Cracked screen situation

[sundawg#WP]

We got the Surface 2 from Best Buy on launch day (used the $200 trade-in promo from Best Buy). It was a great upgrade and worth the money for us.

Day 16 my wife drops it on the corner on the tile floor. Spider-webbed the glass and it now constantly thinks you are touching the screen - so it is completely unusable. Here's the problem. The is no way to fix these right now. The MS Store said, without the extended warranty, they can't help me. Only offer from them was to use their trade-in program and get what value I could out of it.

I called a place that does screen replacements for the Surface RT and they said to wait another 30 days as the part availability is slim and really expensive right now. And of course when I use this route, my existing warranty will be voided as well.

I will wait for the 3rd party shop to get the screen replacements in at a reasonable price. But I must say, I find the fact that the MS Store won't offer a way to fix one of their devices that is not covered by their warranty to be BS. I'm not asking for them to do it for free. Just service the device.

(btw, had a very similar situation with them when the volume buttons stopped working on our old Surface RT - no way to have it fixed)

Pretty soured by this. This is just a warning to others buying their devices without shelling out the extra money for the warranty. Am I the only one not buying warranties?

 

[berty6294]

Its not an easily repairable device, the repair costs probably ring up more than a replacement. Also, shattered screen voids your warranty anyway, so getting it repaired isn't a big deal. I always buy the warranty.

 

[techiez]

We got the Surface 2 from Best Buy on launch day (used the $200 trade-in promo from Best Buy). It was a great upgrade and worth the money for us.

Day 16 my wife drops it on the corner on the tile floor. Spider-webbed the glass and it now constantly thinks you are touching the screen - so it is completely unusable. Here's the problem. The is no way to fix these right now. The MS Store said, without the extended warranty, they can't help me. Only offer from them was to use their trade-in program and get what value I could out of it.

I called a place that does screen replacements for the Surface RT and they said to wait another 30 days as the part availability is slim and really expensive right now. And of course when I use this route, my existing warranty will be voided as well.

I will wait for the 3rd party shop to get the screen replacements in at a reasonable price. But I must say, I find the fact that the MS Store won't offer a way to fix one of their devices that is not covered by their warranty to be BS. I'm not asking for them to do it for free. Just service the device.

(btw, had a very similar situation with them when the volume buttons stopped working on our old Surface RT - no way to have it fixed)

Pretty soured by this. This is just a warning to others buying their devices without shelling out the extra money for the warranty. Am I the only one not buying warranties?

If they say they cant at all replace that really is BS, and by law it is anti consumer, I think there must be some consumer protection agency in your country where you can complain.

 

[berty6294]

If they say they cant at all replace that really is BS, and by law it is anti consumer, I think there must be some consumer protection agency in your country where you can complain.

That's dumb. No company is required to fix their products if a consumer breaks the product from handling, hell the majority of them don't even offer it! Most times you need to go to a third party.

 

[gsquared]

"btw, had a very similar situation with them when the volume buttons stopped working on our old Surface RT - no way to have it fixed"

Being you already knew how MSFT operated why didn't you get the extended warranty? You wouldn't be here crying the blues right now would ya?

 

[sundawg#WP]

Its not an easily repairable device, the repair costs probably ring up more than a replacement. Also, shattered screen voids your warranty anyway, so getting it repaired isn't a big deal. I always buy the warranty.

The 3rd party place is $199 USD for the Surface RT. Hoping it is not more than $250 for the Surface 2. My point about MS services is that if I could let them do the work and they'd let me keep original warranty, that would be good business. I'd probably choose them over a third party, even if they were a little more expensive.

My philosophy with buying extended warranties is that I'm way ahead money-wise for never buying them. If I have to shell out some cash here and there to get things fixed out of warranty, no big deal. But this is the first time I ran into something the manufacturer would not at least let me pay them to fix. If you bought a car and the steering wheel broke out of warranty, wouldn't it suck if you went to the dealer and they said sorry. "You didn't buy the extended warranty. Drive safe."

 

[11B1P]

Does MS understand you are willing to pay for the repair? Maybe they think you are trying to get it repaired for free.

 

[sundawg#WP]

"btw, had a very similar situation with them when the volume buttons stopped working on our old Surface RT - no way to have it fixed"

Being you already knew how MSFT operated why didn't you get the extended warranty? You wouldn't be here crying the blues right now would ya?

Right...thus warning others. Although with the volume rocker, I voided the warranty already by opening it up. Wasn't sure if that was part of their reluctance to help me.

 

[sundawg#WP]

Does MS understand you are willing to pay for the repair? Maybe they think you are trying to get it repaired for free.

Yes, I made sure of that. That is why they offered the trade-in option when I asked if my best option was to just throw the thing in the trash and buy a new one.

 

[palandri]

The 3rd party place is $199 USD for the Surface RT. Hoping it is not more than $250 for the Surface 2. My point about MS services is that if I could let them do the work and they'd let me keep original warranty, that would be good business. I'd probably choose them over a third party, even if they were a little more expensive....

What you're saying makes a lot of sense from a customer service standpoint. Then again, I think I understand Microsoft's standpoint, they obviously don't want to get involved with the baggage that comes with a service center, so they offer a no fault insurance policy. Thanks for posting this! It will make people aware of the situation.

 

[gwinegarden]

Did you pay with a credit card? Some credit cards offer damage protection for a period of time. My Amex is 90 days.

 

[music_chick28]

We got the Surface 2 from Best Buy on launch day (used the $200 trade-in promo from Best Buy). It was a great upgrade and worth the money for us.

Day 16 my wife drops it on the corner on the tile floor. Spider-webbed the glass and it now constantly thinks you are touching the screen - so it is completely unusable. Here's the problem. The is no way to fix these right now. The MS Store said, without the extended warranty, they can't help me. Only offer from them was to use their trade-in program and get what value I could out of it.

I called a place that does screen replacements for the Surface RT and they said to wait another 30 days as the part availability is slim and really expensive right now. And of course when I use this route, my existing warranty will be voided as well.

I will wait for the 3rd party shop to get the screen replacements in at a reasonable price. But I must say, I find the fact that the MS Store won't offer a way to fix one of their devices that is not covered by their warranty to be BS. I'm not asking for them to do it for free. Just service the device.

(btw, had a very similar situation with them when the volume buttons stopped working on our old Surface RT - no way to have it fixed)

Pretty soured by this. This is just a warning to others buying their devices without shelling out the extra money for the warranty. Am I the only one not buying warranties?

Where did you get your screen fixed I need to get mine done.