Cracking Open - The Microsoft Surface Pro

cnet.co/13n9hRr
Bill Detwiler cracks open the Microsoft Surface Pro and finds a laptop-like tablet that's extremely difficult to service and repair.

[@Schnapsbrennor]

I'm typing this on the Pro that I got about when you uploaded this and I still prefer it over everything else I used since then. Only the battery connector is driving me crazy. thanks for your video. i might need it, cause my battery starts to fall apart, after over 7 years.

[@adebolaosibo3812]

Thank you for this post. The information is still relevant and useful. I had a Surface pro that was still working but the battery swelled up and was no longer holding a charge. I had to connect the charger to use it. Microsoft service center said that they no longer repair that model so I bought a replacement battery on ebay and used the instructions above to replace the battery. Although the above instructions were not complete, I learned a few things along the way and successfully replaced the battery. My Microsoft Surface pro has a new lease of life. I've got windows 10 on it and a 512gb flash drive in addition to the 64gb rom, so it will serve me for a few more years. Regards.

[@gusdog1985]

I have one of these and found this helpful. I'm on it now. What is not mentioned is that even the upscale keyboard is deficient and often comes detatched!

[@jaigaines]

This was the best most succinct technology dyi I have ever seen... I love to work for you jaibgaines

[@nclauser42]

The green screen effects are fantastic

[@ashleylyn5898]

i wanted to see how you put it back together and got the seal like new again

[@alfredcarew1868]

Wow!! Thank you so much professor now my dilemma of opening my surface pro is solved.

[@kaseyflemingart]

would the system still boot with the screen removed and using only the mini display adapter? I would like to make sure everything is working before gluing the screen back on....

[@jaredzaitz]

im nearly positive that this cooling assembly would work better than the one in my mac book pro

[@csx16v]

Oh people give me a break, this is easier to service than an iPad and yes I've repaired screens on both. I bought a broken 64gb Surface Pro off Ebay replaced the screen and SSD. I knew nothing about repairing it other than reading all the biased reviews saying how impossible it is, even ifixit says how bad it is. Since I don't believe everything I read I tried anyway and successfully repaired it using the guide on ifixit and installed a 480GB M500 Crucial msata. Don't believe everything you read, it's not easy I will say that but it's not as bad as everyone is making it out to be.

[@Mr2pint]

MS wont sell components to repair this unit yourself so how did you get the parts?

[@csx16v]

You do realize Microsoft doesn't make this tablet, right? It's made by Asus I believe. Check Ebay, more expensive now but they are on there.

[@carlos3salas]

Hey do you know if it's possible to add or upgrade ram. I'm trying to get 16gb of ram in there.

[@Mr2pint]

carlos3salas LOL.

[@1996theawesome1]

What did you do to reattach the display?

[@callmemarc]

I like this guy for the simple fact that he doesn't find it necessary to mention Apple in every single video, differentiating himself from all other CNET employees.

[@John_Mack]

It’s 2019 and my 2013 Surface Pro 2 is still working fine and as such I have no need to get inside it....

[@kim8833]

What temperature setting are you using with your heat gun? Thanks

[@xplorematatu213]

what temp ?

[@csx16v]

In replying to the other comment, the digitizer is not soldered to the motherboard, I've done it so I know, not sure where you're getting your information, go to ifixit and do a little research. I attached the screen & digitizer back to the surface using the 3m double sided tape for digitizers, you can get it off of eBay. It's a universal tape, I got the wider tape and I've had no issues with the screen coming off.

[@CariHere]

I have a surface pro 2017 with an i5, I would very much like a dual fan cooling system please!

[@MvP4eVa1]

While u at it can you replace the ssd for a larger capacity ssd?

[@abdullah79195]

FYI It already did. It was posted yesterday

[@llrxzllslash32]

Can someone tell me what is the correct model of the SSD for my Surface pro 1?. thanks for your support.

[@seraph8672]

Not directly. People report trouble with getting the device to recognize larger SSD's. a solution has been floating around where you would make a byte copy (image) of the original SSD and dump it to the larger SSD. Align the image to 0, and then expand the partition to fill the new larger SSD.

[@ThePhatWabbit]

is it possible to change the battery?

[@txmoney]

Surface Pro is an amazing achievement in design, power, and portability. It essentially created a category of its own...a full powered pc in a tablet form factor. The keyboards are also quite an achievement in design and functionality. And lastly, Windows8 finally makes sense using a touch screen tablet. I own an ipad3, galaxy note 10.1, and this Surface. The Surface is what I always wanted in a tablet. Can't wait for version 2 with the intel Haswell chip.

[@livelongandprosper70]

i use the surface pro 1 as my pain pc.. have done for 4 years straight.. no issues except the heavy weight .. and the power connector is pretty stupid...but i can see what they have attempted to do.. would be better if it was easier to locate into its recces.. all in all a brilliant bit of kit !

[@jimjon2855]

still rocking my surface pro 1 (luckyly i have a rare 256gb model), just bought the docking station so i dopn't have to deal with plugging everything on my desk. As you said, amazing as a main pc!!

