Slashdot Mirror
Surface Pro: 'Virtually Unrepairable'
An anonymous reader writes with a link to an article at Wired with some harsh words for Microsoft's new tablet: "The Surface Pro is not a repair-friendly machine. In fact, it's one of the least repairable devices iFixit has seen: In a teardown of Microsoft's tablet-laptop hybrid, the company gave it a rock-bottom score of just one — one! — out of 10 for repairability, lower even than Apple's iPad and the Windows Surface RT."
Nobody repairs tablets.
Sadly more and more devices are like this now. Apple seem to have popularised it and made is acceptable and other companies seem to be continuing the trend.
just wanted to be the first to comment :)
... waste!!! Manufacturers just want you to buy another to replace yours which is designed to break soon. Manufacturers win with more diversion of economy (e.g. repeat sales). World loses.
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence
"It simply is not designed to be opened or fixed at home, except perhaps by teardown expert"
Hasn't that generally been the case for a few decades now, for lots and lots of things? They are basically bitching that there are lot of screws and glue. It's not a simple device.
And I got into a heated debate with my manager about Microsoft making so many of the computers in the world end up in the trash bin and poisoning 3rd world countries beyond what other tech companies were doing... I was a top performer in my group but for some reason I was given a bad review by someone who wasnt even my manager and I was basically blacklisted from moving anywhere else in the company.
So count me not surprised by this news
Designed this way, if you can't repair it you just might buy a new one or even the 'next generation' product.
Quoting from Wikipedia (*cough*) but it's not a new concept.
E.g.: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence#Systemic_obsolescence
"Another way of introducing systemic obsolescence is to eliminate service and maintenance for a product. If a product fails, the user is forced to purchase a new one."
How predictable of Slashdot.
Most of them lied about it for liability.
When a small device manufacturer says it, they mean 'not servicable by ANYONE' :)
The culture of repair, a term used by a colleague of mine, has been on life support, at best, for a long time now (if it isn't already dead and buried). As much as the facts surrounding the Surface Pro and the inability to repair it are unfortunate, I wonder if people really expect to be able to fix their gadgets any more.
So unless there's a hardware-failure or you need to get a new display, both of which are likely to require service anyway, I am indifferent to this.
OK, not really.
For starters, I can't imagine it being easy to make a tablet you can open up and make changes to.
And then every manufacturer would rather you replace the device when it breaks or needs upgrading. And if they can get you locked into their software, even better.
Companies don't really care about consumers rights, and they never will. They're only in it to make profit -- I don't care who the vendor is, they'll all do it.
Microsoft, Apple, and even Google since they're trying to drive everything you do to the things that make them money and make sure you have to keep buying their stuff.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
"Ending is better than mending. The more stitches, the less riches."
-Aldous Huxley
Of course a consumer society isn't supposed to have anything that can be repaired by a normal human being. If you want anything, you're supposed to cough up your hard-earned cash to your corporate overlords.
I am officially gone from
Not only it is less repairable iPad, but it also has moving parts(two fans).
The short battery life also ensures the battery will go through more cycles faster.
Really guys, the summary is copied from the first paragraph on the wired article, which has the link to the iFixt teardown, was it that difficult to keep the link? http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Microsoft+Surface+Pro+Teardown/12842/
--- "When you gotta do something wrong. You gotta do it right. (Fighter)"
Microsoft and the rest of the manufacturers hawking tablets at the moment don't really want you to -think- about them too much...because the more you start to think, the more you realize... Hey, my desktop or laptop already does everything that does. And more besides. Plus it actually costs less, has more storage space, runs the operating system I choose, so on and so forth... The problem is they're not selling enough new hardware, and enough new licenses for said hardware...solution? Release hardware that can't be upgraded. Get people on the upgrade "treadmill" thinking they're getting a better deal, up until they actually have to repair the thing. If the only easy option available is "get another tablet" that's what most people are going to do, even if it is a phenomenally bad idea -- because there won't be any other choice.
Who wants to keep an old 1 year old tablet if there are new shinier things in the next year.
