Microsoft Brushed Off Consumer Reports’ Removal Of Surface From Recommendation List

As one of the most trusted sources of opinions regarding products, the “Recommended” badge from Consumer Reports is highly sought after. Until recently, Microsoft’s 2-in-1 Surface lineup was on the list, but the gadgets have since been removed due to issues with reliability. It seems the tech firm isn’t at all concerned about it, however, and simply brushed it off.

This development marks a rather rare occasion for the product rating firm, with the last removal of an item from the “Recommended” list being two years prior, CNN reports. The removal apparently stems from the feedback from 25 percent of the 91,000 customers surveyed who reported that the units started acting up a couple of years after getting the Surface laptops.

One of the issues has to do with random power loss and another involves unresponsive touchscreens. As to why this issue was not caught in the first place, Consumer Reports stated that it’s due to how new the Surface lineup still is.

"Microsoft is relatively new to the hardware business, and this is the first year we've had enough data to estimate predicted reliability for the company's laptops," the publication stated.

In response to the report, Microsoft simply said that it did not trust the findings by the publication, The Verge reports. Surface division boss Panos Panay said that he and his team disagree with what Consumer Reports has said about the Surface units, saying that the laptops are designed with reliability in mind.

Microsoft said as much in a blog post, which emphatically states that the company stands by its product. The post also expresses disappointment in the findings by the publication.

“Surface also ranks highly in customer satisfaction. 98% of Surface Pro 4 users and Surface Book users say they are satisfied with their device*, and our Surface Laptop and new Surface Pro continue to get rave reviews,” the post reads.