Surface Duo gets new drivers for a better Windows 11 experience

The original Surface Duo and its successor may have some issues with receiving monthly firmware updates from Microsoft, but there is no stopping in third-party drivers that make it possible to run Windows 11 on these dual-screen smartphones. Version 2305.25 from Gustave Monce (@gus33000 on Twitter) is now available for download with multiple improvements and stability enhancements.

The latest release introduces a more stable GPU driver and display stack, providing improved performance, fixing brightness issues, and creating an overall better experience. Besides, the update restores the USB MTP protocol for file transfer, resolves display refresh rate sync, fixes Wi-Fi connectivity issues, and more. Here is the complete changelog:

• New! Updated a bunch of drivers with stability and enhancements. Notably, you will now notice the GPU driver and Display stack is much more stable, brightness issues are gone, and OpenGL based applications run much better than they used to.
• New! Started reworking Camera Subsystem. No new apparent functionality is enabled as of this release yet.
• New! Started reworking Sensors subsystem. No new apparent functionality is enabled as of this release yet.
• New! Started reworking Audio subsystem. No new apparent functionality is enabled as of this release yet.
• New! Started reworking Battery subsystem. No new apparent functionality is enabled as of this release yet.
• New! Added a debounce delay for the power button to prevent accidental quick wake ups of the display continuously.
• New! You can now transfer files in and out of the device again using USB MTP.
• New! The display scaling now defaults to 250% for your eye comfort.
• New! Applications such as Phone Link will now work again under Windows Zinc Semester builds (ZN_RELEASE).
• New! Windows Zinc Semester builds are now installable again.
• New! This update resolves some issues impacting WiFi connectivity and reliability on WiFi 6 networks.
• New! This update resolves a crash issue under Windows 11 Build 22000 and lower.
• New! Further Enhancements to Audio Listener Voice activation models for voice assistants such as Alexa or Cortana.
• New! This update resolves display refresh rate and syncing issues with both screens in tandem.
• New! This update resolves key issues with Windows Core OS support.

Installing Windows 11 on the original Surface Duo (the Surface Duo 2 is not supported in this release) remains a relatively challenging process, so proceed with caution and get ready to brick your device for troubleshooting. Before you go, check the list of known issues and limitations on GitHub.