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You Can't Open the Microsoft Surface Laptop Without Literally Destroying It
Slashdot ^ | Jun 16, 2016 | Nicholas Deleon (motherboard.vice.com)

Posted on 06/18/2017 7:29:38 AM PDT by dayglored

Note from dayglored:

This thread ties to a thread on Slashdot which links to an article from motherboard.vice.com. The vice.com article refers to a "Teardown" column on iFixit.com. Pictures of the teardown are found here: https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Microsoft+Surface+Laptop+Teardown/92915.

It's also important to note that iFixit is ONLY comlpainining about the Surface Laptop's upgradeability/repairability -- they otherwise describe the product in very well-deserved, glowing terms.


Repair specialists iFixit have dubbed the new laptop a ‘Russian nesting doll from hell.’

Microsoft's latest Surface Laptop may have earned glowing reviews from certain sections of the tech press, but don't tell that to iFixit.

The company, which provides repair tools and manuals for popular gadgets like the iPhone and PlayStation, has handed the Surface Laptop a score of 0 out of 10 in terms of user repairability, stating definitively that the laptop "is not meant to be opened or repaired; you can't get inside without inflicting a lot of damage."

iFixit's detailed teardown illustrates just how difficult it is to open the Surface. For starters, there are no screws, proprietary or otherwise, on the outside of the laptop. Instead, the laptop is literally welded together using a type of "plastic soldering" that is rare to see in consumer electronics.

Anyone hoping to get inside the "beautifully designed and crafted" computer will have to pry it open with a knife or dedicated pick in order to defeat Microsoft's plastic welding. Whether or not it's actually worth going through the trouble of defeating said welding is another matter, given that the "glue-filled monstrosity," as iFixit dubs the laptop, has none of the user-upgradeable parts you'd want to see in a PC, like memory or storage.

"It literally can't be opened without destroying it," the repair company concludes.

"If we could give it a -1 out of 10, we would," iFixit said in an emailed statement on Friday. "It's a Russian nesting doll from hell with everything hidden under adhesive and plastic spot welds. It is physically impossible to nondestructively open this device."

The Surface laptops, perhaps with the exception of 2012's Surface RT, have earned generally positive reviews, with critics variously commending Microsoft (Microsoft!) for designing attractive-looking hardware that doubles as a reference point for its vision of what a modern Windows-based laptop should look like. Unfortunately for consumers, this seductive vision is apparently incompatible with being able to extend the laptop's useful lifespan on your own.



TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet; Hobbies
KEYWORDS: ifixit; surface; surfacelaptop; windowspinglist
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I find it most interesting that, after years of complaints (from iFixit as well as anti-Apple sources) that MacBooks had become impossible to upgrade or repair, Microsoft has finally seen the wisdom of making thin laptops that are rendered mechanically stable by making them non-upgradeable/non-repairable -- that is, by soldering everything in place.

No question that it is a PITA for the customer who later decides they'd like more memory or more storage -- or worst, whose battery gives out and they can't replace it themselves.

But overall, I think Microsoft has Done The Right Thing with the Surface Laptop, and despite iFixit's complaints, I believe it will be a solid product.

1 posted on 06/18/2017 7:29:38 AM PDT by dayglored
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To: Abby4116; afraidfortherepublic; aft_lizard; AF_Blue; amigatec; AppyPappy; arnoldc1; ATOMIC_PUNK; ...
iFixit tears down the Surface Laptop -- and has a lot of trouble! ... PING!

You can find all the Windows Ping list threads with FR search: just search on keyword "windowspinglist".

2 posted on 06/18/2017 7:30:24 AM PDT by dayglored ("Listen. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.")
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To: dayglored

PITA = Pain In The _ss. 8>)


3 posted on 06/18/2017 7:35:31 AM PDT by Robert DeLong
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To: dayglored

Sad. Being “open” is what differentiated wintel computers from Apples. I will stick with Dell.


4 posted on 06/18/2017 7:35:54 AM PDT by dhs12345
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To: dayglored
We hates it! We wants to reseat
and/or upgrade preciousssss parts!

