Microsoft has recently extended driver and firmware support from a few months up to one year for six Surface device models. This means that some Surface device models will be supported with security and stability updates for as long as up to six years which is impressive!
The extended support means in practice that surprisingly the life of these devices has been extended and can be used even further without having to be replaced with new devices.
In terms of sustainability and climate impact, the manufacturing of a device (laptop, tablet or other form factor) is generating carbon emissions with the equivalent of a one to three or four-hour round-trip flight. Thus, it is great news that you can use your devices longer as it means lower carbon emissions overall.
The enabler for using your Surface devices longer is the fact that you will have supported hardware in terms of drivers and firmware (security) updates.
The updated support matrix
I have a Surface Pro X myself and noticed the other day that the support was now extended to what I’ve seen before. Thanks to online service Wayback that keep old web pages in their archive, it was easy to confirm that Microsoft did an update in March 2023 which extends the end of servicing dates for these models:
| Device | Release Date | End of Servicing Date |
| Surface Laptop 3 | October 22, 2019 | NEW DATE: July 30, 2024 |
| Surface Pro 7 | October 22, 2019 | NEW DATE: February 28, 2024 |
| Surface Pro X | November 5, 2019 | NEW DATE: August 10, 2025 |
| Surface Pro X SQ2 | October 13, 2020 | NEW DATE: August 10, 2025 |
| Surface Go 2 | May 6, 2020 | NEW DATE: December 30, 2024 |
| Surface Book 3 | May 26, 2020 | NEW DATE: April 1, 2025 |
Modern definition of end-of-life of a device
In the modern world that we live in – with cyber security being a constant threat – the ultimate end of life of a device is when there are no longer not only security updates for the operating system, but also the hardware.
Keeping hardware up to date with security updates for firmware and drivers is imperative and this is once again and I cannot emphasize enough, why this is a great approach by Microsoft to extend the support for these Surface devices.
As it looks right now, Surface devices have a minimum of 4 years of support with driver and firmware updates and, now some of the devices have support for 6 years. Great work Microsoft, looking forward to seeing if more models will have extended support as well.
Andreas Stenhall
A modern workplace architect and advisor who has been a Microsoft MVP for 15 years, now combining all my passions from work and personal hobbies and believes; The IT workplace, traveling and climate smart options and actions. On a mission to spread the knowledge and help make more climate smart choices when it comes to IT!