3 ms·

This is exactly what's holding me back from buying Surface devices. I rather stick to Thinkpads and Macs that I can replace/fix easily and which have great buil

by hauget 11y ago

This is exactly what's holding me back from buying Surface devices. I rather stick to Thinkpads and Macs that I can replace/fix easily and which have great build quality/durability and available parts.

pmelendez 11y ago
> Macs that I can replace/fix easily How come? MacBooks were the first laptops in becaming fix unfriendly and every vendor is actually following that lead.
- rayiner 11y ago
  A good example is battery replacement. Yes, MBP batteries are glued in, but Apple has an official service that will replace it and the top case for not much more than it costs to buy say a Lenovo battery at retail. Also, eBay has a big supply of Mac parts that make replacing things pretty easy once you recognize that you gotta replace larger functional units together (e.g. LCD with cover glass). The Surface is just as hard to repair, but without the official service options and fewer parts on eBay.
  - pmelendez 11y ago
    Microsoft has different levels of support as well as Apple and you can find parts on Ebay easily too. I honestly don't see how Macbooks are any easier to repair than any other ultrabook really.
    - hauget 11y ago
      I wasn't talking about all Macbooks. Anything older than a Retina is pretty upgradeable and fixable.
    - rayiner 11y ago
      If I type in "Macbook Pro battery replacement" the first hit is an Apple website that informs me of the official service to replace my battery for $129-199. When I type in "Surface Pro battery replacement" I get a link to an iFixit page that informs me I have to undo the adhesive on the screen with a blow dryer to get at anything inside. Even an iPad is easier to open!
    - Tloewald 11y ago
      Step 1 to getting Mac fixed. Take it to Apple Genius who may well just fix it for free (definitely if it's under warranty and quite often if it isn't) or tell you exactly what's wrong and how to fix it yourself or where to get it fixed cheaply. Assuming your problem isn't already solved, then Apple products are no easier than rival brands aside from being better built in the first place, having standardized parts, a simple range of models, and an active third party market. I'm sure Microsoft has different levels of support, but I suspect everyone you're talking to is referring to Apple's standard warranty coverage. I'd rather have an Apple product with standard coverage than anyone else's product with "gold" or "platinum" or whatever they call it support. (From my experience of high-end corporate support the only benefit I found was that when I told the support person "assume I tried all that crap" (rebooting, reinstalling Windows, rebooting anything else on the network, etc.) he actually went off script and got to the useful stuff.
      - hauget 11y ago
        I've had nothing but great experiences with Lenovo, Apple and Dell's customer support. As others have mentioned, there is also a fantastic third party ecosystem for parts and services. I can not say the same for other companies and would welcome others experiences with them.
      - ewoodrich 11y ago
        The tip of my Pen on my Surface Pro 3 broke (I wasn't even sure when, or how, it could have been entirely my fault). I walked into a Microsoft Store and showed them the problem. They weren't able to remove and replace the tip itself, so a few minutes later the CSR went to the back and brought me a new pen, and mentioned that it wouldn't appear as warranty service so I would be free to replace it down the road if necessary through "normal" repair channels. This was without any additional warranty coverage. I can't speak for other Microsoft products, but they seem to go out of their way to support the Surface to provide a similar, if not superior, repair/replacement experience as Apple (I previously owned a MBP and had its screen repaired for free as well at an Apple Store).
        ximeng 11y ago

by hauget 11y ago

pmelendez 11y ago

> Macs that I can replace/fix easily How come? MacBooks were the first laptops in becaming fix unfriendly and every vendor is actually following that lead.

rayiner 11y ago
A good example is battery replacement. Yes, MBP batteries are glued in, but Apple has an official service that will replace it and the top case for not much more than it costs to buy say a Lenovo battery at retail. Also, eBay has a big supply of Mac parts that make replacing things pretty easy once you recognize that you gotta replace larger functional units together (e.g. LCD with cover glass). The Surface is just as hard to repair, but without the official service options and fewer parts on eBay.
- pmelendez 11y ago
  Microsoft has different levels of support as well as Apple and you can find parts on Ebay easily too. I honestly don't see how Macbooks are any easier to repair than any other ultrabook really.
  - hauget 11y ago
    I wasn't talking about all Macbooks. Anything older than a Retina is pretty upgradeable and fixable.
  - rayiner 11y ago
    If I type in "Macbook Pro battery replacement" the first hit is an Apple website that informs me of the official service to replace my battery for $129-199. When I type in "Surface Pro battery replacement" I get a link to an iFixit page that informs me I have to undo the adhesive on the screen with a blow dryer to get at anything inside. Even an iPad is easier to open!
  - Tloewald 11y ago
    Step 1 to getting Mac fixed. Take it to Apple Genius who may well just fix it for free (definitely if it's under warranty and quite often if it isn't) or tell you exactly what's wrong and how to fix it yourself or where to get it fixed cheaply. Assuming your problem isn't already solved, then Apple products are no easier than rival brands aside from being better built in the first place, having standardized parts, a simple range of models, and an active third party market. I'm sure Microsoft has different levels of support, but I suspect everyone you're talking to is referring to Apple's standard warranty coverage. I'd rather have an Apple product with standard coverage than anyone else's product with "gold" or "platinum" or whatever they call it support. (From my experience of high-end corporate support the only benefit I found was that when I told the support person "assume I tried all that crap" (rebooting, reinstalling Windows, rebooting anything else on the network, etc.) he actually went off script and got to the useful stuff.
    - hauget 11y ago
      I've had nothing but great experiences with Lenovo, Apple and Dell's customer support. As others have mentioned, there is also a fantastic third party ecosystem for parts and services. I can not say the same for other companies and would welcome others experiences with them.
    - ewoodrich 11y ago
      The tip of my Pen on my Surface Pro 3 broke (I wasn't even sure when, or how, it could have been entirely my fault). I walked into a Microsoft Store and showed them the problem. They weren't able to remove and replace the tip itself, so a few minutes later the CSR went to the back and brought me a new pen, and mentioned that it wouldn't appear as warranty service so I would be free to replace it down the road if necessary through "normal" repair channels. This was without any additional warranty coverage. I can't speak for other Microsoft products, but they seem to go out of their way to support the Surface to provide a similar, if not superior, repair/replacement experience as Apple (I previously owned a MBP and had its screen repaired for free as well at an Apple Store).
      - ximeng 11y ago