Buying A "Refurbished" Surface Pro From eBay... Should You? 

Download Opera for free: opr.as/98d272-psivewri

As long as you get the 8gb ram and 256gb ssd one with a reasonable battery it's a very good buy. Don't expect any AAA gaming, but it's great for stuff from a few years ago. It's great for reading magazines using the Cover app and you have a full windows pc with you in a tiny package.

Throwing $0.02 on the Surface Pro experience here: I've been using my SP7 for three years and it's been one of my best computer purchases: light, versatile, built-in kickstand, nice 3:2 screen, decent performance. I took it wherever I go: my workplace, church, Starbucks, hotels while I was on trips. Turns heads whenever I take it out. Don't really agree on typing on the Type Cover being poor, it's one of the better made detachable keyboards, I've gone through two of them and they're both solid. Perhaps the rubber domes in Nathan's have been worn? The Type Cover is pretty rigid (considering its thickness) and its full size layout and tactile keys made the typing experience enjoyable, though the keys do need some force to press, kinda like Cherry MX Brown switches. It's not ThinkPad keyboard good but I'm happy to type documents with it. Performance is great for a Windows tablet as it's got a quad core CPU and decent integrated graphics, many Windows tablets use Intel "small core" processors and are much slower. 8GB doesn't sound a lot but it's still fine for everyday tasks, just keep RAM usage on check and you won't have issue with it, I even have installed Bluestacks to run some Android apps and games and the speed is comparable to my Android tablet. I've also occasionally used an SP5 (same as Nathan's) from my previous job and it was fine for office work. Storage space is on the low side as mine's the plebeian 8GB RAM + 128GB SSD model, but there's a microSD card behind the kickstand for storage expansion. Battery life of SP7 is its weak point, around 4-6 hours of battery depending of use. It also runs quite warm when worked hard but it's not dangerously hot. SP5's battery life is quite a bit longer from my experience, not as warm as my SP7 too. Now speaking of using Windows with a touchscreen, while Windows UI is indeed not as touch-friendly as Android or iOS (or even Windows Mobile) it can be improved with some tweaking. Touch actions are similar to Android and iOS (tap = left click, tap and hold = right click) though dragging is slightly different. Also you need to try and find which programs work well on touchscreens, modern MS software are usually good at that, some third party programs (especially older ones) are not. Anyway, whenever you get a Surface tablet be sure to get the Type Cover for it as well. Touchscreen for touch friendly apps, keyboard and trackpad for legacy stuff. And my few advices on keeping your Surface Pro mint: (also applicable to Go models) 1. Put on a screen protector otherwise the keys will leave marks on the screen or worse, damage the anti-glare coating. Highly recommend a matte one if you plan to frequently use it outside. 2. Get a protective case (even if it makes the device chunky), this not only protects the device but also prevents the Type Cover edges from fraying. My first keyboard has gone bad (ribbon cable connection went loose) after 2.5 years of use and frequent detaching/attaching, but the edges were still like new. 3. Transport it with a protective sleeve if possible but that's also true for normal laptops.

I had gotten one of these new as a gift, unfortunately it only had 4gb of ram and became outdated by a few years later. It was a good device but it got very hot when you did anything even slightly intensive. I actually did use it for some gaming, my classmates were very impressed that cs:go ran on it

Hi Nathan, being that the SSD is non removable what was the remaining health on the drive

I used the surface pro with the i7 back in 2020 when I was in quality department at Snap-on Power Tools before I went back to machining. It worked great for what i was doing (mainly pulling blueprints/processes and running excel and outlook). I use an old 7th gen iPad at home.

Super happy for you of how your channel has succeeded! As this being the last video here will be a bit sad, but im excited for the new videos to come in the new place!

If you get a Surface Pen, it becomes a great drawing, photo retouching, and note taking device. The keyboard you get used to after awhile and grow to appreciate how little strain it puts on the fingers. I've done massive typing sessions on that detachable keyboard.

