This guide will help you flash a FFU file containing Windows on your Surface Duo.
You will end up with both Android™ and Windows on your Surface Duo.
Android™ and Windows will both split the internal storage according to the configuration contained within the FFU file.
Android™ will boot normally, and you will have to use a PC to boot Windows when needed, unless you create a dual boot image (explained later).
Table of Contents:
- A Surface Duo (1st Gen) or Surface Duo 2
- An FFU file for your Surface Duo
- A Windows PC to flash the device
Warning
- If you see a warning and/or error during the process, it is not normal. Contact us on telegram if you see anything odd, but do not continue or proceed on your own, you will break things further.
Important
THIS WILL WIPE ALL YOUR ANDROID™ DATA AND WINDOWS DATA!
We don't take any responsibility for any damage done to your phone. By following this guide, you agree to take full responsibility of your actions. We have done some testing,
but this is STILL IN PREVIEW and things can go wrong.
PLEASE READ AND BE SURE TO UNDERSTAND THE ENTIRE GUIDE BEFORE STARTING
If not already done, please first proceed with the Unlocking the Bootloader) guide for Surface Duo. Come back once you're done. If you already followed this guide, please skip the unlocking section.
Here's how to acquire an FFU file for Surface Duo:
| Steps | Illustration |
|---|---|
| Visit WOA Device Manager in the Microsoft Store |  |
| Tap the View in Store button |  |
| Tap Install |  |
| Wait til the installation is completed |  |
| And click open |  |
| WOA Device Manager should now open on your screen. |  |
Congratulations, you successfully installed WOA Device Manager.
Tip
If you see no device listed, check for updates in Windows Update, you likely have a Driver Update pending so the phone is recognized, when you're good to go, you should see the following image below this notice. It is possible certain computers see no update offered (like Windows ARM64 Computers or other older machines with no functional Windows Update). If this is your case, we also provide Drivers for you to download at the following location, you will have to install them using Device Manager on your PC. Download USB Drivers
| Steps | Illustration |
|---|---|
| Plug your device into your computer inside Android™ |  |
| Go into the Manual Mode Section of WOA Device Manager |  |
| Click "Switch to Windows-mode" |  |
| When the device shows the //\ logo (Project Andromeda logo) on its screen, Press the Volume Up Key on the side of your device til you see something like shown below on screen: |  |
| WOA Device Manager will detect your device in UFP mode |  |
Tip
In case the PC complains the device was not found, try using an USB-2 port or cable that downgrades your connection to USB-2, there are known issues with the UEFI that prevent USB-3 from functioning properly at the moment, and will be addressed in a future update.
Congratulations, you're now in FFU Loader.
| Steps | Illustration |
|---|---|
| Go to the Flash Section of WOA Device Manager |  |
| Pick your FFU File, and click "Flash FFU Image" |  |
| You should now see the device flashing on both your computer |  |
| and on the device, wait til the process is complete. |  |
| Wait til the process is finished, and you should be back into Android™ or a boot failure screen. |
Tip
If you are seeing a boot failure screen with as title "Android Recovery" and as description "Cannot load Android system.", see below section entitled "Factory Data Reset Android™"
Factory Data Reset Android™ (Click to expand)
If this is your first time flashing this FFU file, or you're flashing a different storage or layout configuration image, you will lose all of your Android™ data. Further more, you will also not have Android™ boot successfully. If this isn't your case, feel free to ignore this section, Android™ should still boot fine. If this is your case, when booting Android™, you will get notified Android™ cannot boot anymore. In this screen, you must select "Factory data reset" instead of "Try again" or else, Android™ will refuse to boot again.
You should now be seeing the Android™ Out of Box Experience (OOBE).
| Steps | Illustration |
|---|---|
| Setup your phone to confirm it works correctly. |  |
| Assuming your Surface Duo is booted to Android™, plugged to your PC, Using the Microsoft Launcher, find the settings app |  |
| Open the Android™ Settings app |  |
| Scroll down to the about section, and open it |  |
| Scroll all the way down til you see the Build Number field |  |
| Press the Build number field 7 times consecutively, you should first start to see a popup after 3 taps |  |
| Once done tapping 7 times, you should be seeing this popup instead |  |
| Now go to the System section, you should see a new Developer options section like shown below |  |
| Go to the Developer options section |  |
| Scroll all the way down til you see the "USB debugging" option |  |
| And turn on the "USB debugging" option |  |
We are ready to boot for the first time!
| Steps | Illustration |
|---|---|
| Inside WOA Device Manager, go to switch mode |  |
| and select "Switch to Windows-mode". |  |
This step above will be needed every time you will want to boot Windows and needs to be done from the Bootloader mode.
If you did everything right, Windows will now boot! Enjoy!
Let Windows set itself up, and come back once you're on the Windows Desktop on your Surface Duo
Note
If the Touch keyboard won't show up in OOBE, touch somewhere else (to let the text box loose focus) and then touch into the text box again. As an alternative, you can use the On-Screen Keyboard.
Note
If you get a BSOD (bugcheck screen) during initial setup, you can try erasing both the esp and win partitions using "fastboot erase esp" and "fastboot erase win", and reflash the FFU file, then it should work. This issue will get fixed in later FFU revisions.
Note
On second boot of Windows, you may be seeing "Just a moment" on both displays and then a black screen. To get out of this, unplug your USB-C cable and plug it back in.
You'll have two methods of booting Windows.
-
Manual booting with a PC
- Pros: You can freely update Android™
- Cons: You will need a PC to boot to Windows
-
Enabling Dual Boot
- Pros: You'll be able to boot Windows directly from the device
- Cons: Every time you update Android™, you'll have to follow this guide
In case you want the dual boot option, then follow this guide
In case you want to manually boot each time: (Click to expand)
| Steps | Illustration |
|---|---|
| Plug your phone into your computer, inside Android™ |  |
| Inside WOA Device Manager, go to switch mode | |
| and select "Switch to Windows-mode". | |
This step above will be needed every time you will want to boot Windows and needs to be done from the Bootloader mode.
If you did everything right, Windows will now boot! Enjoy!
© 2020-2025 The Duo WOA Authors
Snapdragon is a registered trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated. Microsoft, the Microsoft Corporate Logo, Windows, Surface, Surface Duo, Windows Hello, Continuum, Hyper-V, and DirectX are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States. Android is a registered trademark of Google LLC. Miracast is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. Other binaries may be copyright Qualcomm Incorporated and Microsoft Surface.
Limited emergency calling
Running Windows on your Surface Duo is not a replacement for a proper phone operating system and does not have emergency calling capabilities.
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