Microsoft Reviews

Well, as a business owner of a growing business this just tells me that I will avoid purchasing any Microsoft accessories as they can't stand behind their product and provide any customer service. Maybe if more people refused to purchase Microsoft, the decision makers would change their policies, provide better access to supervisors that can make decisions and actually provide customer service.

I was out of warranty- big surprise, but the solutions offered to me by the Microsoft staff were inexcusable. My product had stopped working after a year and a half of use. I was all prepared to sing the praises of Microsoft versus Apple in almost every way except maybe compatibility, but no more.

They touted these"programs" with fancy names that I could take advantage of- basically trade in, trade up, exchange-type deals, but one of the conditions was that the product actually powered on. Well, duh, no, that's why I was in the store in the first place. The 'manager' (that's what he appeared to be) hovered around the tech while speaking with me and talked about how his lunch was. Then anytime the tech offered one of these 'program' offers, the manager would shake his head or nod. Then, I was offered an "out-of-warranty replacement" for about half of the product cost.The quote from a representative over the phone was double the in-person offer. So I questioned the discrepancy, and the tech and manager went right to work.

The tech tried to log in to the Microsoft site and COULDN'T LOG IN. The tech then blamed the Surface he was working on (what?). The manager AGREED(!!!) and then tried himself. He also COULDN'T LOG ON to the server. PEOPLE- this is what you do, I would think you could figure this out in a computer store! I think they muttered something about the BAD WEATHER as a source of their problem! So I told them I would look around while they find out the information.

I had a very pleasant experience with one of the sales staff looking at new tablets while waiting. They suggested I buy a newer product and buy an extended (2 year) warranty at $200. To wrap up, they told me I was out of luck and actually tried to suggest selling the faulty device online! No offer to fix/replace at a discount. No offer to take something off if I traded up. No reaction when I asked how it was the device only lasted a year and a half. OUTRAGEOUS. Does everyone just put up with this kind of abuse/nonsense? Well, put Microsoft on my list of products I will never buy again (I may be forced to use Windows, but not their hardware). Oh, but the store looked good, and the staff all had the right color t-shirts on.

In the past, whenever I chat with MS I get someone who spends more time "identifying the issue" than they do helping me. So, today's service astounded me. I am so happy to find at LEAST one rep who understands that many of us use chat to speed things up over waiting for a phone call or an email.

Yikes! I never spam and my email had not been hacked, so what’s going on. I called Microsoft Customer Service and after finally getting past the robot which kept telling me to go to the Microsoft Website, I talked to a human being who transferred me to a tech guy who said the only way I could address this issue was through their Chat service.

So, I was put in contact with their Chat and dealt with a woman and then her supervisor. No matter what they told me to do – the problem just got worse. I was advised to click on Continue and put in my cell phone number in order to get a text with a code that would open my account. I tried that and got this message: "Invalid Request. Please try again." Then I was told I would have to submit a Request Ticket and did I have another Microsoft Account under a different email. I did have one I had set up when I purchased Windows for Mac so I tried to log into that.

I got this message: "Verify email: We sent an email to… To make sure you own it. Please check your inbox and follow the instructions to finish setting up your Microsoft account." So I went to the email that was sent and followed the directions and GUESS WHAT – I got another one of those Temporarily Suspended notices. The lady told me to try clicking on Continue to see if I could get that code texted to me AND I got that darned "Invalid Request. Please try again."

At this point, I was transferred to the lady’s supervisor who guided me through the process of setting up a new email account by getting a new email add with the @outlook.com ending. He directed me to fill out the form and I used the language he sent to me via chat: "Hi! I need help because my account is suspended…"

So this morning I checked the inbox and received very scary email reply that said: "As we have checked in our end, our investigation shows the account was blocked due to Terms of Use/Code of Conduct violation… We sincerely apologize but we are not allowed to disclose further information about the violation or the block. To appeal for re-activation/re-consideration of your Microsoft account, please go to: …" It also contained a link to their Code of Conduct with a list of all kinds of nefarious things, none of which I am guilty of.

THE SILVER LINING: I did do that appeal for re-activation/re-consideration, but I also called my tech guy who said: “Don’t worry. Office 2011 works just fine with El Capitan (he’s upgrading my MAC OS to this for me). In fact, I don’t recommend using Office 2016 [aka Office 365] because it is very unstable. I think you should cancel that Office 365.” And then I went online and found all those complaints about Microsoft Support including the one from David from Bath, ON about his nightmare experience after actually installing Office 365.

