An Observation

etphoto

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I read these threads and see where certain people get and then return a Surface (or other devices) 3, 4 and sometimes 5 times for the same issue. It leaves me scratching my head. I mean, I believe the GREAT majority of people get Surfaces (or other devices) that work without issue (or small issues that are eventually corrected with an update). What are the odds that a small number of people are getting bad devices; with the same issues as the one they just exchanged had? What are the odds they are picking up bad devices, no matter how many times they exchange it, while most everyone else is getting a good device the first time? These people shouldn't be buying lottery tickets, that's for sure.

I kind of wonder if these certain posters are either doing something in the unboxing and setting up process that causes the problem to surface or possibly fanboys of another OS trying to create a false panic that the Surface (or other devices) is a bad product. I'm sure there are those unlucky buyers out there, but, I just wonder. I didn't come up with this question because of the recent posts with the Surface. I actually started thinking about this a couple years ago when the Palm Pre was released. Some how, I got a perfect device but certain people returned a large number of Pres. No matter how hard they tried they couldn't get a working Pre.

This post isn't directed to any particular poster having problems with their Surface. Its just a general observation I had I wanted to express.
 
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gsquared

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"or possibly fanboys of another OS trying to create a false panic that the Surface (or other devices) is a bad product."

Ding, Ding, Ding! We have a winner folks...
 

leo74

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I had this thought too... I also had the Pre and never had an issue with it while many folks complained constantly about it. I also read about people returning their Lumia phones several times.. again, not a problem since day one with my 920.
I think a certain amount of posts might be trolling and nothing else. Some might be based on wrong expectations ( I will get the surface pro2 in January and I already know that the stylus has some issues in the upper corners, so it will not be a reason to exchange the tablet) and some might really just have bad luck. I scan the forums here quite intensely before I buy a new product, and I came across a few people who seemed to have returned pretty much every MS device they ever got. That looks a lot like trolling.

But we also need to keep in mind that people on this site are mostly geeks (I for sure am one) who get into every single detail on their devices and if you do that, you end up finding things that might annoy you, while the vast majority of people doesn't care about it.
 

GreatCanadian

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.........people on this site are mostly geeks (I for sure am one) who get into every single detail on their devices and if you do that, you end up finding things that might annoy you, while the vast majority of people doesn't care about it.

Or CAUSING things that may annoy you. I myself am guilty of this.
 

Kevin OQuinn

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There's also the possibility (although remote) that they are the victim of a bad batch of devices. It happens.

I'm not sure that I've ever received one of these "bad units" for any device that I've ever owned, except maybe the Pre. The Pre was unique, though. :p I've owned a LOT of devices over the years, too.

Sent from my K00C using Tapatalk 4
 

christenmartin

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I to have come to conclusion that this is simply marketing applied inversely. Every time a new product is coming out a bunch of this sucks and that's inferior or Im tired of bleepidy bleep bleep start show up.
 

Laura Knotek

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Maybe it's just me, but I don't keep exchanging devices over and over again. I've only had one defective device (Nokia E71). It had battery issues and completely died after 3 hours of almost no use. I tried one replacement, which did the same thing. I wasn't going to try anymore after that and switched to a BlackBerry 9000. I'll take one replacement, but if it's defective too, I won't try the same device again; I'll get something different.
 

WillysJeepMan

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"or possibly fanboys of another OS trying to create a false panic that the Surface (or other devices) is a bad product."

Ding, Ding, Ding! We have a winner folks...
Bzzzt. Wrong answer, thanks for playing. Visit any apple forum and you'll find many, many people who have exchanged their new ipad quite a few times. I know of 2 people who have done so over 10 times to get a defect-free device.

this paranoia is not helpful. There are legitimate quality issues with the hardware of the Surface 2. The Surface RT doesn't appear to suffer from those things. Let's try to be a community that helps others out rather than call people's integrity into question when they say things that we don't want to hear.
 

ShaneRay

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I'd say it's a "little bit of everything" mentioned in this thread. You'll have trolls, those with legitimate issues, and everything in between. It's just the way It is. :)

But, I do believe there are QC issues with the Surface. My first device, while solid from a software point of view, looked like it was put together by a two year old (well, not quite that bad...but it wasn't a "premium" looking device). My second, and current device is better, and acceptable, but still not perfect. I'll be keeping this one, though. As I said in another thread, if the imperfections I do see get worse over time, I do have the warranty.