[@brandonsoco8628]

hola

[@ashutoshjha9147]

I am from future and i can assure you even in 2021 Microsoft still makes devices that are equipped with 64gb of internal storage.

[@sentritiumnetwork7298]

What you were using that heatgun for, Ifix it developed a tool to do it much more safely. Bought it to repair my surface pro.....

[@SkynetCyb]

That video was made 3 years ago, before ifixit made that tool. Besides, some people prefer heat guns rather than their overpriced tool

[@rangerst_870]

The question I have is about the hard drive. Is it a SATA SSD or an NVMe SSD, and what size is it (length, not capacity)... Cause if I am going to go through the hassles and headaches involved in disassembling this, I will both be upgrading the thermal compound AND putting a MUCH larger drive in it if I can find one.

[@googleamazon4380]

unfortunately it's a sata ssd,its about the size of a laptop network pci-e card

[@skifree0]

Lots of other companies have built sturdy tablets without that many screws.

[@henrietta70]

Does anyone know if the battery for Pro4 is the same as for Pro1? The only battery I can find today (2022) is for Pro4. It looks the same though.

[@Pliva91]

Hello, I would like to ask if there is any difference between digitizer for Microsoft Surface RT 1 and Surface PRO 1. They can be exchanged? Thank you. Plíva

[@billys9122]

Petr Pliva A bit late, but the surface pro model's screen has digitizer support. Which means it can use a stylus on the screen with pressure sensitivity and palm rejection etc.. I assume that the screens would not be compatible due to the surface RT not supplying the same capabilities screen wise.

[@DominicLondon]

He's not a normal reviewer, he tests how easy it is to open and fix products.

[@soggywasabi]

Full windows 8, an entire recovery partition, and a trial system of Microsoft office.

[@ralfputz6076]

Hi, I have a surface pro 2 where the power button doesn't work. Once the screen is off is the power button easy to replace or fix?

[@wellread231]

Have one about five years old , it quit and will not boot. Does it have a hard drive.? you said two fans, then it has solid drive? What happened?

[@Josh-do5cl]

URGENT. hi what type of battery is it??

[@skifree0]

you would need to get the low profile msata ssds.

[@CODomingo]

I am fascinated of what it's inside looks like, but I wouldn't risk breaking the device that's worth $1000+

[@jonsmith7667]

you are mixing up the terms, it costs $1000+ but its worth $100ish, I found the surface to be the worst computer I have ever owned :)

[@overlordnicksclips]

i dont see why not (128 is probably as big as they get in that size though) but i don't see why anyone would go though all this for any reason, plus afterwards you have to glue the screen back on

[@kelvinodoko8928]

hii i have a problem with my surface pro 3 tablet, its not coming on but its charging. please how can i change the processor...

[@thorandlundeve]

yes you're the only

[@AnnieTsukino]

I’ve had mine for 8 years and the battery life is horrible now, so I wanted to replace it. After watching how complicated it looks I think I might just with that until it doesn’t function anymore…

[@donbarac2553]

What's the price of a replaced sad 128gb

[@YahiaAli]

its hard to change fans

[@jabbaweezy]

My dumb surface pro developed issue where it would self delete it's own drivers. I always had to wipe the system clean but the issue kept happening till one fateful evening where it deleted it's own recharging drivers so it went dead completely, not able to charge.

[@SparioVailen]

I have a question, can I take out the CPU, I have a computer and would like to upgrade it to an i5. I have an old out of use Surface Pro.

[@dada236]

+Spario no

[@BeyondEllisBeck]

+dada236 you can't replace the CPU? can't you heat gun it off? or does it use pins?

[@Rykono99]

You would need a BGA Rework station to removed the soldered on CPU. And even if you do replace the CPU they may have a "handshake" between the bios and the cpu to prevent being used with another CPU

[@ashbydav]

screw that ..

[@dileepsing8448]

seksĺ

[@bgbong0]

Am I the only who is MORE interested because it's a challenge to open and modify?

[@REMINISC3NT116]

cracked the screen trying to open... why did they make like this?

[@livelongandprosper70]

so you have to buy another ..

[@uski59]

Ouch,...hope I never need to service mine,....thats scary, what ever happened to the clip or screw....so far only issue I'm encountering is very poor battery life.

[@katamishi]

Paint sprayed from the other side.

[@aanhendroanto]

Is the ram can be upgraded?

[@MR-is2ns]

What kind of SSD has this surface??? M2?

[@joshpls]

When is season 3 of Always On going to start

[@katamishi]

Or a tablet for that matter.

[@asianflex]

i have to do that to replace thermal paste and upgrade ssd... like modern surfaces... just y microsoft i thought when i heard remove kickstand it wouldnt need heat and deadhearing

[@maxlol0]

i think that the ssd is a msata one. just buy a bigger one and clone the old drive to the new one. the only problem is to crack open it

[@katamishi]

Or glue.

[@TheMonkeyFarted]

If you only get 23gb out of the 64gb model then what kinda stuff do they have on that? What operating system really takes that much space?

