Surface Pro 3 buyers to get firmware update on Day 1

If you're among the first buyers of the Surface Pro 3, one of the items that should be at the top of your to-do list after unboxing the device is to update its firmware.

Microsoft released the firmware update today to resolve several issues that reviewers (including myself) noticed in the review units delivered to the first wave of reviewers last month.

The update is categorized as Important and will automatically install through Windows Update. You can force the installation by going to the PC Settings menu, choosing Update And Recovery, and then tapping the Check Now button on the Windows Update tab. The update requires two restarts to complete and took under 15 minutes here.

On this review unit, after installing the firmware update, Device Manager shows updates for four drivers under the Firmware category as well as a Surface Type Cover Firmware Update under Human Interface Devices.

(Inspect the Events tab for any item in Device Manager to confirm when it was last updated.)

The update is intended to fix power-related hardware problems that the first wave of reviewers reported, including one that prevented the device from resuming from sleep without a soft reset.

In addition to the firmware updates, early Surface Pro 3 buyers will want to ensure they've installed the Surface Pen update (released June 10 via Windows Update) as well as the most recent OneNote updates available through the Windows Store. That combination allows a Surface user to capture screenshots and send them to OneNote with a double-click of the pen's top button.