Despite paying top dollar, customers are finding Surface devices to be among the least reliable. Consumer Reports says Microsoft’s hardware brand is much worse in terms of breakage compared to other leading manufacturers. The non-profit publication conducted a survey across 90,000 tablet and laptop owners. The results show an estimated 25 per cent with Surface products say they have “problems by the end of the second year of ownership.” In the study, published Thursday, the results suggest Surface devices are unreliable. “If you are very concerned about how long your products are going to last, it might be better for you to go with a brand that has a higher predicted reliability,” Jerry Beilinson, electronics editor at the consumer goods testing publication, says. Microsoft has responded quickly to the study and has started putting fires out. With negative press sure to follow, the company has outright disputed the validity of the study and its results: “We don’t believe these findings accurately reflect Surface owners’ true experiences or capture the performance and reliability improvements made with every Surface generation,” the company said in a statement.
Common Problems
For the premium customers pay, it seems a minimum to expect a device to function beyond two years. Surface products are mostly futureproofed in terms of tech, but problems arise from elsewhere. Customers report freezing is common and a device randomly shutting down. Others point to problems with touchscreens.
