Microsoft Surface Pro 3 SSD Replacement

Written By: Erik Snyder
  • Comments: 35
Microsoft Surface Pro 3 SSD Replacement

Difficulty

Very difficult

Steps

9

Time Required

1 - 2 hours

Introduction

This guide will teach you how to safely remove your SSD from you Surface Pro 3. The guide starts by removing the screen and digitizer and then goes right into removing the SSD. This guide does not include details on how to clone the existing memory on your current SSD onto your new one.

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    • Before you begin, discharge the Surface Pro's battery below 25%. A charged lithium-ion battery can catch fire and/or explode if accidentally damaged during the repair.

    • The display is strongly glued to the frame of the device.

    • To remove the display, first soften the adhesive by applying heat. You can use a heat pad, heat gun, or iOpener. In a pinch, a hair dryer can also work.

    • Be careful when using a heat gun, as too much heat can permanently damage the display and/or battery.

    • Steadily and evenly heat the perimeter of the display until it's too hot to touch, and try to maintain that temperature for several minutes.

    I just replaced both my screen and battery. It took four hours and a couple of wrong turns but I was successful learning what to do next time. However, I am not sure I would do it again.

     

    It takes more heat than one imagines - all most too much and made me queasy fearing I was going to damage something. I would say it actually too hot and likely to damage something so be careful and do not prolong the removal. To get started I used a glass top warming/buffet heating tray set to about 200 degrees.  I turned the surface pro glass side down before turning it one so it would heat gradually with the tray. I let it heat for 15 minutes. In end, I am not sure it helped or not by starting this way.  This was not an easy removal so I shudder to think how worse it would have been if this didn’t help. I used a variable heat gun for the remaining steps. My screen was broken so breaking it further while nerve racking was not going to be catastrophic.

    michael jones -

    I attempted battery replacement, but during disassembly, i damaged the display by inserting the picks to far, and separating the display circuitry from the glass.

    I used a Milwaukee precision hot tool model 1400, which has only a fixed heat setting, but it worked perfectly to soften the adhesive.

    (I was very careful to heat the entire glass panel by playing the heat gun over the entire surface so that it would expand uniformly.

    Robert Gerlach -

    I just broke mine during the heating process as well…. The glue at the corner was so strong that I cant even slip a blade into the edge… Then when keep applying heat using a hair dryer at low tempreture the glass expanded too much and broke……

    C Y Wong -

    If you have never done this repair, YOU WILL SHATTER THE SCREEN! I've repaired dozens of these over the last several years for my client's and I still shatter them. It's a 98% probability that you will break the glass; it's very thin and shatters easily. Be prepared.

    Gregg Stanley -

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    • Use a suction cup or an iSclack to pull up on the glass and create a slight gap between the glass and the metal frame.

    • If your display is badly cracked, a suction cup may not adhere. It may help to first cover the display with a layer of packing tape. Alternatively, you can superglue your suction cup to the display.

    • Carefully insert an opening pick into the gap between the screen and the device to cut the adhesive.

    • Slide the pick around the sides and bottom of the display to cut the adhesive. Apply more heat as needed.

    • Work carefully—the glass is thin and will crack easily if you try to force it.

    • The wi-fi antennas are glued under the screen border along the top edge (on either side of the camera), and can be damaged easily. Use extra care when separating the top edge, and apply more heat if necessary.

    Be very very careful!! Don’t cut yourself. Wear gloves.

    Vincent van Mens -

    Wear eye protection too!

    Zach -

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    • Continue to heat sections of the screen with the heat gun.

    • As you make your way around the screen with the heat gun, use the plastic opening tool and the opening picks to pry the screen loose.

    • The screen is extremely thin and very easy to break. Be careful working with broken glass.

    I used an inexpensive variable heat gun with a dial. It was perfect. My fixed temperature gun would have ruined it. There are two small vents on either side of the screen near the top. Start there and work down on each side. I didn’t have opening picks to keep the glass separated from the body. So, I used blank Cards Against Humanity I found lying around.