High volume consumer devices have been not-repairable for years. If it fails during warranty, you get a new or "refurbished" unit for free. If it fails outside of warranty you may get a new or "refurbished" unit at lower than list price. Or you may not.
Short of sliding it off the table onto a concrete floor at Starbucks, the failure rate on these should be vanishingly small.
If you're really worried, you can "Protect your Surface with a 2-year extended warranty and technical support service." for $99. Best Buy will sell you a "Product Replacement Plan" for a price.
You pays your money and you takes your chances.
So virtually unrepairable would mean it's not really unrepairable, right?
http://cutewriting.blogspot.com/2009/04/literally-practically-and-virtually.html
The other posibility is that it's armored to be drop-resistant. Just saying.
There's a direct trade-off between thinness/weight and repairability. As it stands the device is already being heavily criticized for being just 0.5" thick and weighing 2 lbs. To get it even at that point, apparently glue had to be used in place of a lot of fasteners that make repairing easy. Now I expect we'll see the same people criticizing it for weight/thickness also criticizing it for not having a removable battery, hard drive, and memory, all of which add weight/thickness. Dell's Latitude 10 comes in fixed and removable battery configurations, the later weighs 0.04 lbs more. Keep in mind while it's not much, the margin between Surface and its closet competitors like iPad are 0.1" thickness and 0.5 lbs, so every bit counts.
So like everything there's a choice. Do you want a core i5 processor or do you want a long battery life? Do you want a super thin machine, or do you want an easy to repair machine?
I would impose some kind of waste tax. Stuff that gets broken / unusable too quickly and leaving only special waste behind should be more expensive than long-life devices. I'm not sure how that could be accomplished though.
Almost all consumer electronic devices have been disposable.
Can you stop this explainable hatred on this tablet? It's a tool aimed at professionals like myself. I want productivity and ability to work with a full OS, not a castrated version barely capable of browsing porn. When iPad/Android will be able to run Diablo 3 on maximum settings we will have an adult discussion.
Let's be realistic. Tablets and phones are pretty much assumed *NOT* to have any user serviceable parts in them. Hell, even laptops -- I don't recall these ever being held to that standard and they had a much better chance of ever getting user-upgradable CPU/RAM/Harddrive features. Most people could never take the damn things apart to upgrade them anyway. It's only been the recent last 8 years or so the Dell has removable plates next to the ram -- the CPU has always been buried. So stop with all the arm waving about how these devices are "tarred" together and can't have the battery replaced. Until someone comes out with a FULLY USER UPGRADEABLE phone or tablet, there's no point in beating anyone up over it.
Join the Slashcott! Feb 10 thru Feb 17!
The iPad 2 Smart Cover, the only thing to score lower at a pitiful 0 out of 10! </joke>
Of course you can repair it: http://www.phonearena.com/news/Microsoft-Surface-Pro-can-run-Linux_id39712
And not the direct source: http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Microsoft+Surface+Pro+Teardown/12842/
To make a tablet that can be easily repairable and upgradable, you are making concessions on the size and weight of the product.
Fact is the majority of consumers couldn't repair their tablet even if it scored '10 of 10'. Given the choice, they would choose the thinner and lighter product every time.
The "unrepairable" Surface Pro (that Microsoft is aiming at business) is symbolic of an unfortunate trend in Corporate IT budgeting towards thinking of user devices as "burned money" with little or no long term benefit. While conventional laptops retain some value beyond the current quarter and a certain level of repair costs can be budgeted towards them, devices like the Surface Pro turn budgeting of such estimated costs into a total crap shoot.
I deny that I have not avoided attaining the opposite of that which I do not want.
This is a lot of hype when it gets almost the exact same rating as the Macbook Pro. Not sure why they don't get the same flack.
Face it, no one repairs electronics anymore so is this really an issue? How is this any different than 30 or 40 years ago when TVs started using transistors and you were unable to easily replace out your tubes yourself? As things get smaller and more compact they're just not going to be user servicable.
