Shutting down your Surface Pro can be done by using the Start menu, using a keyboard shortcut, using the power button and swiping down, or forcing a shutdown. You can also put your Surface Pro to sleep instead of fully shutting it down.
Whether you are simply done with the device for a while, or it is behaving strangely and you want a clean slate, there are many reasons you may want to shut down your Surface Pro. But if you are a new Microsoft or Surface user, you might not immediately know how to do it.
But thankfully, we’re here to help. Without any further ado, let’s go over the ways you can safely and easily shut down your Surface Pro.
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Key Takeaways
- If you want to shut down your Surface Pro, your options include using the start menu, using a quick keyboard shortcut, or even using the power button.
- There is also the option to put your Surface Pro to sleep if you want it to start up and be ready to use much faster the next time you want to use it.
- If other shutdown methods can’t be used for one reason or another, an option you have is to force a shutdown.
Ways to Shut Down a Surface Pro
In most cases, the simplest way to shut down your Surface Pro is to use the Start menu. You simply need to open the menu, navigate to the power button (at the bottom), click it, and choose the Shut down option. You can also restart the device or put it to sleep here, too.
Another way to shut down is to use the power button. By simply holding down the power button for about 4 seconds, and then swiping down, you can easily shut down the device. You can also use a keyboard shortcut, too.
By pressing Ctrl + Alt + Delete, and then going to the power button located in the bottom right-hand side of the screen, you can quickly and effectively shut down your Surface Pro if you have a keyboard attached.
In addition to fully shutting down your device fully, you can also put it to sleep. This is a low-power state where some parts of the computer are shut down, but when you turn the device back on, you won’t have to wait for it to boot up.
There are multiple different ways to put your Surface Pro to sleep, such as pressing and releasing the power button, putting it to sleep via the Start menu, leaving the Surface alone for a few minutes, or even closing the Type Cover or keyboard.
Force a Shutdown on Your Surface Pro
But what if your Surface Pro is unresponsive and you can’t seem to shut it down with the aforementioned methods? Well if that is the case, you will need to force a shutdown. The process that you use varies depending on which model of Surface Pro you have.
If you have a Surface Pro 4 or older, you need to press and hold both the volume-up button and the power button until the screen turns off, which will be around 15 seconds. After 10 seconds, you can press the power button again to turn the Surface back on if you so choose.
If you have a Surface Pro 5 or newer, you need to press and hold the power button down for about 10 seconds until it shuts down. If you hold the power button down for about 20 seconds instead (until the Microsoft Windows logo pops up), the Surface Pro will restart, too.
FAQs
Here are some commonly-asked questions about this topic, as well as their answers.
How to hard reset a Surface Pro?
If you are having problems with your Surface Pro and want to reset it, the process is thankfully quite simple. You need to go to Settings > Update & security > Recovery > Get started > Remove everything > Remove files and clean the drive > Reset.
Why is my Surface Pro not turning on?
If you want to turn your Surface Pro back on after shutting it down and you are unable to do so, there are a few potential reasons why. The battery could be dead, the accessories you have attached could be preventing it from turning on, or the device could be damaged.
Try force restarting the device, removing accessories, or charging it, and if this doesn’t help, consider taking it for inspections or repairs.
Final Thoughts
Whether you are simply done with your device for a while, or you are hoping a shutdown and restart will deal with an issue that you are experiencing, we hope that this guide has been able to help you learn how to properly and safely shut down your device.
How often do you fully shut down or power down your Surface Pro or other devices? Let us know in the comments!
