Yellow tint on Surface Book Screen

I've noticed the yellow splotches.  They are getting bigger but are more an annoyance than limiting use.

do you see these in the UEFI? if yes, please post a picture..

    1. Shut down your Surface and wait 10 seconds.
    2. Press and hold the volume-up button on your Surface and at the same
time, press and release the power button.
    3. The Microsoft or Surface logo appears on your screen. Continue to
hold the volume-up button. Release the button once the UEFI screen appears.

I've noticed the yellow splotches.  They are getting bigger but are more an annoyance than limiting use.

I've also noticed the bright white area in the top right during boot like there was a backlight lamp there

and my batteries dont last very long.  But that might be my fault for using the dock a lot for LAN/KVM/Mouse/Kbd in an office setting.

The battery report suggests they are in a good state and thus I must be draining mine too fast with resource intensive tasks.

I went to a MS store for the blotches & battery.  They were unaware of the firmware update to put the laptop into kiosk mode to help always-on operation.  They told me the only option was a $550 recondtioned replacement unit.  Replacing both screen & keyboard components.  And they'd keep mine.

No warranty is given.  Considering they can't recondition these (they are sealed) they are simply selling returned units.

so there is no warranty should the unit I get have the same issues as the one I'm replacing.

I just saw the buldging screen/ruler test here.  Sure enough, my screen has some bulge.  Perhaps I should go back & bring that to their attention.

I also saw the Consumer Reports suggestion that fully 25% of the SBs are returned as defective.

I took mine into a store the screen was bulging and they immediately replaced it. When it was just the yellow tint, they blew me off.

Thanks, but unfortunately I don't have any Microsoft store in my country.

Has anyone had success in getting a free replacement after when the SB is over 3 years old, without going to a Microsoft store?

I understand that 3 years is quite old, but at the same time, this isn't a 250 $ laptop, it costed like 10 times that much and apart from the screen/battery issues my Surface Book with Performance base is still going strong.

I talked to Microsoft support, they said I had to pay (a high cost) for a replacement since it has no warranty left. At the same time they recommended me to do a backup of all my data and place my Surface Book in a fire safe box and not charge or use it anymore.

So I would really appreciate any help on how to proceed, which "buttons to press" so to say. :) Thanks! 

From my understanding, Microsoft currently has an internal policy of offering a free extended warranty of 3 years on Surface Book computers that were affected by the faulty hardware causing the battery to expand.

In some states and Canadian provinces, it's perfectly legal for them to only insure their products against defective hardware for 3 years.  The company can set that limit themselves.

In Quebec (where I live), the legal context is a bit different.

For example, a washing machine that starts malfunctioning after only 5 years is still under what we call a "legal warranty", regardless of what is promised by the manufacturer.  So, they need to replace it for free, or offer a refund, so you can get the equivalent of what you bought back then today.

So, if they can't send me a replacement (say a refurbished Surface Book unit with the same specs, or another computer that would offer roughly the same performances and capacities), they need to offer a refund that is the equivalent of how much I'd have to pay (tax included) to buy myself that same computer today.

Reasonably, that should at the very least be $600 USD ($800 CA)+ any applicable taxes (about 15% in Quebec), since had the product sold not been defective, I'd still be able to enjoy and use it today without having had to pay anything more.

If they are asking us to pay $600 USD ($800 CA) for a refurbished replacement, that means that my Surface Book is still worth at the very least as much, right?

Before going to court, though, you can try to negociate an arrangement that would prove beneficial for both parties (ex: a gift certificate in the amount of the residual worth of your defective computer, should you be open to buying a newer model from them).

So yeah, this is a rather complex issue, that all boils down to what the judge (if it goes to small claims court) would deem a reasonable amount of time for a $2300 CAD computer to last.

Microsoft says 3 years, I'd say AT THE VERY LEAST 5 years free of any defect that requires a full replacement (look, my power supply died after 2 years, and I just bought a new one without going to court over it.  That's the kind of stuff that can happen, and having to pay an extra $120 CAD in "repairs" on a computer after 2 years "sucks" and normally shouldn't happen, but is not the end of the world, either.  But for it to completely stop being in safe working order to the point where it can't be repaired after barely a little over 3 years of normal use, because of a well documented defect, and not because I misused it?!?!  Ah, nope!  That's not a normal thing for a 3 years and almost 5 months computer to do!  Batteries don't usually threaten to explode after that amount of time!  My boyfriend's 9 years old laptop's touch pad stopped working 2 or 3 years ago, I think, and he got a touch pad you can plug into the USB port.  That's all issues you can expect to see happening with normal use and age, not expanding batteries that are supposed to last the life of the product!).

And that's sort of the whole point of our "Consumer Protection Act", i.e. motivating companies to put quality products out there that won't suddenly stop working before they should, by holding them accountable for flaws and defects in the product's design, conception, or production that could prematurely shorten their usable life.

Here are some examples of such cases where the legal warranty has been invoked: 

https://www.opc.gouv.qc.ca/en/consumer/topic/garantie/garanties/examples-of-judgments-concerning-legal-warranties/computers-tablets/

But that's the legal context we have here, and thus the "buttons" I'm currently pushing, because I believe that they are not respecting the product's legal warranty.

I'd much rather achieve a settlement with them before going all the way to court, but if it can't be done, that's where we'll be headed.

So sadly, even if I do end up getting a free replacement, that won't guarantee that you will be able to benefit from the same legal protection.

When a company offers you an "extended warranty" on goods and products, here we typically disregard it given that if the product stops working before the end of its usable life because we were sold a defective unit, then we're covered anyway, regardless of what standard or extended warranties say.

But if those exist, I assume that it's legal elsewhere, and thus they can legally decide that 3 years if enough even if that makes absolutely no sense.

So you really need to reach out to the consumer protection offices (or the equivalent) of the area where you live and ask them about what your rights are, and what's the procedure to follow to exert them.

At least, that's what I've done here, and what I would do.

Thanks PhoenixSnow that is very, very useful information.  I have not started my small claims court battle with MSFT yet but intend to.  First question I need answered is when I file in small claims court who do I file against?  My local MSFT store where I bought the device at or MSFT headquartered in Seattle? Do I need to file against an entity that's in the jurisdiction of the county that the small claims court presides over or my state?  Was going to canvas my attorney friends shortly and see what they tell me.  Have not contacted consumer protections yet but that's  good info too.

TIA

Bryan