Surface Pro 4 Bulging Battery / Screen. 3 1/2 years old.

Anonymous
2019-06-30T14:34:09+00:00

So, like many others on this forum, we have a Surface Pro 4, in which the battery has decided to self-destruct, destroying a £1,700 machine.

The screen hasn't popped off, but the battery has swollen enough to prevent the hinge from opening as it should and for the glass on the front to be very distorted, and it registers random screen input, all the while running hotter than the central heating.

I've spoken to support. They unhelpfully told me that because my warranty is up, I would have to pay several hundred pounds (£333) to replace the machine with a refurbished unit. To me, this is completely unacceptable. These devices are clearly flawed by design. This issue is too wide spread for it to be a coincidence. The batteries used in these devices are obviously flawed, and when I suggested as such, Sean L, the person dealing with my case, stopped responding (A few days after that, I wrote to Microsoft's twitter support who confirmed that the case had been closed. Thanks Sean L.)

If the device is dangerous (as suggested by the agent who I spoke to on the phone in the first instance) and it does catch fire while we are away this summer, and it subsequently burns down a multi-million pound Cambridge University building? What then, Microsoft? You'll wish you'd just replaced it then, won't you.

Surface | Surface Pro | Power and battery

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-10-31T19:35:32+00:00

    It's kind of beating a dead horse, but it's interesting how the battery disease progresses. The screen gap is now about 6" long, and my camera can no longer recognize my face to log me in. It has glaucoma - the image is now limited to a circle with black around the edges. If I put my face about 4" away and center on the camera, it recognizes me most of the time. I wonder when it will start to sing "Daisy... daisy..." in slow motion like the HAL 9000.

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-10-22T02:13:06+00:00

    Hope you're not holding your breath until you get satisfaction.

    It's unfortunate that a great machine comes with such awful customer service.

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-10-21T23:08:12+00:00

    I experienced the yellow spots all around the screen and some bulging. Finally the screen split from the frame and left a 4 inch long gap (it's growing), which relieved the pressure. Now all of the spots are gone, but I'll never be able to close the Surface and I don't know what will happen if something falls inside the huge hole on top of my display. 

    I refused to pay the $590 asked, but it didn't faze the person on the phone. I understand it's not their policy, but the all-or-nothing attitude was off-putting, to say the least.

    Good luck, Magdy, with your efforts.

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-10-21T23:05:05+00:00

    Exactly the same here . 

    Swollen battery is a fire hazard (that's when the battery stops storing energy and starts conducing it, generating extreme heat and eventually exploding /catching fire (remember how some Samsung devices were banned on planes even if they were off?)

    So, two options.

    1. stop using it and buy a 2 in 1 devices like Dell, Lenovo or hp. Basically move on. 
    2. take it to a place were they can replace the battery. Its not cheap, but way cheaper than buying a new computer. Specially if the screen is not cracked.

    I did option 2 and is working fine (for 300Au dollars). I reckon it will last me ?2 more years and then go to option 1.

    My screen was brown like yours and some areas not working. After replacing the battery, everything started working again just fine. The guy in the shop told me that it was the 7th Surface in the month he had fixed. 

    Good luck.

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  5. Anonymous
    2020-10-21T17:55:34+00:00

    Will be interested what happens. In my case it was escalated but the same reply came back spend the money and we will replace the device, don't spend the money, then there is nothing we (Microsoft) are prepared to do. Pretty appalling from a huge multinational with a defective product that represents a fire hazard. An automobile manufacturer would not get away with such a cavalier attitude, there would have been a recall long ago.

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