Surface Pro Woes Mount As Microsoft Recalls Power Cords That Cause Fires And Shocks

Microsoft has found itself in the midst of a public relations fiasco with its Surface line of tablets. On Wednesday the company announced a recall of over two million Surface Pro, Surface Pro 2 and Surface Pro 3 power cords due to reports of them catching fire, overheating, and shocking customers.

The BBC reports that cords eligible for recall were sold before March 2015 in the U.S. and Canada, and before July 2015 elsewhere in the world. Customers can contact Microsoft to receive a replacement.

The recall follows reports of a range of issues with the company's Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book tablets. The two new additions to the line were unveiled in October 2015, but customers have complained that the tablets are susceptible to battery drain, display driver problems, and dreaded "blue screens of death."

Microsoft released a software update for Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 at the end of January, but it did little to put users' minds at ease. The update promised to make the Surface Book work better with 5GHz Wi-Fi networks, while bringing new battery enhancements.

However, commentators on Twitter complained that the updates failed to address Intel Skylake display issues. Other users complained that the update didn't fix Internet access and charging issues.

Microsoft has also been hit by its failure to address customer concerns publicly. A company representative told IBT: "We know a small set of Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 customers are experiencing issues and addressing that is a top priority for us."

"We have dedicated engineering teams working to get updates and fixes out as quickly as possible and we will continue to use our Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 support forums to share new information directly with our customers as it becomes available," the representative said.

The problems are poised to hit Microsoft in one of the fastest-growing areas of its business. In the company's second quarter 2016 earnings report, Microsoft increased Surface revenue by 29 percent in constant currency to reach $1.35 billion, buoyed by the launch of the two new tablets. The company's overall revenue reached $25.7 billion.