So that’s my silver lining. My own terrible experience coupled with my tech guy’s advice and David’s review make it clear that us MAC folks shouldn’t touch Office 365 with a ten foot pole. Thanks David! PS: Like David, I have been an Apple user for many years. All I can say is that now I am mighty thankful for being an Apple and not a Windows user because I have always had wonderful support from Apple. Based on my current experience and the experiences of others like David: THE LESS I HAVE TO DO WITH MICROSOFT SUPPORT OR THEIR WONKY WEBSITE THE BETTER.

I was denied a part that was under warranty to fix the issue and it has since turned into a fiasco leaving me paying for services that I can not use due to your employees not following through with their promised and overall, jobs. At this point if I even get the box I fear I would never get it back! All I want is for my machine to be fixed in the promised, timely manner. I do not see why this is so hard to do. Should not employees follow through with promises and policies?

Upon successfully saving and opening this XLSX files again, and when you look for the codes... IT GIVES YOU A HEART ATTACK, not to find them... And then realize that all the efforts have been wasted!!! This has occurred to me frequently, and I wish to sue Microsoft for a million dollars, for all the frustrations and agony caused by their flawed design logic/operational design. I am a very loyal user of Microsoft and have found that the brilliance in the earlier versions of XL is not being found in the later versions.

So I started over, she put me on hold, and then once again someone new picked up. This man was very helpful. After hearing all the problems I was having, he agreed to send me a surface 3. I told him I bought the bundle, I spent $735 on this crappy surface, a keyboard, and sleeve. He put me on hold and came back saying he could get me a keyboard compatible with the surface 3 as well since I got the bundle. He then told me he needed to try and see if he can get me a charger as well because for some reason it wasn't going to be included. He put me on hold, came back, and said he can get it for me. I told him I had also purchased a hard case for my surface 2 and was wondering if I could get one for the 3. If not, it was fine. He put me on hold... and never came back.

I called from another phone and guess what! The office was closed! I called back the next morning and everyone I spoke to has told me that what he offered me is not possible and that there was no record of it. I've spoken to 3 different managers who are all "very sorry". One told me the man I spoke yesterday (Xander) had the day off. The last supervisor I spoke to told me the man was there and was going to call me within the next 3 minutes. 40 minutes later, still no call. I have had nothing but bad experiences with these people and this device. I do NOT recommend anything by Microsoft. I am typing this on my 6 year old MacBook that I have never had any problems with. Do not buy from Microsoft. If you want something that will work ALL of the time, I recommend you go with Apple.

Update: Xander finally called back (an hour later) trying to get out of what he promised. Still on the phone with him, he is still saying that he did not ever mention any kind of "upgrade". My husband is on the phone with their Business Conduct Hotline. Our entire weekend has been spent on this. We have been on the phone with these people for a total of 8 hours now. Please save yourself the trouble and do NOT buy anything from Microsoft.

A few seconds later, came an automated voice response asking survey questions regarding the call and then disconnected. I was totally infuriated! Once again my query had been handled by another incompetent staff. What sort of people does the company hired? Do they ever get any training whatsoever? These 2 staff did not even know how to do a simple task of transferring calls! Totally unacceptable from an organization such as Microsoft to provide such appalling service!

The problem began with Microsoft software and they want us as the consumer to pay because they don't want to back up their software. That is so wrong. The tech did talk me through the problem and did not charge me. But I'm sure it was because I complained that it shouldn't be the consumer who bought the product have to pay because they have faulty software and they know they do. You put out the product. Be responsible for it until it's working properly. The only reason I rate this as a three star is because the tech went the extra mile and fixed the problem. He believes that I shouldn't have it again.

Apart from constantly asking me for a product key that didn't work, asking me to verify my purchase of it numerous times and finally putting me onto customer service in India - I had enough and cancelled it and asked for a refund as they've never actually verified my purchase from four months ago and I was still functioning on my old Office software. Well, now they've locked me out of all my word files including my manuscripts for two books, my budgets for two television series. And it's not the $100 for the license. It's the principle.

