Microsoft quietly adds two more years of support for select Surface devices

Microsoft has a small secret up its sleeve. The company just updated its documentation for Surface products to reflect that select devices are now getting an additional two years of support. These devices are ones released from 2021 onwards, a big change to the company’s existing policy of only providing four years of firmware updates for most Surface products.

As spotted by Windows Central, the support page now has two entries under the Device Support period section. One for devices released before January 2021, and one for devices released on or after 2021. This makes it clear that if you’ve purchased a new device, you’re going to get additional firmware service from Microsoft beyond what you originally thought. For example, Surface Laptop 5, Surface Pro 9, and Surface Studio 2+ will get updates through 2028. This even covers an outlying device like Windows Dev Kit 2023 which is now getting support through 2028. Microsoft lists out each device should you be wondering when your device is getting end of support, or as they call it, end of service date for firmware and drivers.

As you probably know, firmware updates are critical for Surface devices. You get better battery life and performance with each update. Sometimes, even security fixes for vulnerabilities. If Microsoft adds additional years of firmware updates, your device essentially lasts longer. Of course, once you no longer get firmware updates, you still might get updates for Windows on your Surface, but that’s a separate issue and cycle on its own. Nothing stops you from using your Surface once the firmware update period ends.

It’s fascinating to see Microsoft suddenly make this move since it shows that it’s committed to its devices, but the company isn’t alone in this feat. With the Pixel 8 Pro, for example, Google committed itself to seven years of updates for the new Android phone.