I like modular designs - what programmer wouldn't?
but there is no question that modularity constrains the overall design. the module itself must have a fixed interface, making it inefficient by varying degrees, depending on how far from the sweet spot you are. (imagine that cars had modular engines: would the module interface be big enough to handle a particular displacement? could you drop in a hybrid version?) not only are you loosing efficiency within the module, but the connected modules have to assume a fixed spec (drivetrain would have to handle a 250 HP engine even if you opted for the 70 HP model). all aspects of interface would be constrained - mechanical, spatial, electrical, etc.
for a tablet, integration is usually a win: glueing is cheaper and more secure than screws, and smaller and lighter. integrating touch+lcd+backlight means that breaking it means replacing it all, but the integrated version is _inherently_ better because, for instance, touch+lcd electrodes can be integrated and even tuned to minimize interference.
the main question is really where you draw the boundaries: is the tablet a whole, integrated unit, or a composite of replacable modules? to the customer, a replacable screen really only makes sense if you expect to break screens a lot (why?). batteries are in a different category, since they all have well-defined cycle-based lifespans. (though buttons do too - the difference is just that it's not expensive to engineer buttons to last a long time, and doing so doesn't impair the performance of the button. life-vs-performance is a very real tradeoff with batteries...)
Why does something this simple need to be nefarious? Isn't there room for a common-sense explanation? Are you telling me the folks at iFixit could change the assembly to be just as small and durable without using any permanent fixtures? This is a geek website, surely some geeks can treat the design of an assembly as more than a black box that someone else needs to make "better."
Given the effort that goes into minimizing devices, isn't it just possible that building tiny yet durable devices requires the use of less convenient assembly methods? A screw (and the accompanying boss) incrementally increase the required depth and bulk of the device. Adhesive can hold load over a much larger area, reducing stress and non-uniform movement. Maybe these merits mattered, and not some sinister need to lock in customers?
Look at it this way: For some reason, iFixit complains about the number of screws holding in components (is it really that much harder to remove 29 screws than to remove 4?). Do they feel this is just to inhibit dis-assembly, given the added design and assembly cost and complexity for adding extra fasteners? I'm sure the design would use two screws if that was sufficient. As an owner, sure, it would be better if the battery was replaceable. But, considering home much real estate the battery occupies, and the need to secure that mass in a portable device, I am not surprised that the best solution for durability and size had to sacrifice repair-ability. Maybe the designers even took this into account when they saw fit to use "the Cadillac of batteries" in this device. A great battery may be a worthwhile cost when the battery can't be replaced.
For anyone here who designs anything (physical or digital), aren't there real design constraints that add to the magnitude of your work? Maybe constraints that aren't obvious until you get into the nitty-gritty of making it work? What would you say if a casual observer asserted you made your choices primarily to piss off the end user? I'm not saying that never happens, but isn't the simplest explanation just that "that was the best way to solve a hard problem?"
Look, I know /. loves to hate on Microsoft, and with good reason, but lets stick to real issues please?
If anyone can name even one tablet that's easy to take apart and replace pieces, I'd be surprised.
As a commenter above posted, it's far from impossible, it's just difficult.
I know some some people also think replacing a processor and other bits and pieces of an ordinary desktop are "difficult" too.
Anyone can take something apart. It only counts, though, if they get it back together AND it works again. How can they give that thing a "1" out of "10" if they were not able to make it run again? Wouldn't that be a "zero?" Finally, before anyone can say 'who wants to repair something like this, anyway?' let's just note that it's a $900 dollar device with a 1-year limited warranty. Why wouldn't you want to fix the earphone jack if it gets tweaked and will only play one channel, replace the battery if it dies, or put a new screen in if you drop it and it cracks? Those are all pretty common repairs for devices like this.
Because you keep giving them money for crap.
There are a lot of responses here that say "All tablets are like that".
First, Many of those tablets cost $200 (Nexus). It is a lot more acceptable to have a sealed $200 device than a sealed $1000 device, regardless of form factor.
Second, Almost no other computing device is sealed to this extent with an inch wide strip of tar like adhesive that needs a heat-gun to pry apart (who knows how well it will go back together). I take nearly everything apart, but I would mess with this kind of extreme adhesive job, especially on a $1000 device.