    I watched two popular videos. Neither helped and were no better than these instructions. In one video, the guy heats and smashes his way around the display with metal tool. Mistake! Don’t do this even if the screen is broken. This causes glass shards to go everywhere and will force you to replace the adhesive before installing a new screen. You can’t reuse adhesive if it is full of glass. Another video uses a heat gun one side at a time and simply sliding a pick along the edge working around the Surface. This didn’t work. The person had already removed the screen once before and started the second removal before the video.

    michael jones -

    CAUTION: if you insert the picks too far, you risk damaging the display (separating the glass from the display circuitry).

    The display circuitry is 14 mm from the side edges, 10 mm from the top edge, and 6 mm from the bottom edge.

    Robert Gerlach -

    thanks a lot for your comment

    philrillh -

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    • Lift the screen up carefully so that no wires are torn.

    This guide misses a CRUCIAL NOTE on this step.

    On this step, from Picture 1 to Picture 2 the device is rotated so the Windows logo on the glass is actually on the left hand side.

    You *must* rotate the device otherwise you will risk damaging the cables, as it folds open like a book.

    Len Demby, Jr. -

    Pain in the ass! One has to wonder why they couldn’t use magnetic connections instead of this goo, black thing that even to replace is so %#*@ annoying to say the least! After trying to remove a broken screen I didn’t even use the adhesive strips. I used the ones I had there and to be frank it’s better since:

    a) I couldn’t get the new screen properly aligned and to fit to perfection even though the touch works flawlessly (w/ some adhesive tape on the top to hide the gaps) and

    b) who knows? you may as well need to reopen it again. Hopefully not.Hopefully it will be easier. Hopefully never again!!!

    P.S.:

    Iraklis -

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    • Remove the 3 mm T3 Torx screw securing the battery connector, and disconnect the battery connector.

    • Be careful not lose the small, rectangular bridge connector that lies underneath.

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    • Remove the single 4 mm T3 Torx screw securing the display cable.

    • Lift the connector to disconnect the cable.

    • Be careful not lose the small, rectangular bridge connector that lies underneath.

    It's always best to disconnect the battery before disconnecting the display cable. Ensuring there is no power to the device will also ensure you don't damage the backlight components when disconnecting the display. You should also make sure to reattach the display cable before reattaching the battery cable when putting it back together.

    KCrepairguy -

    There is also a tiny little board between the ribbon cable and motherboard. Be sure not to lose it!!! If you do the part is 1631 LCD Contact Shield Plate.

    Joseph Neilson -

    You’ll notice a spring on the back of your old screen. The new screens don’t have that spring so it will need to be transferred over by the heat gun trick.

    Thierry Plouchart -

    The instructions do not mention the bridge connectors under the connectors - tiny little rectangle boards with gold connector dots. There is one under the battery connector and under the display connector. It is sandwiched in between the board and the connector. You may not even notice the bridge connectors. In fact the pictures here with the cable connectors off are showing the bridge connectors under the cable connectors still lying on the motherboard. Go ahead and remove the bridge connectors with tweezers. These connectors are just lying on the motherboard and WILL FALL OFF getting lost without noticing it. The cable connectors do not work without the bridge connectors installed. Good news is the connectors are keyed and fit only one way.

    BTW: Both screws on the battery and display connector were T3’s and the same size.

    michael jones -

    Hi!. What’s the name of the band connector and what’s the name of the connector in both sides?

    Nicolás Rearte -

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    • Grasp the orange cable connected to the silver connecter.

    • Carefully lift the orange cable up until the connecter pops off.

    • The screen will now be completely disconnected.

    • The replacement display may not include all the parts needed for installation. Save all the parts from the original display, and transfer them to the new display as needed.

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    • Remove the two 4 mm T3 Torx screws securing the SSD.

    Small correction - The screws securing the SSD are 4mm T5 Torx.

