Does Microsoft Store Do Repairs
Microsoft'due south "new approach to retail," announced concluding Fri, involves closing all of its 83 retail stores.
The Verge reports that the closures were already planned for 2022, but hastened past the COVID-nineteen pandemic. Microsoft opened its stores in 2009, clearly inspired by Apple's influential retail strategy. You could cheque out the latest Surface and Xbox gear at a Microsoft Store, see some newer PCs from other vendors, and ask staff for aid with software or buy decisions.
Some outlets are chiding Microsoft for having stuck with its stores this long. Some are contemplative for the chance to come across the latest MS tech in-person. Very few mention that, without Microsoft Stores, repair options for buyers of Surface, Xbox, and other Microsoft devices simply got more than painful.
As of this writing, Microsoft still suggests on its "How to get service for a Surface" folio that customers bring devices into a Microsoft Store first. "Microsoft Stores tin can assistance with a variety of services including repairs […] in selected locations." Sending an out-of-warranty device to Microsoft in the U.S. can cost from $160 to $900; at the Microsoft Shop, "[T]he price will vary depend on the type of repair," the back up page states. It typically takes three-12 days to return a device after you ship it to Microsoft; at the Store, "[W]e strive to have repairs completed in the same day dependent on the extent of your repair."
So unless Microsoft offers an alternative ways of local hands-on assessment and repair, getting a Surface stock-still is going to be more painful with Stores closed—Microsoft itself says as much. And it's happening but as Microsoft is taking meaning strides toward repairable, upgrade-friendly devices.
A Microsoft representative stated that Microsoft will invest in making its online Store a better place to receive back up and training. In a weblog post, David Porter, corporate vice president at Microsoft, noted that Shop employees volition transition to remote service positions and offering "virtual customer back up." I asked the representative about how the Store closures affect mail-in repair costs, timings, and policies; I volition update this mail service if I hear dorsum.
Getting a Surface fixed is going to exist more painful with Microsoft Stores closed—Microsoft itself says as much.
The obvious pain of mail-in service is that you lot lose access to your device for days or weeks, and put information technology in the hands of delivery services, versus driving to a mall or downtown location to grab it, possibly the next mean solar day. Information technology's also tricky for a customer to post in a device if, say, its battery is swollen. In that case, the Microsoft Store representative was quite helpful to my source, essentially vouching for his technically-not-recalled device and ensuring their replacement request made it to the right people. Every bit nigh people reading this are aware, doing this over the phone, or through a contact form, is always trickier.
This is not to say that all Microsoft Stores performed in-depth repairs on the spot; similar Apple Stores, their was likely a limit, beyond which devices went to a service centre. But having a Microsoft Shop nearby meant that, at the least, someone could tell you lot if your problem was an $800 lath event, or battery swap that was less than $100.
PC Earth'south Marking Hachman was i of the few nosotros saw highlight this consequence, even with a specific example:
Microsoft's Surface Book two had numerous bugs, and I've brought our review unit in for servicing before. Ane of our overheating 15-inch models apparently had a discrete GPU whose thermal paste failed over fourth dimension, which we worked out at the support counter.
The broader effect of the Stores' closure is a distributed downwards pressure level on repair sensibilities. Brand no mistake, we're happy to offer as many parts and repair guides for Microsoft Surface Books and Laptops, Surface tablets, and Xbox consoles as we tin. But customers who arrive at Microsoft'due south mail service-in repair options through web search, or don't know they tin gear up some devices themselves, or happen to own one of the virtually unrepairable devices we've seen—it'southward not hard to see how they could land on "just buy something else" every bit the virtually viable option.
Almost pundits considered Microsoft's stores a transparent, ultimately futile endeavor to imitate Apple'southward success. But information technology was a net expert to bring local points of back up and repair service to more than 80 places around the U.S. and the world. Apple Stores don't just sell MacBooks and Apple Watches, they assure customers that, should something go terribly wrong, there's a place they can go. A highly assisting, tightly controlled identify to go, only a place you can get to, nonetheless. There's probably even a Five Guys nearby.
PC World'due south Hachman offers some open questions well-nigh where Microsoft might get from here with supporting customers with service and repair:
Can Microsoft take advantage of consumer smartphones to diagnose issues? Tin information technology use remote-access technologies to do the aforementioned? Does it invest in local computer repair shops every bit authorized service dealers?
That sounds cracking, particularly that last thought. So does offering viable repair parts, tools, and manuals openly to repair shops and customers. This is, if nothing else, an opportunity for Microsoft to try something new.
Source: https://www.ifixit.com/News/42514/with-stores-closing-now-is-the-time-for-microsoft-to-open-up-repair
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