Microsoft has been receiving reports from some users of its Surface Pro devices that the AC power cords have been overheating, causing failures and minor injuries. Microsoft is now offering its customers free AC power cords to replace the defective units.
Microsoft said that not all owners of the Surface Pro will need to get a replacement power cable. The overheating issue only affects chargers that were sold with Surface Pro devices between March 15 and July 15 last year. So far the problem is also isolated to the United States and Canada.
If you bought a Surface Pro, Surface Pro 2 or Surface Pro 3 during this time, and your power cable isn’t overheating, you probably want to go ahead and apply for the free replacement anyway.
Straight out of the box, the defective power cables do not overheat or function any differently than the non-defective models. Over time, however, the wires inside of the cable gradually wear down and can cause them to stop working or to overheat. Something Microsoft changed in these defective chargers makes them more susceptible to this wearing, so you don’t need to be too concerned about the replacement power cords having this issue.
You can visit Microsoft’s Surface website to find out if you are eligible and to begin the replacement process.
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