    Chris Ibold -

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    • Lift up and pull gently on the SSD to remove it from the black connector.

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Author

Erik Snyder

Member since: 01/10/15

5366 Reputation

18 comments

How do you replace the screen once the glue is melted?

bbhsascha -

would assume you heat and put the screen back...

Assuming you havent shattered the screen to oblivion in the process...

nyalldavis -

Is there a way to copy the files from the ssd card once removed?

Garry Lincoln -

yes, you would need an adapter to connect the msata to regular sata and connect to another computer.

Dan Wooton -

How's does the glass thickness compare to the Surface Pro 2? I've replaced a screen on a 2 without destroying it. Now I'm looking to replace an SSD on a 3. I'm wondering if I can expect the same type of removal.

jwelch414 -

Don’t expect the same removal. the 3 has thin glass, super easy to crack. i wasn’t able to replace mine without damaging the glass.

Tim Rauls -

its much much thinner. it cracks easy. dont ask how i know this

bacon -

Couldn't find a replacement hard drive ... my Surface 3 Pro is now toast ...

James Lindbloom -

Shouldn't be hard to find an m.2/mSATA SSD

Steve Moore -

I'm trying to upgrade mine to a 1 terabyte SSD how do I get a copy of my Windows 10 to make sure I have legit OS in the one terabyte hard drive

joshua ruster-mack -

The product key for Windows 10 is coded into the firmware of the Surface. You just need to use Microsoft’s Media Creation Tool ( https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software... ) to create bootable media so that you can install it on your Surface.

Brandon -

Does this  SSD  fit directly into a PC with a MOBO that has a M2 SSD connector? Or are the tablet SSD connectors different?

Joel Hall -

The photos in this iFixit guide show that the screen was destroyed while unsticking it!!! There are cracks all over it during insertion of the plastic shims, and the lifted screen is missing large chunks around the edges. Including one great photo of the spudger picking pieces of the glass off the camera. The “parts required” should probably include a new screen at minimum!

Can someone post a *successful* procedure & photos, for opening this without damaging the screen?

Also, “following the instructions in reverse” is clearly not adequate for putting the screen back on - this was obviously Not done with this guide’s broken screen. Are there adhesive strips we can buy, or Acetone/Iso clean & new glue to apply to reattach the screen?

I would love to know from anyone that has actually done this with success! (20 people have apparently followed this procedure?)

Demis John -

Just did this for a client. The glass is unbelievably thin and the adhesive and crazy strong. I made sure to get a written “OK” from him that I would most likely be destroying the screen in the process. He was fine with it as he just needed the data, but I don’t know if it is possible to do this without actually damaging the screen.

If you manage to get the screen off without cracking it, kudos to you, but I would bet that you are also going to have some heat damage just because of how strong the adhesive is. If you look at the photos in step 3 and 4 you can see screen damage from the heat gun near the top-right. Those are now dead pixels.

Chris Ibold -

Hello,

My screen has tow yellow spots, looks more like a yellow line on the left side of display (and a broken hdd) so I have to open it… :/

is it possible to fix the yellow line without to buy a new screen ?

Thanks and best regards

Fritz -

I know there are probably not many of these still around that people are fixing…but my Surface has been a reliable device since I bought it until a few days ago it wouldn’t power on. I tried every possible way to revive it but sadly nothing worked. I only needed the SSD from the device so I was less concerned about the display. I had a heat gun and you must have some type of suction device to increase your chances of getting the screen off without damage. Also - be careful - too much heat and the case around the display will start to warp and melt. I successfully got the device apart and removed the SSD, but the display is broken beyond repair. I didn’t have the picks shown in the guide so I used old gift cards to keep the display apart as I worked around. That worked well. Thanks for putting this guide together.

David Jacobs -

buenas tardes puedo instalar un ssd interno de 512 GB a una surface PRO 3 o asta donde maximo de capacidad ?

Memo Cruz -

What type SSD is required? Is it proprietary?

Jerry Nelson -