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Earlier this week, we were tipped to a page on Microsoft's Surface website claiming that the official Surface Ethernet adapter could finally work on the Surface and Surface 2 tablets if they used Windows RT 8.1. Unfortunately, Microsoft later told us the information on that page was incorrect and removed that statement from the site.

As it turns out, there is in fact a way to enable the Surface Ethernet adapter but it's a tad complicated and could lead to some issues down the road. It's described in a blog post from Paul Deane, who found that Windows RT 8.1 now supports the Realtek USB FE Family Controller driver and the Surface Ethernet adapter happens to have a Realtek chip inside.

If you really want to use this add-on with your Surface or Surface 2, again with Windows RT 8.1 installed, here is how you proceed, according to Deane:

• Plug in the Surface Ethernet Adapter, and then wait for the installation to fail.
• Open Device Manager, and then under Network Adapters right click on the Ethernet Adapter, which Deane says should have a yellow exclamation mark.
• Choose 'update driver', then select 'Browse my computer for driver software' and then click “Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer”.
• Deane says if that doesn’t take users directly to Network Adapters, they can choose it from the list.
• In the left pane Realtek should be visible; highlight it and there should only be one option in the right pane for the Realtek USB FE Family Controller. Deane says to click Select and next.
• Finally, Deane says if the OS warns users about compatibility they should just accept it.

While that procedure should work, Paul Thurrott at Winsupersite does offer a warning that enabling the Surface Ethernet adapter via this unofficial method could cause some problems with the Surface and Surface 2, possibly cutting down the battery life on the tablets. Hopefully, Microsoft is working on an official update for Windows RT 8.1 that will allow the adapter to work automatically with no problems.

Source: Paul Deane via Winsupersite Image via Microsoft

Now IT pros and users can download drivers and firmware update for the new Surface Pro (2017) in case they need it. This download can be handy when you need to do a clean install or troubleshoot driver problems of your Surface Pro (2017). Moreover, it can be useful as well in a corporate environment where multiple Surface Pros need to be installed.

Microsoft will update the download regularly, so make sure you check back the Download page again when you need it. However, if you have access to the Internet, Microsoft recommends you better get drivers and firmware update via Windows Update instead.

Cumulative and current firmware and drivers for the Surface Pro. This firmware and driver package contains drivers for all of the components in the Surface Pro, as well as updates to the system firmware that have been released via Windows Update. These drivers and firmware are compatible with Windows 10, including Enterprise versions, The driver MSI files include all of the drivers and firmware needed to deploy custom images of Windows on your Surface devices.

1Downloading Surface Pro (2017) Drivers and Firmware

Here is how you can download and install the Surface Pro (2017)’s drivers and firmware:

1. DownloadSurface Pro (2017) Drivers and Firmware.
   

2Installing Surface Pro (2017) Drivers and Firmware

After you downloaded, you can install the drivers and firmware by:

1. Double-click on the downloaded file.
   
2. It will show the installation screen. Click Next to continue.
   
3. It will ask you to accept the agreement. Accept and click Next to continue.
   
4. Choose installation path. Click Next to continue.
   
5. Finally, click Install to start the drivers and firmware installation progress.
   
6. After finished the installation, you will need to Restart your Surface Pro to finish updating your system.