Third. It isn't even about repairs. If this was pure reliable solid state, it wouldn't be a big deal, those parts could run for decades. But this has two fans, meaning they will accumulate dust/have bearing failures, and in few years need replacing/cleaning, it has batteries with short finite life that will fail in few years, the SSD is small size and has an OS with propensity to write a lot to it (swap files) etc, and has a significant chance of failure. These should be considered serviceable components, because chances are significant that one or more of them will need service in a few years. Having them sealed, non-serviceable in $1000 device is unacceptable (IMO).
Anything with very small parts and lots of glue/epoxy is tough to repair, not just this thing. When you are paying someone close to $50 or even $100 an hour to repair something, he is going to take a lot of time to get those parts out and new ones in. In the great scheme of things it's not worth it, as you can just buy a new device in the amount of time it takes him to repair it.
But most of the time the problems are actually software, not hardware - and people even "Repair" their ipads nowadays by just doing a reinstall (or restore or whatever it's called in iOS).
You never skip even a single day of Micro$oft hate. No other tablet maker would be held to that standard, but hey, it's Micro$oft so let's bake them.
Should have a disposable price..
This does not. I'll pass.. drop the price by 3/4ths and i'll think about having some throwaway non repairable stuff from a company i mostly dislike.
This is Microsoft's problem, not the buyer's. Why try to make this out like it's a bad thing. Totally irrelevant.
Do you think that in the future you will be able to repair your flexible Amoled phone and personal computing device that has everything packaged in one chip? Things are getting smaller, faster and lighter. The fact that they cannot be repaired it's inevitable, live with it.
It can be repaired, it's just difficult to get inside due to the strong epoxy and 90+ screws all around. And for the Apple haters, I see lots of repair shops repairing iPhones and such.
The problem is, the companies don't want you to repair it. They want you to buy a new one, hence why it's difficult to repair. This is the throwaway generation, it's all disposable. The trash piles up, but nobody notices until it's in their backyard and their water starts tasting like epoxy and baby diapers.
Even Cars are are so tight under the hood these days, a lot of mechanics I know don't go near them. Have you even tried to reach through all that shit to change a spark plug? Good luck getting your hand out of the wires and metal without a lost thumb.
Bottom line, modern products are shit with pretty packaging so the youngsters think it's good. When it breaks, (Usually within 1 year) no big deal, mom and dad will get a new one. Just throw it over there in the trash and lets take a trip down to the mall. What a shitty world, but hey, there's money to be made in them their hills!.
Microsoft made some unnecessary choices — like gluing the battery in place and using so many screws — that make it virtually impossible to repair a Surface Pro
This is an opinion.... just like the low score you gave it.
Not repairable without the technical training and tool kits that are almost unknown outside the skilled trades.
That would describe every high end consumer electronics device manufactured since the decline of Heathkit and the electronic kit building hobby in the seventies.
wants to charge you 249 for Apple Care which does not cover accidental damage, Microsoft offers 2 year coverage with accidental damage coverage for $99, and it's all over the headlines that the Surface Pro is unrepairable. I never saw this much news coverage when Apple introduced sealed batteries., MS does it and it's on the front page everywhere. Yep no bias anywhere I can see
But no one is making that comparison here.
The Wired article describes the Surface Pro as "glued and screwed," which seems to be a double entendre, referring to the construction of the device and the status of the repair-minded purchaser.
I also find it interesting that the device needs two fans. For me, part of the appeal of a tablet is the departure from the idea of it as a traditional computer. You can do many of the things you would do on a computer, but the computer gets out of the way and the device is more focused on becoming a more natural, simple, ultra-portable human interface. In many ways, it's about as close as you can come to a digital piece of paper. Somehow the idea of requiring a fan at all (let alone two fans) just seems anathema. If someone handed me a sheet of loose leaf with two fans embedded in it, my reaction would probably be something along the lines of: "What the hell is this? Microsoft makes paper now? Is the sheet supposed to be blue like that?"
... devices like the iJunk aren't unrepairable enough (given the repair documents found in the Internet), so M$ had to show they are still better than Apple ...
