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
    2020-10-11T21:29:07+00:00

    Same issue here. Surface Pro 4 - 256GB i7 16GB. Battery bulged so bad it pushed the front LCD screen off and caused a gap. The unit was purchased in 2015 (five years ago) so no longer under any kind of warranty. The unit still worked, despite the threat of the battery burning up or exploding.

    Microsoft agreed to replace with a refurb for US $478.13 which seemed reasonable considering the original cost without dock and type cover was $1,799.00. Does it have new batteries in it? I would hope so! Who knows? But if I can get another five years out of it that would be great. 

    The way it went was first I had to provide a photo of the bulge to MS support, then I paid with credit card for the new machine and they shipped a special fire-resistant box with postage for UPS. I packed up the damaged unit and shipped it to them and once they received it and inspected, then sent me a new unit. 

    Before shipping the old one, I did a clone of the entire drive (multiple partitions) using Clonezilla, then restored it all to the new machine when it arrived. Works just like the old.  Fairly happy with that solution. We always take a risk when buying a one-piece tablet as opposed to something accessible and upgradable.

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-10-11T21:51:53+00:00

    MS refuse to acknowledge there was an issue with the battery, told m Mr that I must have dropped it and damaged the battery. 

    Advised to buy a new surface all together or a refurbished model for 700 Aussie dollars. 

    Never buying a surface again (funny thing, I was considering buying surface book 3 at the end of the year, which apparently is having the same issues.

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-10-12T00:05:11+00:00

    Nearly $500 is a lot to pay for old technology, IMHO.  And you're right, when you buy a one-piece unit -- PC or phone or whatever -- there will be a point where the battery just gets old, won't charge, etc.  But that's far different than the device becoming a fire hazard.  I don't think any of us should accept that risk.  I have a couple old laptops with bad batteries that I can still use if I like by plugging them in.  A Surface 4 with a bad battery can set your house on fire. That's kind of not acceptable.

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-10-16T18:22:52+00:00

    Same. I'll replace the unit with something else. Asking me to pay $590 to fix their battery problem is completely unacceptable. This should not be a revenue opportunity. My Surface Book is 4 years old, so I paid about $600/year for the pleasure to use it. My wife has a really nice Dell from work. I'll check that out.

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