Microsoft patches bug preventing Surface devices from receiving Windows 10 May 2020 Update

Redmond expects update to be sent out to affected devices within a few weeks

Credit: Microsoft

Microsoft says it has patched a bug that may have prevented some of its most recent Surface devices from receiving the Windows 10 May 2020 Update.

In its list of issues associated with the Windows 10 May 2020 Update, Microsoft notes that it recently deployed patch KB4557957, which addresses the “Errors or unexpected restarts for some devices using Always On, Always Connected.”

According to Microsoft’s documentation, that bug affected a range of devices, including some of Microsoft’s recently introduced Surface hardware.

“Affected devices will have more than one Always On, Always Connected capable network adapter, such as the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 and Microsoft Surface Laptop 3, and might receive errors or unexpected shutdown or restart,” Microsoft said previously. Microsoft has said it had applied a “compatibility hold” to Windows 10 devices with those affected drivers or firmware, preventing them from receiving the May 2020 Update.

Now, Microsoft is saying that KB4557957 has solved the problem. “The safeguard hold is estimated to be removed in the coming weeks,” Microsoft said in an update published on Tuesday. Tero Alhonen, a Finnish developer, highlighted the change on Twitter.

Separately, Microsoft’s May 2020 issues page says that “today we are increasing the number of devices that will be offered the May Update.”

Not all of Microsoft’s recent Surface devices have been affected by the compatibility hold, according to our own testing. Our Surface Pro 7 review unit, for instance, is running the May 2020 Update.

On the other hand, other Surface devices we have that Microsoft did not call out specifically, including our Surface Book 3 review unit, are being blocked from receiving the update for now.

Microsoft’s list of issues with the May 2020 Update still leaves a number of bugs under investigation, including issues with older Nvidia GPU drivers, variable-refresh-rate bugs with Intel integrated GPUs, and stop errors when plugging or unplugging a Thunderbolt dock.

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Tags Windows 10Windows 10 ProfessionalWindows 10 Home

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Mark Hachman

Mark Hachman

PC World (US online)
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