This piece of crap has not one but TWO fans - of course, necessary to remove the huge amount of heat that this monster generates. Those fans are a serious weak point.
I mean, what the fuck is the point of going all solid-state and then cramming two fucking fans into the tablet?
Anyway, this tablet is the thickest of all on the market. It's the heaviest also and still has a miserable battery life. Oh, and it runs the quintessential POS OS - Windows 8. This is the tablet for suckers - luckily for Microsoft, every minute one is borne.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
Some kid managed to kill himself while taking apart an unplugged power supply. I'm not sure how he managed to electrocute himself off a capacitor, but it's definitely possible.
There are also no PCI slots and a serious lack of available 5.25 in drive bays. WTF microsoft?!?
-Lod
They compare it to the iPad, which is pretty bad to repair... However, as a general purpose computer running a full OS, a fair comparison would also be the MacBook Pro Retina. ...1 out of 10 as well.
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook-Pro-with-Retina-Display-Teardown/9462/
This is a bad trend with custom screws, glue and all sorts of crap.
Now there's one hoopy frood who really knows where his towel is!
Perhaps you are forgetting the Palm Vx.
First, Many of those tablets cost $200 (Nexus). It is a lot more acceptable to have a sealed $200 device than a sealed $1000 device, regardless of form factor.
I'm not sure I see the connection between price and acceptable levels of serviceability. Is it that if it's cheap and breaks, you can buy another so it's no big deal; but if it's expensive then you should be able to repair it? I'm sorry, but I'm not sure many people agree with you. The iPad and iPad mini received almost as bad a score (2/10 each), and yet they are wildly successful. It seems that the only people that have a problem with this practice are people like you that like to take things apart.
Second, Almost no other computing device is sealed to this extent with an inch wide strip of tar like adhesive that needs a heat-gun to pry apart (who knows how well it will go back together).
Again, the aforementioned market-leading iPads are sealed in this way. Whether it's the $300 version or the $900 version the response to a broken iPad is the same for the vast majority of users: send it back for warranty repair. If it's out of warranty, pay to have it fixed. Even something with a 7/10 repairability rating like the Nexus 7 is too complicated for most people.
Third. It isn't even about repairs. If this was pure reliable solid state, it wouldn't be a big deal, those parts could run for decades. But this has two fans, meaning they will accumulate dust/have bearing failures, and in few years need replacing/cleaning, it has batteries with short finite life that will fail in few years, the SSD is small size and has an OS with propensity to write a lot to it (swap files) etc, and has a significant chance of failure.
Aside from the fans, almost every mobile phone and tablet today has a solid state drive and a battery, which are not user replaceable. Fans are unique the Surface, but I've yet to own a laptop where the fan was the first component to give. And yes the Surface is expensive but it doesn't change the reaction to what should be done when something goes wrong: send it back for repairs. Microsoft offers a very reasonable support plan for $99 that covers accidental damage for two years. This is a much more preferable option for the vast majority of people than servicing something like fans and batteries themselves.
My guess is the jolt stopped his heart -- and that it wasn't a teeny weeny 150w ps. I used to reverse solder caps for fun at the workshop. They create quite the BANG when plugged in. Stunk like bad shrimp, though.
It is one thing building a cheap sane tablet using ARM and Android, with the proviso that significant damage or malfunction will write the product off (actually, usually untrue, because THESE tablets can be opened for minor repair work). It is another thing altogether to build a vastly expensive, full blown Intel/Windows computer into a profoundly delicate form factor that will inevitably have to be binned following the first significant accident, or any internal problems with the hardware.
This is definitely one of those places where government regulation is required. Consumer products should, whenever practical, be repairable by law. To be allowed to manufacture a 'disposable' version of anything should require a demonstration of compelling reason- almost always price.
Apple started this trend with desktop computers that were incapable of 'expansion' by design- no memory upgrades, no HDD upgrades, no GPU upgrades. These computers were anything but cheap, and were attempting to build in near future obsolescence to ensure Apple-loving dumbos would need to replace their machines on a very regular basis.
