The May firmware updates for the Microsoft Surface tablet have reportedly caused problems to the Windows RT variants.
As seen on Microsoft's Community thread, Surface with Windows RT owner dskioldebrand reported sound issues when the tablet was at a low volume. The issues, according to the tablet owner, came as the May firmware update was installed.
"Just updated to May 14, 2013 firmware. Louder speakers are great but I have noticed that when I have low volume (<=10) the volume gets occasionally dropped," wrote dskioldebrand.
"Sounds kind of like somebody talking into a microphone and occasionally removes their mouth from it."
Fellow Surface with Windows RT owner Herr Vogel shared his experience.
"I have the same issues. I usually use the Surface RT in a quiet environment and therefore mostly use it on low volume (lower than 10 or even as low as 4 or 6 on some games). Since the last patch day the sound changes its volume itself during playback. First it is loud for a few seconds, then it gets quiet for another few seconds, then loud again...like if there was some kind of audio normalization working in the background creating a slowly pulsating sound," Vogel said, adding that the issue exists on any application and then disappears when listening from headphones.
The May firmware update for the Surface with Windows RT, as Latinos Post reported, coincidentally was aimed to improve the tablet's speaker volume.
According to the May update released two weeks ago, "UEFI firmware update that enhances Surface RT speaker volume and improves system stability," was the first update for the Surface with Windows RT, followed by, "Driver pack that improves performance and works with the updated UEFI firmware to enhance Surface RT speaker volume."
Microsoft is apparently aware of the issue, according to a response by JeffTaylor on Microsoft Answer. Taylor noted the issue is with the "NVIDIA Tegra Audio Topology Filter."
A temporary fix was provided by Taylor, who warned that it would affect the tablet's maximum volume until Microsoft distributes an update on the matter.
According to Taylor, first open the Control Panel in the desktop, then change the "View" (Top left) from "View by: Category" to "View by: Large Icons." Next, tap on the "Device Manager" in order to go down to "Sound, Video and game controllers" and open it. The next step is to right click on "NVIDIA Tegra Audio Topology Filter." On the Context menu, tap "Properties" then "Driver." The user should then click the "Roll Back Driver" button and tap "Restart now" when prompted.
The Surface with Windows RT tablet will restart.
Have you experienced a similar issue with the Surface with Windows RT? Let us know in the comments section below.
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