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

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.

Hi AnthonyHarris7,

Thanks for bringing this up here at Surface Community. I provided you a private message.

Regards,

Edd

I too have just discovered i have the same issue. My machine was purchased 2 years past in February. Hugely disappointing and my MAC white book form 2008 still runs fine as does my Mac Air 2014 biut until now I thought the surface device was a superior product, so much so I rolled them out to my engineers on my team. If Microsoft do not do the right thing not a single further product will be introduced in our business, from experience it seems Apple product support, particularly out of warranty, is way above this garbage.

Has anybody had any joy getting an FOC fix out of warranty.

Cheers

I also have a Surface Pro 4 that has the screen popping off and display distortion where the battery has decided to bulge and overheat.

I cannot believe that I am being asked to pay £333ex VAT to get a refurbished unit because of a production fault with the battery.

I intended using this like other devices I buy for many years, not have to pay a Microsoft to swap out a product which is clearly a danger to the user years before it would normally stop working and then to get a refurbished unit with unknown specifications.

I travel a lot by plane and I suspect that there is not an airline in existence that would allow me to take my Surface with me on my travels. 

Why am I paying Microsoft to put something right that is clearly their fault?

Here's an excerpt from the Microsoft Technician who if you read between the lines is saying "You need to keep your dangerous device until you agree to pay us to fix it and you agree to our terms"

Dear Paul,

Thank you for your response. We have determined that your Surface Pro 4 with the serial number S/N: xxxxxxxxxxrequires a replacement which is not covered by warranty.

In order for us to proceed with this replacement, please reply to this email to indicate your written agreement to the Out of Warranty replacement fee of 333 GBP, plus local tax if applicable. Once we have your agreement on these charges, we’ll complete the replacement process which consists on the below:

1.       Creation of the Out of Warranty exchange order for the faulty Unit;

2.       Once the exchange order is triggered, the replacement device (a high quality refurbished unit) will be shipped with a 90 day repair warranty.

3.       The invoice will be created by our billing department and it will be sent to customer via email along with the payment instructions.

Lets hope it doesn't catch fire and burn my office down or explode on a plane.

They've been replacing free of charge if within 3 years of original purchase (I think this is way too short a time period). Sounds like you are in the UK (?) If you are near London, I'd suggest you go to the newly opened Microsoft Store and talk to a manager and ask them to replace at no charge with a SP5 or SP6 refurb. Others getting SP4 refurbs have not been happy. 

I'm seeing more and more reports like yours and it is disturbing, to say the least.