Microsoft devices have long been a repair nightmare – why has that changed

For the past decade, Microsoft devices have been notoriously difficult to repair. Components such as the battery and memory were glued or soldered and could not be replaced or only with great difficulty. Popular devices such as the Surface Pro were, as it were, disposable devices.

This has changed drastically with the latest hardware generation. “We give the Surface Pro 9 a respectable 7 out of 10 points on our recoverability index”iFixit’s independent repairers write.

In comparison, Microsoft’s Surface Pro 7 got a 1 out of 10 three years ago, meaning it was practically beyond repair. With the Surface Pro 8 from 2021, Microsoft has made the display, stand and memory (SSD) interchangeable. In the latest model, almost all central components can be replaced.

The following parts are interchangeable:

Good for consumers and the environment

The battery in the Surface Pro 9 is no longer glued, but screwed “and therefore very easy to replace,” write the repair experts at iFixit.

To access the SSD memory, only a small magnetic door has to be lifted off the housing. “A single screw stands between you and a memory upgrade,” iFixit exults.

Upgrading memory in laptops used to be very common, but “in today’s thin devices, practical things like easily swappable memory modules usually lose out,” iFixit writes. Apple fueled this trend in 2008 with the MacBook Air, ultra-thin by the standards of the time, following the PC industry. Now the major manufacturers seem to think otherwise.

Microsoft devices are no longer necessarily electronic waste after a few years. This is also because the display is now “relatively easy to unplug,” as iFixit writes. This has not been the case until now and is a prerequisite for being able to replace various components relatively easily.

The situation is similar to Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop 5. The predecessor made it possible to replace the SSD, the display and the keyboard. Now the above mentioned components and motherboard can be replaced.

This chart (PDF) provides an overview of which components can be replaced on which Microsoft devices.

Same design, better repairable

Surface Pro 9 and Surface Laptop 5 have not changed in appearance from their predecessors, the sleek design has remained, but Microsoft has nevertheless managed to improve the recoverability. iFixit writes that they “advised Microsoft’s hardware team on a repair-friendly design” and are pleased “that they seem to have implemented some of our advice.”

Despite the praise of repair professionals, there is still room for improvement: “Unlike the SSD, the RAM is soldered to the motherboard,” states iFixit. Therefore, the RAM cannot be expanded. However, one cannot condemn the soldered main memory, “because the proximity to the processor means that significant energy savings and better work performance can be achieved,” iFixit writes.

Repair instructions and spare parts for private and business customers

According to iFixit, Microsoft plans to make repair instructions for its devices available on its website by the end of the year. Microsoft also wants to publish video instructions on its YouTube channel on how to repair the devices. We are also expanding our offering to make spare parts accessible to independent repair shops and consumers.

The limitations to say are: The new rating, 7 out of 10 points, does not mean that Microsoft devices are now easily repairable by anyone. Despite the most recent efforts, the Fairphone remains one of the few devices that can be easily repaired even by absolute laymen. It received a 10 out of 10 rating from iFixit.

Why tech companies are rethinking

Other major manufacturers like Apple and Samsung have recently made at least some of their devices easier to repair. The big tech companies do not do this voluntarily, on the contrary. Leading hardware manufacturers have been lobbying against the right to repair for years.

Microsoft, Apple, Samsung and Co. only try to prevent effective laws by giving in very late. Because of late political pressure in the EU and US has increased enormously to make repair instructions and spare parts available to private individuals and independent repair services.

The industry has been moving for some time now: in France, devices such as smartphones, laptops, televisions or washing machines have been required to carry a label with a repair index since the beginning of 2021. A score between 0 and 10 is intended to show customers at a glance how easy it is to repair a device. Since the value is based on information from the manufacturer, its meaning is limited. Nevertheless, there are already positive effects: in order to increase its rating, Samsung was the first of the major manufacturers last year to offer French repair instructions for the Galaxy S21 Plus for free.

In Switzerland, an alliance of three consumer protection organizations called for a repair label for new devices two years ago. The goal is to reduce the demand for questionable disposable products. The question received little support from industry associations.