Consumer Reports Pulls Microsoft Laptop Recommendation (go.com)

The breakage rate for Microsoft's Surface devices is significantly worse than for other manufacturers' laptops and tablets, Consumer Reports said, adding that it was removing its "recommended" designation for Surface products. From a report: The consumer advocacy group said Thursday that it can no longer recommend Microsoft laptops or tablets because of poor reliability compared to other brands. Microsoft said the findings don't accurately reflect Surface owners' "true experiences." The consumer group says Microsoft machines have performed well in laboratory testing. But a subscriber survey found start-up and freezing problems. The devices losing their "recommended" status are the Surface Laptop (128GB and 256GB versions) and Surface Book (128GB and 512GB versions).

Comments

Well if the NFL can't stand them why should we?

[Noishkel]

One of the first reports I remember reading about the Surface was just how much the NFL hates them. There is many videos of team members loosing their cool and hurling the things across the field.

But hey, let's all be honest. Microsoft's hardware has NEVER been good. Be it laptops, tablets, or media players. This is just one more example of this trend.

Re:Well if the NFL can't stand them why should we?

[ohnocitizen]

Their ergonomic keyboard was amazing, back when they still made it.

I agree

[Opportunist]

It does not adequately reflect owners' experience and is by no means what the owners of the devices would say. But CR refused to include expletives and obscenities in its report.

Cannot be repaired so I will never own one.

[dizzy8578]

https://www.theverge.com/2017/...

Re:Cannot be repaired so I will never own one.

[Khashishi]

And that's a big problem. Repairability and recycleability are related. If you can't take it apart, you can't recycle it. Sure, for now, we can always just throw it in a landfill and mine more minerals for new ones, but how long is that going to last?

They should include the Surface Pro 3

[garryknight]

They have been ignoring Surface Owners' "true experiences" for something like two years now. The Surface Pro 3 came with two different battery types. After a firmware update in September 2015 (I think it was) one type of battery simply stopped working for a large number of owners. Many posts were made on the Microsoft forums about it and some of the MSVPs tried in vain to help. Then posts started being deleted from the forum. The only thing I remember a MS spokesman saying was that it wasn't due to the firmware update. Just a coincidence, apparently. A 'fix' was issued at some point but most of those people affected said it didn't work for them.

Last year sometime my typecover (the soft keyboard) simply stopped working for no reason. I turned the machine on with the typecover attached and it would no longer respond to anything I did with the keyboard. It wouldn't even light up. I posted about it on the MS forum and was advised to try several 'fixes' that I'd already tried and which hadn't worked. Then others started posting about non-working typecovers, too, and I discovered some that failed before mine did. My typecover is now the most expensive screen protector I've ever owned. And I now have to lug around a mini Bluetooth keyboard as well.

I still think the tablet part is one of the best 'laptops' around (but only with the BT keyboard) but I wouldn't ever buy another Surface Pro.

Surface 4 pro great for reading comics but ...

[mikeabbott420]

But that's all I use it for because the battery life is terrible, especially if any networking is turned on. I use an ancient 'New iPad' for trivial browsing and watching video in bed. That thing can make a charge last.

When I bought the surface I had visions of using it for note taking in meetings and a variety of other things but the battery issue makes it more trouble than it's worth.