Surface Pro X

Regular Contributor

Anyone have any information on why the new Pro X with the 64 bit Pro OS and "Microsoft SQ1" processor will not install 64-bit applications like Office 365, Chrome or Firefox? The processor is generally detected as ARM.  Why did Microsoft release something that will not even run 64 bit versions of their own applications?

I can of course install 32 bit versions of applications but that is not optimal on 64 bit machine with 16 GB RAM.  Is there some sort of registry hack that may be used to fool the installers to detect as a 64 bit processor?



Just noticed this disclaimer on the product site;

"*Some software, apps, and accessories sold separately. App availability and compatibility may vary. At this time, Surface Pro X will not install 64-bit applications that have not been ported to ARM64, some games and CAD software, and some third-party drivers or anti-virus software. New 64-bit apps are coming to ARM 64 all the time."


This product purchase was at request of COO and now finding that it has many limitations.

Accessories like the TypeCover are not the same.  No USB 2 ports for peripherals like flash drives, printers.

Guess MS isn't too worried about being optimized at product launch.  Sort of like the Apple philosophy.  Just make fancy things and people will buy it.

3 Replies

@Forrest Hoffman Hi Forrest, you're right to point out that there are some limitations. Another way to think about it is that the guidance to get things to work is more prescriptive than a standard machine. I'd first try installing Office 365 and other apps directly from the Microsoft Store. Start > Microsoft Store. 

@John_Kaiser  Since our business has a volume licensing agreement, all of the O365 apps are managed through the business portals. I have a feeling eventually the "Office Click to Run" will be able to detect the ARM 64 bit processors as well.

I suppose I was just venting that the Hardware teams are not more involved with the OS or Software teams. I can accept the fact that the Chrome and Firefox are not targeting ARM as part of normal release. However the new Edge based on Chromium is released and I will be installing that.

@Forrest Hoffman I am using my Surface Pro X as my daily machine and don't have significant problems with application compatibility issues.  I do run into some issues with some of my common developer tools but my email, browser, and chat common tools are not impacted by the ARM platform.  Regarding O365 apps Microsoft is using a Hybrid approach where the applications appear as x86 applications but they is some ARM optimization with an x86 wrapper.  Found a reddit thread that discusses this in more detail with additional links: (


Per the browser I did move to Edge Chromium as soon as I could and don't have any performance issues browsing all day.  My major motivation on the Pro X was LTE connectivity and portability which is the target market for the Always Connected PC platform.