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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.
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.
Food for thought --
GM has recently recalled EVERY Chevy Bolt ever made to fix a battery defect regardless of age or mileage. I'm not interested in getting into a discussion of whether the Bolt is a good car or not, but if GM can stand behind its products in that way, why can't Microsoft? Shame on them.
Sadly that's what you have to do, your Surface is finished and Microsoft will not do anything about it. As far as they are concerned you paid your money and that's it although the machine has a design fault with the battery that causes this to happen. It would not be so bad if they had made the battery easily replaceable rather than to seal it away where its almost impossible to replace without damaging something else. Yes, batteries do wear out after a time but one really does not expect to have to throw a perfectly good piece of expensive hardware away after 3 or so years just because its battery has expired. Advice to everyone, tread very carefully if you are considering a Surface, it looks great and works great until it goes wrong, then you are on your own.
I bought my Surface Pro 4 in the summer of 2016 and this started happening to mine a few months ago. Now the screen is pretty well removed from the frame on the left side. It has been my only computer for the past 5 years. The plus side is I was planning to buy a new home PC so it wouldn't have to carry the load on it's own anymore, but I wanted to still be able to use it for portable stuff. After reading through this (now 2 year old) thread I guess I should just thank it for it's service and put in the garbage. Oh well.
I, too, filed a CSPC report regarding my Surface 4, and Microsoft didn't even bother sending me an F-U email. Not to get political here (it's not the place), but there are times that the government NEEDS to step in and order a recall when a company walks away from its basic responsibility to provide a safe product. We're not talking about a battery losing its ability to hold a charge, this is a device that can catch fire. What if that happens on an airplane? It's just disgusting.
I filed a CPSC report and a few days later I get an E-mail from Microsoft asking for photos. See below for the reply after they reviewed the photos.
Never again will I purchase a Microsoft PC or Tablet.
Bob
"Thank you for your reply and pictures. Microsoft stands firmly behind the quality and reliability of our Surface family of devices. Unfortunately, since your device is no longer supported, it is therefore not eligible for service.
There is no inherent risk or safety concern associated with these expanded batteries. With that said, like alkaline and other batteries, the lithium ion batteries used in Surface devices contain materials that can injure skin, eyes, and lungs if punctured.
We recommend that customers not continue to use a device with an expanded battery, except where the Surface operates only on battery power and for the purposes of data transfer. Surface devices with expanded batteries should not be connected to AC power as it could possibly lead to rupture.
We would suggest that you discontinue the use of the device and dispose of the damaged Surface per your local electronic waste process.
Thank you,"