Felt the hard work in your eyes at the end for real, all the best mate !!! We'd love to continue watching your content 👍👍

I bought a dell latitude 5290 2 in 1 (Pretty much a surface clone). Aside from a few dinks on the outside, it's actually pretty effective as a portable system.

I bought the surface pro 6 on eBay also for a pretty good deal. Honestly I don't regret it given how cheap it was

Looking forward to the caravan videos. Decent price for this relatively modern surface. I am not sure why I'd want a detachable screen (I sold my iPad as I have no idea what to do with it, really. Got a laptop, got a phone, what does the iPad add?) but for that price, it's actually still a pretty capable 'laptop'.

Great video! have fun with the house build! Hope it goes smoothly for you!

The surface rt 2 keyboard cover had a backlight, a very handy feature! I thought at first it was a broken brightness control for the tablet (as bought used)

Good luck with your new home 🏠 hope everything goes well for you in the future great work great man truly appreciate thank you have a good one mate take care stay safe ❤

gotta tell us if you got a replacement screen, also you should do a little sendoff of your old table top area before you move. congrats on the new house!

That Eucalyptus oil really brings back memories!

thanks for the review!

Great video bro man love these types of vidoes you do

That front camera looked suprisingly good!

I'm a big fan of these Surface devices - portable for when you need it, but still reasonable performance. The one I have is the even older Surface Pro 3, which has a 4th gen i5, 4GB RAM and 128GB storage only, and yes, they are a pain to take apart. I wouldn't even attempt to disassemble one of these - and the component that is most likely to fail, the battery, is firmly glued down and therefore not easy to replace. If needed, I would happily purchase a newer model, such as a Surface Pro 5 or 6 (or maybe the 7). I'd also look for the i7 one (with the fan), as well as the 16GB (or 32GB if they made one) RAM version.

Nice video thanks. Good luck with the house build too.

There is a micro SD card port on the back for storage expansion. My mum owed a Surface for years and complained the internal storage was full having never noticed this hidden port. 😂

I still use my Surface Pro 2 every day after a decade of use. Only 4GB of ram means I can't open a million browser tabs, but it works great otherwise. Battery still works. The black finish is scratched off in a lot of spots from daily use. It was my first big purchase aftter saving money from my first job and I bought it new for 1000 dollars back then. Other than my phone it is my most used computer every day!

Best of luck on the house, brother! I hope it goes a painless as possible.

Had one of these for about 3 years before it started experiencing hardware failure which is quite common for these. It was used heavily and the trackpad started wearing down after about 2 years before it completely wore away like yours, but where your palm rests. It was also very uncomfortable to have on your lap with that god awful stand that just dug into your legs. However it was a great little runner, very fast and very quiet (mine had a fan).

The sacrifices you make to put out good content for us!

i LOVE this video style keep it up mate!

Tnx mate u came in a clutch for me I was going to buy one of those surface

How were the temperatures when you were playing those heavy games on it? Must've been really hot since it is passively cooled.

Looking forward to your pop plant 2023 review

For 7th gen, I opted for a Dell Latitude 5285 instead. Has removable SSD, 4G modem and micro SD card.

We need a full 2023 Pot Plant review! I'm on the 2020 model and wanna know if the new 2023 model is worth the upgrade

Thank you!

I think, this is the best camera tests I've seen this year 😆

Some of the newer Surface Pro's had trap doors to upgrade or replace the ssd. little 2240 nvme modules if I remember correctly.

Im not even interested in buying these laptops but God how I love your videos. Your calm voice and friendly attitude. I could listen you talk for hours man.

Who is the eBay seller that you bought that from

Can you make a video where you fixed the display ? That would be interesting to see.

