This weekend was a rough one for the Microsoft Surface Pro. The tablet AC power cord is the center of a voluntary recall for Microsoft. Additionally, the NFL had another wave of problems with the tablets during the conference championship games.
Recall
On Thursday, Microsoft announced a voluntary replacement program for the Surface Pro AC power cords. The power cords belonging to Surface Pros sold before March 15, 2015 can be replaced at no cost. It has been found that if the cords are wound to tightly or pinched, they could cause a fire hazard by overheating. Surface Pro, Surface Pro 2, and Surface Pro 3s sold within the timeframe are eligible while Surface RT, Surface 2, and Surface 3 are not. You can learn more from the Microsoft Devices blog and request a replacement at the Microsoft Surface Support page.
NFL
In addition to the AC power cord recall, the NFL was not providing great advertisement for the Surface Pro during the New England Patriots-Denver Broncos game. The tablets for the Patriots apparently stopped working after the game started. This prevented them from reviewing plays and given the timing, it meant that the Broncos were able to continue using their tablets. It was later explained that the issue was not with the tablets itself but with network connectivity. A stop-gap fix was to use a network cable and it was later reported that the Patriots’ tablets were at 100%.
This very visible outage follows some sideline abuse the tablets have received this season such as Johnny Manziel hitting his head with the tablet and Aaron Rodgers spiking the tablet, both after throwing interceptions.