Surface Book's crazy hinge

[James Falconer]

I've actually been a fan of the Surface Book and that lovely little hinge that joins the display to the base for some time now. Sadly, I don't actually own a Surface Book - but was wondering if any owners out there have had any problems with the hinge?

Seems to me there is a lot of space/gap in that hinge where dirt/debris could get in and muck things up. Has this been the experience for you? Or is it as solid as the day you bought it?

 

[hopmedic]

Hi, James,

My SB (i7/16GB/1TB/Performance Base) is only about 2 months old (replaced in Feb due to hardware problems causing BSOD). Its predecessor was purchased in November. Neither of them have had any problems with the hinge, though I realize that this one is still pretty new. One thing that I wonder about is how the muscle wire will perform over time. Will the attachment remain as sturdy as it is today, or will I notice down the road that the attach point develops some give to it? I don't know yet.

As for stuff getting into the hinge, I've only noticed a couple times that crumbs or other small "stuff" has gotten into the grooves, but nothing that couldn't be either brushed or blown out. I do eat at my PC occasionally, but I'm pretty careful about it. I'm OCD about keeping the keyboard area clean. As an aside, the best boss I ever had was a smoker who could type about 40 wpm with two fingers, while holding a cigarette, and dropping an ash on the keyboard didn't slow him down. I was thankful that he was his own IT guy and I didn't have to fix his PC. GROSS!

I'm in love with my Surface Book. And the Surface Ergonomic Keyboard, for that matter.

 

[orlbuckeye]

No problem with hinge here. I've had since a month after it was released.

 

[James Falconer]

@hopmedic @orlbuckeye - well I'm glad to hear it's working out for both of you. For some reason I'd fear I'd get something jammed in that hinge (crumbs, dust, etc) but that's probably just me

 

[hopmedic]

Wouldn't be a surprise, really, but the grooves are big enough that you can get stuff out if you need to.