New Microsoft Surface Pro X bug causes camera to stop working
Microsoft has yet to address the issue.
Not a great look for the Surface Pro X. The camera for the tablet has reportedly stopped working entirely for some users. It’s unclear at the time of writing what’s causing the issue and how long it will be before an update will be issued to fix it.
The Verge reports that the camera on the Surface Pro X have stopped working starting this week. The publication was able to independently confirm the issue, and claims that this bug affects “everyone”. Dozens of users on Reddit, Twitter (1, 2, 3, 4) and Microsoft’s support forums are also saying that their cameras aren’t working and claim that reinstalling the camera’s drivers won’t fix the problem. We’ve reached out to Microsoft for comment and will update this story when we hear back.
Owners of the tablet say that rolling the device’s date back to May 22nd in system settings makes the camera work again, indicating that this may possibly be an expired certificate issue. And while that may be a functional workaround, rolling back the date on any device causes a whole mountain of issues. This includes authentication on websites, potential calendar and scheduling mayhem and (somewhat ironically) could cause Windows update to not work properly. If you’re okay with that, feel free but proceed at your own risk. We highly suggest that you wait for an official update from Microsoft if you can.
The Surface Pro X, which was originally released in 2019, was a 2-in-1 tablet-laptop fusion device that offered excellent hardware for the time and a comfortable typing experience. Unfortunately, buggy software and limited app compatibility were the device’s ultimate demise, even after Microsoft lowered the price in late 2021. Regardless, we hope that an update comes soon to resolve the issue for Surface Pro X owners.