Touch Cover Issues (Wearing off/ split at seam etc)

[xaviertt]

Hi guys,

recently my school offered the educational pricing on Surface RT at a hugely discounted price and i am sway towards both the touch (black) and type cover bundle.

I tried the touch cover in store before and felt that i need some time to get used to, otherwise in terms of portability it would be great. Especially when closing the cover i wont have to worry that i close it too hard and have the buttons hitting against the screen.

However i read online about users complaining about the splitting of the touch cover near the seam when it first launch. This could be due to the strain from flipping the cover backwards. Another issue i came across was that the touch cover wears off easily. Is it true? Any touch cover users and share your experience with it?

The pricing of the type and touch cover are quite significant, hence a huge dilemma for me.

Thanks!

 

[xaviertt]

And also. i understand that ms store would replace the touch cover wo qns. however it would be quite troublesome in my case as there isnt any ms store in sg.

so if the splitting is due to the batch problem, i.e. only affect the 1st batch of touch cover and not the others, thn i am really inclined to get it.

 

[berty6294]

Both of mine have survived much abuse with absolutely no signs of separation or damage. they work perfectly (and the one was actually ran over by a car and still works). type cover wouldn't take that kind of abuse! the touch cover is waterproof too (just saying)


That being said, the type cover is much easier to type on, so for classes where you have to take much notes, the type cover will make a huge difference. (that being said(again) ive typed all of my papers last year on a touch cover. wasn't too bad but the type cover would have been much more comfortable.)

 

[erasure25]

And also. i understand that ms store would replace the touch cover wo qns. however it would be quite troublesome in my case as there isnt any ms store in sg.

so if the splitting is due to the batch problem, i.e. only affect the 1st batch of touch cover and not the others, thn i am really inclined to get it.

I'd say it depends on how you treat your things. I have a touch cover and its hasn't worn out and I haven't had the seam split yet. I do fold my cover back a lot. I can see the spot in the middle that has the potential to split, but the material seems to have been stretch enough through repeated back folds to not be an issue anymore. That being said, I'm the type of person that doesn't play rough with my things. I mean, I don't treat it like fragile glass, but I also don't grab it by the cover and swing it around like a mace.

And if it does split, I believe you can contact the online store for a replacement -- though you might want to confirm.

Edit: And I agree with the above commenter. The touch cover is easy to type on, but the type cover is much easier (and I make less typos). I got my type cover on ebay for $90. It was refurbished, but it works just fine and has no damage that I can see.

 

[DBDev]

I love my touch cover, and it is really good to write on IMO, but not very long texts. It hasn't showed any signs of breaking yet :smile:

 

[offyoutoddle]

my type cover had the fabric seperate from the metal edging - there is an issue here. Actually I dont' think the RT is as durable as I had hoped. I noticed some fine scratches on it the other day with a white flecks at the end, the hallmarks of my beloved cat taking an interest in it. Not sure, but I'm suprised this was so easily achieved. The vapormg casing really isn't impressing me.

 

[quantum tao]

the original covers were defective. microsoft warrantied mine with no hassles. http://myservice.surface.com/

 

[mms-pc]

My touch cover begins to show some minor splits at seam at the corner area, and this also happens on my smart cover for my iPad. I have to take more care about that, since a touch cover is quite expensive.

 

[omgitsnick]

Mine hasn't shown splits or wearing off, although I tend to eat while studying so the crumbs sometimes fall off the touch cover and I would have a ninja reflex of wiping them off, but due to the matte texture of the keyboard, the crumbs would spread and stick and stain the keyboard. How do you clean it? With wet cloth?

 

[infinidim]

the original covers were defective. microsoft warrantied mine with no hassles. http://myservice.surface.com/

I also had one of the first batches of Surface RT's and had to have my cover replaced by Microsoft. I think I am going to have to get it replaced again as there is a section in the middle near the connector which has started to come apart. A similar thing is happening with my wife's touch cover as well.

We both love our Surface RT's and when we get 8.1 I think they will be even better.

 

[johnbash612]

I abuse mine heavily and its held up in terms of functionality, but yes I have the seams splitting. I take it to school, throw it in and out of my backpack. Probably flip it back and forth like 15 times a day and its cosmetically degraded but works amazingly still. Do you have a Microsoft store near you? If you ever have issues like the seams splitting they will simply replace your old keyboard with a new one, you can do online support but I highly recommend dealing with a rep in person.

 

[infinidim]

I abuse mine heavily and its held up in terms of functionality, but yes I have the seams splitting. I take it to school, throw it in and out of my backpack. Probably flip it back and forth like 15 times a day and its cosmetically degraded but works amazingly still. Do you have a Microsoft store near you? If you ever have issues like the seams splitting they will simply replace your old keyboard with a new one, you can do online support but I highly recommend dealing with a rep in person.

Given that we live in the UK it's really not possible to get to a Microsoft store so we will do "advanced replacements" of our touch covers - I have already talked to Microsoft about this and they are OK with doing it that way. It does seem to be that a number of early Surface RT's with touch covers have had this issue.

 

[photobriangray]

Are you near a Microsoft Store? I took my Touch Cover in when it frayed, they gave me a new one. They even let me trade it for store credit on a Type cover. $10 type cover upgrade, why yes, thank you...