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
    2020-08-10T12:31:05+00:00

    I am in the same boat, Surface is exactly what I want and does everything I want it to do but, it is, as you say, a flawed product, of which Microsoft  was fully aware and of which they have completely washed their hands once its three years old.

    They will only sell you a replacement at an exorbitant price when these flaws surface (pun intended) and add insult to injury by offering you only a quarter of that amount as a part exchange if you want to replace with a newer model.

    I would only consider a new surface, or for that matter, another Microsoft product if they were to offer a fair trade in value on the defective Pro 4.

    My question is how can we initiate a dialogue with someone in Microsoft who has the ability to make these decisions? At the moment we are stuck in support hell where the CSR's can only sing from the hymn sheet they have been given. Its not their fault, they are only doing their jobs. We and Microsoft both know there is a problem and it seems to me Microsoft must step up to the plate and do something about it.

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-08-05T19:28:25+00:00

    Very interesting. Thanks for the post I didn't realize you could open the back I will try the same while a shop for another brand of computer, maybe Lenovo flex.

    Once I get my new one I feel like lighting my surface pro on fire and posting it as a statement to Microsoft. I agree with Terrystone if they offered a pro 7 for a discounted rate i would have felt better.

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-07-22T20:33:32+00:00

    Microsoft doesn't give a flipping Bleep about their customers......they're a huge monolpoly so why would they give a bleep about customers

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-07-22T18:57:21+00:00

    You would think Microsoft would at least offer a $600 discount for an upgraded surface pro to try and keep customers happy? 🤔

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  5. Anonymous
    2020-07-02T17:55:24+00:00

    Same problem, same unhelpful response from Microsoft.  At 3.5 years screen bulges, and cost to replace with a refurbished unit is higher than cost of a new (updated) machine from brick and mortar store.  1 hour on hold with customer support.  Clearly not backing their products given that this is know issue for this device series.

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