Surface Pro 3 Repair

[Aaron3040]

I have a SP3 that I use for work that just stopped working over the weekend. I went through the troubleshooting steps with Microsoft support and they have determined that they need to replace the tablet under warranty. I have some data on the SSD (it was work in progress from the last few days) that will require a lot of time on my part and others to redo if I cannot recover it. I have a backup routine so 99% of my data is backed up through onedrive and an external HDD. It's just what I was working on presently that could not be backed up until I was fished to a certain point that I have lost.

If I open and potently damage the SP3 myself I can most likely pull the SSD and recover the data. If I send it in to Microsoft, I assume they verify that it is nonfunctioning and not tampered with, then send me a replacement and then probably recycle the nonfunctioning tablet. Has anyone had any experience with getting them to pull the SSD and return it or maybe take it to a Microsoft store to verify it is not working and then let me take it apart to retrieve the data? Microsoft online support flatly said NO to any of the above. Is there someone else at Microsoft I should talk to that may be able to help me more?

I have a hard time believing that a product like this targeted to enterprise and business users would have no ability for any sort of data recovery. If they are going to trash the tablet at the service center why not let me get the SSD out first?

Thanks Aaron!

 

[GreyFox7]

You are not the first to relate such a tale of woe from which I take it to be consistent with other reports. Although I assume they are repaired it may not be in the US thus turnaround time would be exceedingly long. Without a data recovery policy it's procedurally and practically impossible to do so. Such is the state of "sealed units" that any nonvolatile data should be stored off device.

 

[Ford Prefect]

the business entity that receives the device is not really connected to the one that sends the devices.

If they offered a data recovery option it would likely exceed the cost of the device itself.

So, you have a choice to make: data or warranty.

/dat backup plan tho