoft bitten off more than it can chew by cramming an i7 into such a slim and sleek device as the Surface Pro 3? Do you own one, and are you experiencing heat problems? Let us know.