Did you try a refresh on your Surface? I see alot of threads with what seems to be, software related problems(not the glowing button problem). But no one seem to have tried to do a refresh(reinstall Windows RT). I had some troubles with my ultrabook running Windows 8 pro, and when I did a fresh install all problems went away.
I did try this as a last resort, however it doesn't seem to have fixed any of my problems.
Anyway, credit to John Lewis, they offered me an exchange or full refund if I wanted it. But I can see how much the surface has potential if working correctly and was more than happy to give it a go with another one. So far so good (only just got it all set up and updated again) but no problems so far.