All Apple mobile devices (phones and tablets) are notoriously easy to break- actually far more so than the competition. While Apple worries about quality control (avoiding break-down due to part malfunction), they DEMAND that their mobile devices wear out as quickly as possible in normal use, through expected wear-and-tear.
While this article is about Microsoft, we have all witnessed how MS's current biz strategy is to clone every aspect of Apple's thinking, in the hope that the magic is to be found within.
Just as companies are required to make many devices power-friendly, and to control radio frequency leakage, there should be equal regulation on the limitations of 'disposable' engineering. Mid and hi-end tablets should be repairable by law, and if this means they have to be build a little thicker- well TOUGH!
"Inside, iFixit found the Surface Pro’s fans are significantly smaller than the MacBook Air’s, explaining why they are so quiet in comparison."
No, that doesn't explain why they are quiet - large fans are quiter than small fans, for a given volume of air.
"The 42Wh battery from LG also impressed the crew, which dubbed it the “Cadillac of batteries.” Unfortunately, it’s still not enough to keep the Surface Pro from running more than around four hours without a power supply."
To "keep it FROM running"? WTF? I think he means "it's still not enough to keep the Surface Pro running for more than around four hours" (no need to state the bleedin' obvious - that that means WITHOUT a power supply).
In addition to the fuckton of glue (mainly to keep people out), there are +90 screws! I don't think a mid-60's automobile would have 90 screws.
Only Microsoft could pull off the feat of using a boatload of conventional fasteners and still make the hardware practically irrepreble. Hamfisted jackanapes.
132 is even worse.
It really depends on how large of a cap and what type and how it's used. Some will store quite a significant charge, some will hold on to a charge for a very long time, some do both. On our equipment, we have RF amplifiers that put out hundreds of watts and contain caps that could easily hurt or possibly kill you, but these have power supplies in them that are just a tad larger than a standard PC.
Those capacitors are large enough to store enough charge to stop your heart.
All he likely did was bridge pos and neg when touching the board and ZAP!
This is pretty much well-known to anyone with electronics experience. If that kid didn't know WTF was up, he shouldn't have been taking that thing apart without proper supervision.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
...as long as they don't ever break.
By your reasoning, modern cars wouldn't even have hoods that open.
They continue to do so only because there are a number of fluids that need regular changing, and a hood is still the simplest answer to the whole problem - one that really does not add to weight nor space.
And you wouldn't be able to change the air filter.
That's an absurd statement because, like an oil filter, the air filter is one of the items you are required to replace regularly. That doesn't simplify or save weight, it just ignores how engines function.
And tires that were impossible to remove & change
Again that would not save space nor weight and ignores the fact that those parts MUST be replaced regularly. There is simply no equivalent on a computer.
And a car battery that couldn't be user-replaced.
This is where your argument fails. Because car batteries do last several years, a number of car manufacturers have in fact put car batteries in places that are hard to get to, and also somewhat complex to replace.
Or wipers you can replace. Or lightbulbs. Or oil.
Again, all items that wear out rapidly and HAVE to be replaced a number of times in the average lifecycle of a car. It's a stupid argument because computers have no parts that you are EXPECTED to replace repeatedly in the average lifetime of the device.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
This has been going on for years with "Boutique" guitar amps... meaning, guitar amps that are hand-made, usually by 1 guy that only produces 100 or so a year. They are usually very expensive and coveted because the designer usually has tricks in the way he designs them that make them sound unique. Unfortunately for the people that build these, guitar tube amps are not very complicated. Reverse engineering them is usually very easy. So what they've resorted to is building their circuit, putting it into a box, and then filling the box with epoxy. Clearly they have to leaves the Tubes and transformers out so they can shed heat, but the rest of it gets embedded and the only way to take it apart is to destroy it.
The caveat here is that these guys provide life-time support on what they produce. You need it fixed, THEY fix it. There's no need for right to repair. A nearly unlimited warranty makes this a non-issue. I don't see MS giving you any such warranty.
Fans are unique the Surface, but I've yet to own a laptop where the fan was the first component to give.
