If you need to restart your Surface Pro, it can be done through the Start Menu, with a keyboard shortcut and a few clicks, or by force restarting the device.
Over my many years of using different computers, tablets, and mobile devices, I have had to restart my fair share of devices. This could be because they were slow, the device was unresponsive, or I simply wanted to resolve problematic background processes.
Unfortunately, it isn’t always obvious how to restart your device, especially if it is frozen or unresponsive. With that in mind, this guide is going to go through the various methods you can use to restart your Surface Pro.
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Key Takeaways
- The most straightforward option is to simply use the Start menu to restart your device.
- If your Surface Pro has a keyboard attached, a keyboard shortcut can be another simple and effective way to restart the computer.
- If your Surface Pro is unresponsive, you will need to perform a force restart. Keep in mind that there are two different ways to do this, and the proper method depends on which model you have.
If your Surface Pro is working fine, and you simply want to restart it to close background processes or because you are required to restart for an update, this method is the simplest and most straightforward.
All you need to do is enter the Start menu, press the power button (which is the lowest option). In the next menu, tap Restart and your Surface Pro will begin the restart process and close all applications.
This method is quick, easy, and is often the default way that many people restart their device when it is responsive.
2. Use a Keyboard Shortcut to Restart Surface Pro
If you have a keyboard attached to your Surface Pro, another option is to use a keyboard shortcut to initiate the restart. First, you need to press Ctrl + Alt + Delete at the same time. Your desktop will be replaced with a blue screen that offers up several different options.
Once on this screen, simply navigate to the power button (bottom right of the screen), select it, and choose Restart from the list of options that is provided in the next menu.
3. How to Force Restart Surface Pro
If your Surface Pro is unresponsive for one reason or another, you may not be able to perform either of these actions to restart your device. In this case, you need to force a restart. There are two ways, and the option you choose depends on which model of Surface Pro you have.
If you have a Surface Pro 5 or newer, you need to press and hold the power button down until it shuts down and starts back up. When you see the Windows logo you can release the power button. It will normally be about 20 seconds of holding the power button down.
But if you have a Surface Pro 4 or older, the process differs slightly. Instead of only holding the power button down, you need to press and hold both the power button and the volume up button at the same time until the screen turns off, which should be about 15 seconds.
Once the power button has been released, wait around 10 more seconds, and then you can press the power button again to turn the device back on. If it works, you should soon see the Surface logo pop onto the screen.
FAQs
Here are a few common questions related to restarting or resetting your Surface Pro, along with their answers.
How to hard reset a Surface Pro?
The above restarts are examples of a soft reset, which allow you to fix apps that are malfunctioning, deal with freezing, or may be necessary to install software. However, if you want to take your device back to a true blank slate, you need to perform a hard reset.
Hard resetting your Surface Pro is done by going to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery, and then click Get Started under the Recovery heading. Then, simply follow the provided instructions and you will be able to completely reset your device.
In order to force restart your Surface Pro, and to turn it on and off quickly, you need to make use of the power button. If your power button suddenly stops working, you will be unable to force restarts and will run into other usability issues, too.
Give it a couple of tries, and attempt a force restart again, and if the button is still unresponsive, you may need to take the device in for repairs, or reach out to Microsoft for support to get a better idea of what is occurring.
Final Thoughts
Whether your Surface Pro is unresponsive, or you simply want to resolve some issues occurring in the background, restarting the device is a quick and easy option. We hope that this guide has helped you learn more about the many methods that can be used to restart your Surface.
How often do you restart your Surface Pro or other everyday devices? Let us know in a comment below!