Anyway.... :)
 

jMawl

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I'd say it's a "little bit of everything" mentioned in this thread. You'll have trolls, those with legitimate issues, and everything in between. It's just the way It is. :)

But, I do believe there are QC issues with the Surface. My first device, while solid from a software point of view, looked like it was put together by a two year old (well, not quite that bad...but it wasn't a "premium" looking device). My second, and current device is better, and acceptable, but still not perfect. I'll be keeping this one, though. As I said in another thread, if the imperfections I do see get worse over time, I do have the warranty.

Anyway.... :)
I'm in a similar boat as you, although I haven't returned my original S2. I think there are definite QC issues with this first batch of S2, and I hope that the minor (and definitely major) issues are fixed in subsequent batches. For example, my volume rocker is loose. This seems to be a pretty consistent (though minor in my case) problem with the S2...though some people claim to have rock solid volume rockers, and I won't question them. I have the warranty, and at some point even if it just stays as loose as it is I will probably go to my local MS store and say, "hey, I noticed that my volume rocker is really loose now. Not sure if it has always been that way, but I'd like an exchange as it is really annoying." My concern right now would be that I exchange the device and get something with worse build issues or potentially software problems, which I have not seen.
 

pbankey

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Well, I don't think its fair to assume that because people return devices multiple times that they're being a troll or have incredibly bad luck.

I think it has more to do with the type of owner someone is. Some people, perfectionists, want their devices to be impeccable in which case they'll exchange it for small issues - and if those issues are still present, they have no problem going back and doing it over again. And again.

I think the speaker crackle/distortion issue is a good example of this. That isn't to say that others who own Surfaces don't experience the same issues - I'm willing to bet a lot do, they just don't either see it has a big enough problem to exchange a unit or don't audit the device at the level of detail to even notice if it is an issue. I mean, hell, when every other tablet model has shoddy at best speaker quality how would one truly know if their Surface even had an issue?

There are some bugs I noticed on mine too but they aren't worth an exchange. The only time I would consider an exchange is for a manufacturing defect that physically affects the device's chasis or ability to run at all. Oddly enough, I had one with the magnets at the very bottom of my device and exchanged it too.
 

etphoto

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Well, I don't think its fair to assume that because people return devices multiple times that they're being a troll or have incredibly bad luck.

I think it has more to do with the type of owner someone is. Some people, perfectionists, want their devices to be impeccable in which case they'll exchange it for small issues - and if those issues are still present, they have no problem going back and doing it over again. And again.

I think the speaker crackle/distortion issue is a good example of this. That isn't to say that others who own Surfaces don't experience the same issues - I'm willing to bet a lot do, they just don't either see it has a big enough problem to exchange a unit or don't audit the device at the level of detail to even notice if it is an issue. I mean, hell, when every other tablet model has shoddy at best speaker quality how would one truly know if their Surface even had an issue?

There are some bugs I noticed on mine too but they aren't worth an exchange. The only time I would consider an exchange is for a manufacturing defect that physically affects the device's chasis or ability to run at all. Oddly enough, I had one with the magnets at the very bottom of my device and exchanged it too.

But some of the issues being described are pretty major and if its not "bad luck" that the same person happens to pick up more than 3 devices with the same issue (during exchanges) then what is it?

I get your "depends on who is experiencing" issue point and agree. But I'm talking about major things I guess. I can except some brands (use the Surface 2 if you wish since we are in that thread) have issues but that same person getting the same thing over and over again? Dang, what are the odds. lol
 

pbankey

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But some of the issues being described are pretty major and if its not "bad luck" that the same person happens to pick up more than 3 devices with the same issue (during exchanges) then what is it?

I get your "depends on who is experiencing" issue point and agree. But I'm talking about major things I guess. I can except some brands (use the Surface 2 if you wish since we are in that thread) have issues but that same person getting the same thing over and over again? Dang, what are the odds. lol

What are some examples of issues?

It's hard to infer what the issue is without evidence. A lot of people who mention returning Surfaces don't exactly post pictures of their issues every time, but the lack of evidence doesn't equate to simply trolling.
 

etphoto

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What are some examples of issues?

It's hard to infer what the issue is without evidence. A lot of people who mention returning Surfaces don't exactly post pictures of their issues every time, but the lack of evidence doesn't equate to simply trolling.

I don't wish to give examples because I would feel like some might believe I am signaling them out. I will say the issues are more than light leaks and volume rocker arm issues.
 

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