Great and helpful video. I've not even been looking into these for anything rough, I want one for Cloud gaming when I'm out-and-about, and discovered that they're cheaper (about £100 to £150) than the average 1080p 12+ " portable displays on Amazon, with the advantage of not needing to plug my phone into it, or a power supply. (They also seem quite light) I hope the Surface I get wasn't expecting to do anything useful or productive in its cold mechanical life, because it's going to spend 99% of it's time in a bag, and streaming games... (EDIT: eh- and maybe reading some comics... I'll just download a Tablet interface front-end for Windows because Windows tablet mode is like Hell incarnate)

I bought used 5290 2 in 1. 8th gen CPU for 160 euro. 8 GB of RAM, 256 SSD. The only thing I had to replace was the battery since it had about 30% of nominal capacity. Only small gripe is that the keyboard left marks on the display. Otherwise great device. Also backlit keyboard.

i bought a used surface pro 7+ on ebay a couple of months ago, has an i7 with 16gb of ram and i got it for under £500. the 7+ is the first one to have a replaceable ssd which i did straight away and its the most versatile and enjoyable device ive used in ages! if you're reading this comment and want a surface, go for that one!

Eagerly awaiting your 2023 Pot Plant review.

Love your videos they are the best.

Mate I really like your wristwatch, is it a seiko? And if so, which model?

cant wait for the next vid! :')

I rocked an i7 Surface Pro 4 back around 2017. For a university student, these things were expensive, but I thought it was worth it just for the display. Everything looked beautiful on it, and the 3:2 aspect ratio and pen functionality made the device feel like an actual notebook and fit among books comfortably.

I have the original surface rt. 3 of them, as I'm 1 of 3 children. The experience now, as it was in 2013, was slow, and not really good for the fact that i cant download a single x86 desktop app natively

Don't use guitar pick when opening displays with adhesion use hard and thin plastic like playing card. And use a display heating machine, it eases the display removing job.

I think that aditional USB port for charging a phone or a power bank would be much appreciated on other laptops also.

I bought an older Surface Pro 3 awhile ago and it’s usable for basic tasks but gets sluggish if you try to push it. Also despite it having a cooling fan it does tend to run pretty hot. Not a bad device portable device but my iPad is much better.

Bruh I was thinking to get one of these for RuneScape THANK YOU

Nice! Would defo’s daily it if i got maybe gifted it! Good luck on the move!!

The video cameras are amazing!

I don't know about that specific gen, but it's pretty easy to put Ubuntu or ChromeOS flex on them. Might extend the life of an older one.

3:04 actually you can sort of wash the fabric provided you are being careful. Just drop a little soapy water, scrub and dry with a paper towel. It really makes a difference.

For simple tasks, a thinkpad t4xx series does them all well with amazing durablity, for intense tasks, just get a desktop it doesnt take all that mucn more space if you know good cable management, and NEVER buy a chromebook

They do pretty good for basic work stuff and have practical portability

Great work great man ❤

How is the battery life for everyday use?

WOW, you killed the Pore Surface Pro... not a good move.

I bought one on eBay got scam cause it Glitches. Do you have a video as to where how or where to get it fixed?

Is there a link to the store? Thanks

Pot plant is a great upgrade this year.😂

I gotta say.. your vids are really nice.... kinda a fan... how bout a used thinkpad one, that'd be prty cool.

Hey, thanks for everything you do is opera better then brave browser? keep up the great work.

Thanks for breaking it for our education and enjoyment Mate!

I got a Surface Pro 7 on eBay for about $350 USD and it was in almost new condition. It's got a 10th gen Core i7, 16GB, and 1TB SSD plus a micro SD card slot although the reader is a bit slow and runs Windows 11 Pro perfectly well. Came with a keyboard which has a fingerprint reader.

I've been using a Surface Pro 2 for work for several years and have really loved it. I'm in IT and do a lot of work on the go, and it was great to be able to take with me. I especially enjoyed being able to bring it to stand-up meetings and use it as a notepad, or show coworkers a quick demo in their office. Unfortunately it died this month and I've replaced it with a Thinkpad... I'll miss the tablet but it's nice to have an ethernet port and a hinge that stays in place. It's worth noting that the Pro models are legit PC hardware, compared to some of the cheaper Surface models that were more mobile-oriented ARM devices. When Windows 8.1 went out of support I was able to install Ubuntu on mine and it pretty much just worked like a regular laptop, aside from an issue with the sleep sensor.

