Microsoft Surface exposes its guts to iFixit, knows if you've been meddling with it

Now that the Microsoft Surface is in the wild and we've probed it from the outside, the tool-toters at iFixit have opened it up to see what makes it tick -- and whether you dare attempt a repair yourself. The first thing they noticed was how tricky it was to remove the plastic camera cover to access the Torx screws holding it together. When they finally got it off, it also caused unavoidable damage to the tamper-evident label, tipping Microsoft's repair depots that you've been rummaging about, and likely rendering your warranty moot. Other black marks included the LCD and glass being fused together, increasing repair costs, along with a keyboard connector that's impossible to get out without pulling the display off first. On the plus side, the iFixit team found the battery easy to remove despite being glued to the case, and many un-soldered components that were also easy to replace. All that added up to a score of four on the repairability scale -- meaning that fixing one probably isn't a great DIY project, especially if you're the impatient type.

Filed under: Tablets, Microsoft

Microsoft Surface exposes its guts to iFixit, knows if you've been meddling with it originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Oct 2012 08:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.