Surface Pro 3 iFixit Teardown: DIYers Beware

The folks at iFixit have taken to Microsoft's latest slate, the Surface Pro 3, to see how it fares for those who dare go the DIY route. As with its brethren, the tablet proves difficult to deal with — the display glass ended up broken by Stage 6.

The SSD can be replaced by users if they can get the device open without causing damage, which is significant when trying to get the slate open. Once opened, however, little else is simple. The battery isn't soldered to the motherboard, which is obviously a plus, but a lot of "very strong adhesive" makes that task difficult.

From there, users will encounter non-standard connectors, making things harder, and a fused glass panel and LCD makes replacing the display exceptionally difficult. "Tons" of glue is used to keep everything where it should be, and, the team warns, there's "no room for mistakes".

At the end of it all, the Surface Pro 3 received a repairability score of merely 1 out of 10, which is as low as it gets. Check out how the first Surface Pro fared on iFixit's dis-assembly mission, as well as the similar Surface Pro 2.

SOURCE: iFixit