Surface Pro X cameras have suddenly stopped working [Update]

Update 5/27: Surface Pro X owners report that a new update has fixed the issue.

Microsoft's ARM-based Surface Pro X tablet is not having a good time, and neither are its owners. According to multiple reports (via The Verge), the tablet's cameras stopped working out of the blue, showing a cryptic error when trying to launch the Windows Camera app or other software:

Something went wrong. If you need it, here's the error code: 0xA00F4271 (0x80004005)

The first thing that comes to the user's mind when experiencing issues like this is reinstalling the corresponding driver. However, this is not true with Surface Pro X's botched cameras. Affected customers say removing and installing camera drivers on the Surface Pro X has no effect and leaves them stranded, unable to join video calls, take pictures, and perform other camera-related tasks. More importantly, the bug also breaks facial recognition, forcing customers to use their PIN codes instead.

Luckily and slightly puzzling, rolling back the system date to May 22, 2023, resolves the issue and brings the cameras back to life. You can try this temporary hack if you cannot wait for a fix from Microsoft, but remember that setting the incorrect date or time usually breaks other things. If you are willing to accept the risks, head to Settings > Time & Language > Date & Time, toggle off the "Set time automatically" option, and click Change.

Speaking of date-related things, during its annual Build conference, Microsoft announced a bunch of great new features for the Windows 11 23H2 update coming later this year (the "Moment 3" update will be available later today). You will be able to turn off the system clock, enable labels on the taskbar, and many more. Many users are also pumped about the upcoming native support for RAR and other popular archive formats. You can check out our Build 2023 coverage here.

We will update the article once Microsoft has word about the issue.