Should I get a Surface Pro 4?

[underw8]

I live in the Philippines, Microsoft doesn't have a retail store here. I could have an SP4 shipped here, but am worried about warranty. The nearest MS stores are in Singapore and Hong Kong, so making a warranty claim is potentially costly. I've been wanting to get a Surface since last year, but the bugs and defects are kinda holding me off. Any thoughts folks?

 

[worldspy99]

PM member azcruz, he has a SP of some sorts and he is in the Philippines. He should be able to offer you some good advice.
Cheers!

 

[right_mr1]

Since you've waited this long I would wait for the surface 5 and either get a heavily discounted 4 or get the 5. Warranty can be an issue with a buggy device like this. You would have to agree with whoever you buy it from that they will allow you to courier it to them if you have any warranty type issues . I think the risk is a bit high for you.

Are you not able to buy it from an independent retailer based in the Phillipines that is reputable and usually honours warranties ?

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[ananve]

SP4 issues are becoming less and less now so I would recommend you buy it from a local reseller. Normally, you need only the machine code (on the box) and the receipt. If you already have a Microsoft account, I would recommend to chat with Surface support to get warranty advise.

 

[underw8]

Thanks for the replies guys. We do have a local reseller here, but at the price they are selling the model I want (128GB, i5), I might just get a Surface Book, AND have it shipped overseas. Several online sellers do carry the SP4, and I might just pick one up from there. Local retailers add an insane amount to the price. whew.

 

[pwscott]

Very happy with my SP4,i7, 16GB, 500GB model. All smooth, no issues really.

 

[mohdmanaz]

Why don't you wait for the Asus Transformer 3 Pro! It looks just like SP4 but better specs. Rumors are that it will be available for purchase in Japan and Europe in couple of days. Hopefully it will hit the other market within a month or so.

Also I guess Asus will have more than enough stores/authorized dealers in your country.

 

[Lone Swordsman]

I would seriously consider waiting for a Surface Pro 5 (or whatever they end up calling it), since it's probably just a few months away. That being said, I'm not sure what kind of delays the Philippines and surrounding regions see when it comes to new MS hardware.

 

[mohdmanaz]

I am also thinking about getting one. Still not sure whether to stick with SP4 or asus transformer 3 pro.
There was one review video that was saying that the kickstand become less sturdy along the time. Does anyone here had that experience?

 

[Thorgal Aegirsson]

Don't get SP4. I've had it since February and it never actually worked as it should. First it had a lot of issues with sleep, display drivers, docking station, crashes etc. They gradually fixed it and by the end of July it worked ALMOST good but then they released the Anniversary Update which broke things again. Now it is impossible to turn it off or restart - it always freezes. The solution is to turn off Fast Boot but then it takes much longer to turn it on. The action center, explorer and in general the whole computer freezes constantly. It has problems with SD cards - freezes, display drivers - external monitors suddenly displaying 640x480 until restart. If you go to Event Viewer you can see A LOT OF ERRORS - drivers not working, all sorts of DistributedCOM errors, push notification problems and, funny enough, event tracing crashing. EVERY SINGLE TIME YOU RESTART your machine.
Oh, and I would forget about very important thing - Facebook videos, YouTube videos or any vidoes pretty much stopped working.
And another surprise - it gets hot. Really hot. I actually bought a fan specifically to cool my SP4 when I work. It just blows cold air directly at the back of the computer and that helps. Without it my Surface actually turned off itself a few times because it was so hot.
And before everything-that's-Microsoft-lovers jump here with advice: yes, I did reinstall the whole windows. Many times since Aug. 2nd. I refreshed, reinstalled from USB, reinstalled from the cloud (there is such an option). Always the same result. I spent $3000 on this computer. $3000. There is really no excuse for this failure of a computer.
So, long story short - if you want to spend $1k-$3k on a computer that doesn't work - go ahead, do it. But if you want to spend the money and enjoy a stable machine I would definitely avoid Surface these days. I would probably go with one of HP. Or, if you're not tied to Windows, then maybe even something from a fruit competitor - after all - they really "just work". Of course they have their own problems but ever since I had SP4 I am very jealous of people everywhere with macs that work in a Starbucks and suddenly just close the cover and go. My goodness - I would never do that with my SP4. I would simply lose my work and get home or work with a VERY VERY HOT computer in my bag with empty battery.

 

[ananve]

@Thorgal, is the problem still there after update this week?

 

[Thorgal Aegirsson]

Oh, absolutely, it got even worse under the hood - many more errors in the event log.
But, to be completely honest, they slowly do fix things, some of the problems are smaller or even fixed. But it takes a very very, unacceptably long time to do that. Just like from release in October it took them 9 months to make this device usable and they broke it within the next week or so with another update now it's been a month and it still is broken. They seem to be more focused on RS2 now than fixing RS1. And what? Is it going to be the same? They will release 50 different cumulative updates that will eventually fix the problems only to release RS2 which will be installed automatically and will break things again. And by then there will be SP5 which will additionally take their interest away from SP4 (that was the story so far). In other words my device will never be a usable device although I paid $3k for a supposedly premium computer. It was the third Surface I bought. And the last. I would have to be an ***** to let them treat me as a customer like that again.

 

[underw8]

hey the Transformer 3 pro looks pretty slick! I also checked and it's just been announced in the Philippines, set to arrive by this October or November.

Service centers are also available, the nearest official one is a 15-minute train ride from where I live. Wow.

Question is, why shouldn't I choose this over the SP4? Is there a catch of some sort?

*edit: i realized the T3P hasn't been out long enough yet to expose any defects.

 

[jo-pa]

Not to change the subject...I currently have a SP3 from work and it is rock solid. I wanted a SP4 but will now wait. Does anyone know when the Asus Transformer Pro 3 will be released in the US? I couldnt find anything about it. It looks pretty solid as well.