[@funkyfresh1013]

Windows, lol

[@hundio88]

That's weak! So I cant upgrade the hdd & the ram?? No point in getting now... :/

[@Itsdakronic]

Who would disassemble that thing?

[@NewazAzizRahman]

I would love to do that but i am afraid i will break something

[@JAlexCarney]

I was hoping to separate the Back-light from the LCD monitor. Why must Microsoft make it so hard to tinker with. X/

[@drtofuu]

8 million screws and a glued screen... What a nightmare to repair. I haven't bought it yet and I already want to put in the trash.

[@Walrondrm]

I was wondering why when I picked up this tablet it felt so well built. The screen doesn't seem like it needs to be pushed back into place (Samsung Series 7 tablet). Nor does the corners dent when bumped up against something (Asus EP 121). I'd pick well built/hard to repair over poorly built/easy to repair any day.

[@TheMonkeyFarted]

Well it still should not take up that much space.

[@DJTEVAdotCOM]

when is the price gonna get down. i would not risk taking this to a place like the gym. the atom based version would be better. seriouslt the atom version is powerful enoug for everyday productivity. How often an average consumer gonna use the Core i potentials?

[@KelvinSmoke]

I want a Tablet that can play Battlefield 3 and have HDMI out to use on tvs and projectors. So i can have a tablet for notes and standing on a floor pitches, can do all my MS Office needs, and mobile gaming AND hook up to a tv or projector for serious off time gaming in one $800 unit

[@mahuubao]

exellent

[@Drew700boo]

Good luck with that....

[@Boliccov]

Suface pro 7 -> Disk -> kbg40zpz256g toshiba -> Toshiba BG4 NVMe SSD

[@cring0101]

Un-reasonable small size of the HD disk (64GB, 128GB SSD) and 4gb system ram make Surface pro become an almost “ unless “ device in many real application expect from general office application , web browsing, video watching, playing some game... etc.

[@jimjon2855]

which is what almost everyone use their pc for. Still rocking my SP1 since early 2014. It's my main PC, the second one being an 8th gen intel + gtx 1070

[@drtofuu]

And I want a small dog size T-Rex as a pet.

[@katamishi]

better said MS screws...

[@katamishi]

Not much to see though.

[@MrMushroomish]

Maybe microsoft could have spared an few hundred screws and given the surface pro at least +1 hour battery more...

[@katamishi]

That is why he receives less.

[@pegasus8780]

Help drivers wifi surface pro 3 please

[@1996kerry]

Why get that when u can get the Asus infinity prime so much better...

[@simranchhabra6199]

Bro seriously do you want it or do you want to destroy it....it dosnt matter how they build it what matters is what it can do....and it can do every thing

[@blueguy09]

I judge this video on how i like the ads

[@XGOPARADOX]

I STRONGLY recommend getting the SMALLER Surface, and cracking it open to put a 512 GB SSD into it

[@grahamrothphotography]

ipad seems less confusing

[@katamishi]

That was their point, no one sane.

[@user-bz9rq6lh3p]

так говорит будто смартфоны samsung A и S серии разбираются вообще проще простого, surface разбирается как любой другой гаджет со вклеенным модулем

[@mikejohnson599]

I can only leave my surface in sleep otherwise it takes days to wake up using all kinds of painful procedures

[@livelongandprosper70]

i would reset / reformat

[@cring0101]

In real “ productive ” practice, 256GB ssd & 8GB ram is the entry ticket. To a causal office application user, it is a nice machine. But, “Surface pro” definitively is not a “pro” device as it's named.

[@thorandlundeve]

no toys should confusing any kids

[@abdullah79195]

Obviously, its a green screen

[@marioman1157]

Except 512GB mSATA SSDs don't exist...

[@iShotz2496]

Bad green screen is bad.

[@alexbosorogan7501]

Too expensive for what it provides. Sorry but after I did had it i never went back to buy the next gen. Totally a bs, for me at least.

[@dvnd3e]

sadge. windows 8 wasn't good. only if windows 8.1 was the product they had released first

[@MiTheMer]

Lol, what tablet is "pro" tthen? Of course you cannot compare it to a workstation, but that'd be stupid. It's also not desigend for envireonments where rugged devices are meant for.

[@GermanOrtega]

u can just build your own computer more powerful with that money

[@bronzegoblet3117]

dirty motherboard compare to mac

[@livelongandprosper70]

lol. mac... no thanks

[@bnptnad]

lol LG Batteries.

[@katamishi]

Heat gun, no disassembly for 99% of people.

[@livelongandprosper70]

the Pro is great.. but the RT is beyond shit !

[@Ihavetruth22]

Thats WHY you shouldn't buy microsoft. Servicing is necessary. Hiding screws is stupid.

[@livelongandprosper70]

been using an old pro 1 for about 5 years DAILY never failed me.. so is servicing THAT necessary ?

[@tchclip]

You should delete this video, cause we don't need to use the heat gun.

[@thorandlundeve]

just upload your own truth hiding video

[@chrisc6494]

don t buy microsoft...