Twice I've replaced fans in my laptop -- not because they failed (both times they were still spinning), but because the bearings had become distractingly noisy. Then again, this was a DTR machine (higher thermal load) which I used continuously for some 6-7 years, and then intermittently used for another 3 years after that.
You cant fix or upgrade when a drive quits you lose all your local software and data.
Perhaps it is for kids. A whole group of teens asked no shit whats that that kids is a soldering iron.
Would anyone think of repairing a car tyre by cutting the rubber apart to weld a broken steel belt and then put the rubber back together again? No, you chuck the tyre away and buy a new one. It is about the same cost, so why would anyone want to repair a small electronic device?
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
The thinner and lighter the device, the more likely it is that they're going to stiffen things up by gluing components together and turning them into structural elements.
If what you care about isn't what most people care about, then you may have few if any options.
If the number of people that care about repairability is tiny, then it doesn't make sense for manufacturers to cater to them.
Even something with a 7/10 repairability rating like the Nexus 7 is too complicated for most people.
Probably more that they wouldn't even try. Any moron could change the battery in a Nexus 7. Pop off the back, unplug the old batter, plug in a new one and snap the back back on. Then again they wouldn't bother to figure this out.
As a child in the 80s I remember an electronics repair shop right around the corner from a friend's house. Even back then this guy's business was already struggling and there was a lot of stuff he couldn't repair. He was out of business well before the end of the decade. This is the inevitable trend in technology as components get smaller and more complex. Even if you could open one of these devices what are you going to do with it?
Why single out Microsoft? Has anyone ever seen disassembly videos for the iPhone 5? The phone uses so many screws with minute differences in size that people have to download a guide to keep track of where they go. There are small metal plates in that phone held down by three different sized screws. Where the Surface Pro merely looks like a product manufacturing and packaging requirements with the iPhone it looks like they were deliberately trying to cause inconvenience.
If you've ever worked in the private sector for a business that is subject to HIPAA and/or PCI regulations, you'll know that sending it back for repairs is a problem. With laptops that have issues, you're often required to remove the hard drive before shipping it to the manufacturer. This cannot be reasonably done on a surface pro. The very people that have the biggest problem with a sealed device such as the surface pro are the exact same people that Microsoft is primarily relying on selling the surface pro to.
Translation: we suck at fixing things.
Pros don't complain with the job at hand, they find a way. Thats what makes them a pro. Only an amateur bitches about the job.
Just download another one and 3D print it! With material from the 195B$ private space asteroid! Why are people even worried about old ideas like "repairing"? Are you Luddites?
If a virus or other malware were to come along, lots of these machines could be bricked all in a single week, If you can't get inside to repair them you are basically SOL.
I'm not sure I see the connection between price and acceptable levels of serviceability. Is it that if it's cheap and breaks, you can buy another so it's no big deal; but if it's expensive then you should be able to repair it? I'm sorry, but I'm not sure many people agree with you.
If a $30 toy car breaks, I buy a new one. It just isn't worth the effort to fix it.
If a $30k car breaks, I fix it or sell it to somebody who will fix it. That isn't exactly a throwaway item.
The more you pay for something, the longer you're likely to want it to live. A $1000 tablet that lasts 6 years is a much less expensive investment than a $1000 tablet that lasts 2 years.
It is fairly easy to create conditions where an unexpected fatality can occur:
The innards of laptop running on batteries can deliver a fatal shock in a number of ways.
Proper training is a must, even for low-voltage work. It doesn't much of a mistake to achieve conduction across the heart. It only takes a few milliamps of flow to start cardiac-arrest. You only get to make that mistake ONCE if no one is there to attempt to revive you.
Don't mess around with the innards of any electronic gear unless you know the fundamental safety rules, have a good grasp of Ohm's Law and how it applies to the electrical aspects of the Human-Body-Model!
You're under the misapprehension that these machines are designed for the benefit of their users : they're not ; they're designed to make profit for their manufacturer.
It is possible to make high-quality, repairable hardware. but that generally costs more. M$ have clearly indicated that they see the Surface Pro as a disposable low-quality product, pricing and designing it accordingly. Nothing wrong with that - but don't be under any illusion about what they've done.
Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"