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

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

220 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2021-05-11T12:11:10+00:00

    Thanks for this.......I think I had come to the same conclusion!   US$450 for a refurbished laptop with only 90 days warranty offered.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2021-05-11T12:01:18+00:00


    As with you others I am having the same issue.

    I was very much suprised that I was not informed about any safety implications that this issue may have.

    So far I'm offered to purchase the "Keep your own device" option which I find very misleading. A replacement device is not my "own" device. It is a replacement. And paying 480EU for the same model with the same flaw is not an option I am willing to consider.
    After a bad experience with the Windows Phone abandonment and this issue, I am strongly considering to switch platforms. Like I did with my phone.

    Pitty, since the user experience with the Surface was really good.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2021-05-08T12:50:48+00:00

    Unless you are willing to fork over your paycheck to Microsoft, (which is just throwing more money into the black hole) I'd just go elsewhere with your money. Microsoft doesn't care about you or their reputation, they only care about the almighty dollar. They don't care that this is a danger to you and your family they only care that it is out of warranty and you are nothing to them at this point. We all thought we were getting a great system that would last more than a few years, we all were fooled.  Just take your money and purchase a similar system, just not a Microsoft product unless you want to be here complaining and be made a fool once again. I went with Dell and my GF decided on Apple, we are both happy with our purchases.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2021-04-02T19:15:59+00:00

    Seriously?

    Product recalls are instigated by regulators who have the power to force large multi-national companies to put human beings before profits. Microsoft are not playing the role of the good corporate citizen here. By their actions (passing this off as customer misuse of their faulty product), they are giving all their loyal customer base the finger.

    I for one would like to see your proof that the risk of fire or explosion is small, or is this just your opinion? It is well known that lithium ion batteries when in this state (ie. heat stressed and swollen due to expanding gas) have a propensity to explode if continued to be used.

    Does someone have to die before such foolish thoughts turn to action to resolve this worldwide problem of Microsoft's creation?

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2021-04-02T17:00:42+00:00

    I have this problem too (https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/surfbook-surfperf/surface-book-will-explode-or-pay-more-says/95228a0f-716d-45d8-87c0-f1c596a1e616?tm=1617380952312), but the more I think about it, the more I think Microsoft's behavior here should tell us something. Namely that the risk of fire or explosion is actually vanishingly small.

    I mean, in a society as litigious as ours they would basicallyhave to replace anything that were areal danger, right? And so, by requiring us to pay, they're effectively signaling that the risk here is really quite remote. This might well indicate that the devices are actually okay to continue using. If the issue were truly a safety one a safety recall would have been issued.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments