Microsoft: Surface Pro Support Ends in 2017

Microsoft has revealed that its newly-released Surface Pro tablet computer will receive hardware support for roughly four-and-a-half years. However, the firm says it will support the Windows 8 Pro software for much longer.

Microsoft's announcement that it will support Surface Pro hardware until July 2017 is in line with a similar announcement made about the Surface RT tablet last year. The Surface RT will be supported until April 2017.

Hardware Repairs to End in 2017

Microsoft says that it will offer hardware repairs for the Surface Pro during that 4.5-year window. Those repairs won't cost customers a dime during the warranty period (this will depend on whether or not a customer has purchased an extended warranty).

Beyond the warranty period, Microsoft says it will charge a fee for hardware support for the Surface Pro. Microsoft adds that telephone-based support for the Surface Pro will only be available during that initial 4.5-year period.

Traditionally, Microsoft offers five years of support for consumer-oriented software. It refers to this period as the "mainstream" phase. (Source: techradar.com)

By comparison, business software and entire operating systems (like Windows 8) receive support for a much longer period -- in some cases, up to ten years.

OS Support to Last for Much Longer

What this means is that Microsoft will not help Surface Pro owners fix their hardware after 2017, but they will offer support when it comes to the device's operating system, Windows 8 Pro.

"For the Surface device, the software embedded in it is subject to the Microsoft software lifecycle support policy, as is any software that is installed or downloaded on that Surface device," Microsoft noted in the Frequently Asked Questions section on its website.

Short support windows are becoming an industry standard. Microsoft's major rival in the tablet market, Apple, has already terminated iOS updates for the first-generation iPad, which launched in 2010. (Source: computerworld.com)

To date, the original iPad has not been updated to iOS 6.