Lovely video, just bought a Surface 8 pro for £500!

I'm using a Surface Pro 5 8GB daily for engine software tuning and music production. Engine software reading and programming via the diagnostic port, and also the actual software modification using WinOLS. My music is trap (hip hop) and is used for advertising. I think for what it is, it isn't too bad. I will at some point upgrade to a 7 or 7+ because the 7th gen i5 that I currently have is a little slow at times. A 10th or 11th gen i5 would give me more flexibility when playing instruments and recording vocals.

Does this support desktop mode for phones? Wired or wireless?

Btw, Opera is the exact opposite of privacy. They are owned by a chinese company and there is a legitimate law passed in china where chinese companies have to send data from abroad to the homeland.

i had a surface for a few years. they're nice enough if underwhelming devices, since the lack of proper ports and thermal throttling really limits these machines. however, the screen is nice, and the cameras and mic are stellar for a windows based machine. tablet mode was more of a gimmick than anything to me, i detached the keyboard to watch stuff in bed more than anything else, but im sure that someone who enjoys digital notetaking with a pen would really take advantage of it. i see old surfaces as pretty decent starter devices for kids in school, but the new ones are not worth it. they're just way too expensive for what you get.

Can you buy an acer aspire v3-371 and do a full review on it please

I don't understand the complaint about the keyboard. For what it is (detachable, small and lightweight) it's fantastic. I use my Surface Pro 7 for work and I don't want to go back to a big heavy laptop ever again. Maybe if someone like Framework makes a more repairable/upgradable version of this form factor.

Would love if you make a Video to the Thinkpad X60s, one of the last 32bit cpu laptops, with interesting technologie.

im surprised ppl could still buy these for under $200, I've never seen a surface pro for less than $400 lol

What watch are you wearing?

I wanted one before! Glad you’re trying one of these refurbished ones out.

Yeah but why would you open it up ..

Had the i7 version with 1 tb and 16 gb ram, used for a good while but it stopped working after I installed Ubuntu in it and now it can't even boot windows (I even tried to reinstall windows through a pendrive but no luck)or any other system since it can't detect it's SSD anymore so yeah it's not a very good laptop. Also if any of you have a solution for it not working please tell I wanna use it again 😅😅.

The weird Laptop/Tablet hybrid thing that couldn't really do either all that well.

Wow 190AUD. Converted that to my currency and that's such a good deal it's unreal. I paid 3x for the exact same here in the uk

3:03 makes want to ask the below question: Does this include the rubbery ThinkPad's ?

“Bruh” is the only sound effect psivewri uses 😂😂

Hey Nathan, can you do a house tour before you move out?

I keep forgetting surface tablets exist.

is the m3 -y30 version still good for daily use for student?

Best of luck!

Well, next video you can repair the display

Pretty good deal because it included the original Surface charger and keyboard. Commonly the sellers keep these for themselves or sell them separately.

if it has no upgradibility than its a no for me and most likley others too

That camera is great

I've heard it's possible to install Linux on the RT now

Can you please do something about spawn on your minecraft server, have not played in a while now back at spawn... thank you ps keep the content coming....

ive got the surface pro 4. mine has screen flickering issues! its a big issue with this model.. And the battery drains out within a day or two when you dont use it.. i regret buying it i should of got a Macbook Pro instead..

Thermal design isnt the best on these either. It dumps the heat near the battery, and batteries tend to swell faster when exposed to heat. And given the display is such a pain in the butt to properly remove.. I'm not a fan of these devices.

I use a surface go running linux for note taking, they're really good value.

This is exactly the RU-vid video I needed :)