5 posted on 06/18/2017 7:36:11 AM PDT by \/\/ayne (I regret that I have but one subscription cancellation notice to give to my local newspaper.)
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To: dayglored
in other words, it's disposable...
6 posted on 06/18/2017 7:39:01 AM PDT by Chode (My job is not to represent the world. My job is to represent the United States of America-#45 DJT)
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To: Chode

Laptop spy.... the NSA dream machine.


7 posted on 06/18/2017 7:45:48 AM PDT by ptsal ( Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please. - M. Twain)
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To: dayglored

So if the memory or hard drive dies they can’t be replaced and a $2000 machine goes in the trash.


8 posted on 06/18/2017 7:46:11 AM PDT by Excellence (Marine mom since April 11, 2014)
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To: dayglored

Pretty amazing. We’ve gone from mainframes with full time maintenance staff to laptops you throw away like a Bic lighter when they break.


9 posted on 06/18/2017 7:46:57 AM PDT by Yardstick
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To: dayglored

Just as they have always meant to be. Computers are disposable.

How else can we get you to buy another one?


10 posted on 06/18/2017 7:47:19 AM PDT by Delta 21
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To: ptsal
100% lucky there isn't a barometric pressure switch that makes it self destruct when opened
11 posted on 06/18/2017 7:53:17 AM PDT by Chode (My job is not to represent the world. My job is to represent the United States of America-#45 DJT)
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To: Chode
"in other words, it's disposable..."

The Detroit Auto Giants built an empire (since crumbled)
based on what they dubbed "planned obsolescence."

But somehow I don't see Mecum Auctions holding a collector
event for restored laptops. (The craze for "vintage"
Commodore 64s not withstanding.)

12 posted on 06/18/2017 7:56:02 AM PDT by shibumi (Cover it with gas and set it on fire.)
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To: dayglored

I have two exact batteries for my laptop, one lasts for over 3 hours the other for 30 minutes.
would really suck to buy a Surface with the latter battery installed in it...


13 posted on 06/18/2017 8:03:17 AM PDT by mowowie
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To: shibumi
LOL... 100%
14 posted on 06/18/2017 8:23:33 AM PDT by Chode (My job is not to represent the world. My job is to represent the United States of America-#45 DJT)
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To: dayglored

Not me. This would be absolutely unacceptable to me. If I would consider a Microsoft laptop in the first place, this would be a deal breaker for me. What Apple’s doing with the on-board SSD’s doesn’t work for me either, so it’s not a Microsoft hate thing.


15 posted on 06/18/2017 8:41:41 AM PDT by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
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To: dayglored

This will really amplify the bloat ware automatic upgrades. Accelerated obsolescence for profit.

Micro$oft has always been an empire of graft and corruption. Wouldn’t it he nice if their R&D department was focused on inventing product instead of screwing the customer for every penny he has.

The only logical choice is third party laptops. I replaced the cooling fan twice on my Acer and wore out 3 keyboards before it was too slow to endure. But then I was on my laptop constantly.

If you buy a car that is too cool and too pretty that breaks down too early and can’t be repaired it’s called a lemon.


16 posted on 06/18/2017 8:43:03 AM PDT by American in Israel (A wise man's heart directs him to the right, but the foolish mans heart directs him toward the left.)
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To: dayglored

My personal opinion is that it is sinful to make a device that you can’t at least swap out batteries. But then, no one asked me my opinion.


17 posted on 06/18/2017 8:53:31 AM PDT by rockrr (Everything is different now...)
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To: dayglored

I have one laptop that I use for work. Have to have it for travel. (I also have a hand me down tablet that is rarely used.)

Every other computer that I own is a full sized tower with easy access to everything. I like being able to perform my own upgrades and repairs. I buy $400 to $600 systems and build from there.

A $2k diposable computer? I ain’t that stupid.


18 posted on 06/18/2017 9:09:28 AM PDT by 2111USMC (Aim Small Miss Small)
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To: dayglored

You misspelled “unsold product.”


19 posted on 06/18/2017 9:11:21 AM PDT by MrEdd (MrEdd)
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To: dayglored

I like Thinkpads. You can download a Hardware Maintenance Manual that tells you how to disassemble the entire thing.


20 posted on 06/18/2017 9:29:54 AM PDT by Pollard (TRUMP 2016)
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