It's not uncommon to come across devices that score low on iFixit's repairability index. These often include tightly enclosed smartphones and especially Apple's products. There are, however, a few that have earned the distinction of having a score of zero. One of those is the Surface Laptop, Microsoft first and most premium notebook. With the Surface Laptop 2, Microsoft has the chance of addressing some concerns. Sadly, it seems that iFixit's teardown adventure is a case of deja vu instead.

Being a first-gen product, iFixit naturally didn't know what to expect (beyond X-ray scans) or how to properly go through the process. Unfortunately, that did not end well for the "famed" Alcantara keyboard, which was destroyed beyond reuse. Fortunately, iFixit knew exactly what to do this time.

In fact, they knew what to do every step of the way. That's thanks to the fact that the Surface Laptop 2 is exactly the same as the Surface Laptop 1. Even the Surface Pro 6 had a little bit of a surprise inside. The Surface Laptop 2 was like a familiar friend you have seen in a year. Slightly beefed up but exactly the same otherwise.

So the Surface Laptop 2 survives the teardown, mostly unscathed. Why the scathing 0 out of 10 grade then? Simply because exactly like the first Surface Laptop, it was still a pain to get inside, with high risks of damaging parts along the way. Plus, none of the parts are modular and easily replaceable. Even the SSD is soldered firmly on the board.

As devices become more compact and more premium-looking, they also become less friendly towards self-repair and third-party services. While laptops have traditionally been somewhat of an exception, the Surface Laptop 2, just like its predecessor, is definitely not one of those.