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You Can't Open the Microsoft Surface Laptop Without Literally Destroying It (vice.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the pain-in-the-ass dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: 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."

7 of 313 comments (clear)

  1. user repairability by turkeydance · · Score: 4, Funny

    is that a "thing"?

    1. Re:user repairability by tomxor · · Score: 5, Funny

      get off my lawn...

    2. Re:user repairability by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 4, Funny

      We ended up with machines with connectors on inexpensive and easily-replaced daughterboards, with modular storage, and with inexpensive replacement plastic housings. I

      And the best thing is, it's only 4 inches thick, and 16 inches wide for a 13 inch version!

      Surprised you could find any laptop with such antediluvian packaging. Do you realize just how much extra labor those are to build, and how much less of a computer you get, because it still have to be reasonably-priced with an assembly cost of $20 per unit?

      Does it have a 486 in it, too?

    3. Re:user repairability by Obfuscant · · Score: 2, Funny

      I just repaired my daughters, ...

      So you fixed them yourself instead of paying a doctor. Good on 'ya.

    4. Re:user repairability by SeaFox · · Score: 4, Funny

      I just repaired my daughters, ...

      So you fixed them yourself instead of paying a doctor. Good on 'ya.

      Hey, he's the original manufacturer...

  2. Re:Bad headline by whoever57 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Headless computing is all the rage these days... get with the times, mate!

    I tried that, but I am having trouble doing anything without my head.

    --
    The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
  3. Re:Not always a bad thing by PopeRatzo · · Score: 3, Funny

    Physical security of the device may be a blessing - leaving it in a hotel room in a politically hostile place would not enable direct access to storage components as on a conventional portable system.

    Is there anyplace left that's not "politically hostile"?

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.