However, one of the young women in the United States was very decent, but somehow, someway, Microsoft has to be stopped from using their enormous technological reach over borders to essentially hold customers ransom and literal theft of one's personal and corporate information. Their predatory practices prevent one from transferring my own intellectual property over to a Mac File. As I am in Canada, I would love to speak to anyone who has any experience with either 365 or its offshoots - and launch a Class Action Lawsuit against Microsoft over their predatory practices and scurrilous corporate behavior.

So I google search for Microsoft support. All I want is these options to work. It is worth noting at this moment that I have Trend-micro Anti-Virus software running and haven't had any trouble with malicious software. Once on the phone with Microsoft, they give me two options: a 1-time fix for 1 computer for $98 or a year-long technical support for 2 computers for $150.

Well, I really want to be able to set up a non-administrative profile (a very basic function that has been around for a long time) on my living room computer. So I bite the bullet, because how else am I going to figure out why that when I click on these functions they simply disregard it. After talking with the representative and giving him payment details, he asks me to allow him access to my computer. I type in the browser the address he tells me over the phone "microsoft/help..." etc whatever it was and give him access. As soon as this happens I open the dialogue menu to show him what was going on and what buttons were not functioning. Not more than ten seconds pass as I'm doing this and voila, the "add accounts", "change account", "family account" etc buttons are all working perfectly fine all of a sudden.

Wait what?! I kid you not, the technician didn't do or change anything and the problem I just paid $150 to fix just vanished by, I suppose, by paying for tech support and merely granting control of my computer to Microsoft. Well immediately, within 45 seconds of paying I ask to cancel and get a refund. The tech says that's fine and that I can do that since nothing has been changed (although my computer is magically working fine now). Also, worth noting here that I had tried changing these account settings for two weeks, tinkering around with it for a couple hours the first and second weekend of setting up the machine. I guess thinking maybe it took some time and restarts for the updates and everything to work properly.

My main complaint I'll get to in a bit, but I'm wondering if the strategy was to coax me into upgrading to Windows 10 - by asking constantly with notifications and saying it's free - then distributing less than optimally functioning software knowing that a typical consumer will then need to look for technical support, and then be presented with the 2 expensive options mentioned above to fix some functions that ought never to have problems in the first place. Maybe that's a bit paranoid, I'll admit, but the way that went, what am I supposed to think? I think that the functions were enabled in the instant that the computer was linked up with a Microsoft tech which can only happen if you pay. Please, anyone who knows about this kind of thing tell me the possibilities of what else could have happened there?

So my main complaint. The time and difficult of getting a refund. I feel downright abused. Did anyone see the image of the Denver Bronco horse logo turned into a male appendage and the Panthers cat turned into butt-cheeks? Well, that's how I felt Microsoft was treating me over the past few days. Saturday, the refund on the order I had just made 45 seconds ago couldn't be processed because that department doesn't work until business hours Monday. Well, that's upsetting but understandable, I guess. I feel like someone should be able to cancel a transaction immediately. So the guy gives me his word that they'll call me and give me a full refund Monday morning between 9-10 am.

So today, Monday. I get the call I'm waiting for from Microsoft at 11:20 am. This call lasts a while and the guy asks me my email address, phone number, and several other questions. After 30 minutes of this and being on hold he says everything is good and he is processing the refund so, "Can you wait on hold for about 5 more minutes to make sure?" Well I'm getting called into a meeting and said, "Please just send me the confirmation that it was processed to my email," and he says, "No I'll need to call you back" but I have to go so I say, "Please just email me letting me know it went through I have to go." I went to my meeting and saw I was getting two missed calls from him but I'm in a meeting.

Wished I would have answered. I called back after lunch because I hadn't seen a confirmation email so I could assume he didn't make the refund. Well at this point I had to give my information to Microsoft - email etc. two more times to two different representatives. Each time required spelling it out over a less than optimal sounding line (due to their end as my service is great in my office) and struggling to make out what the support representative is saying (as English is clearly not any of the representatives first language. I'm telling a long story long, because these little details are important to me).

After waiting on hold a few more times I finally get the refund processed at which time I took a screenshot - with the time at 29 minutes. I get the email confirmation a minute ago and they misspelled my name from Joseph to Josepf. Hopefully, this doesn't disrupt the refund. Is this abuse? I feel strongly enough that (if nothing else) this refund was made excessively difficult and could be done much better so I am writing this review to blow off steam so I can get back to work.

I received the "new" surface which worked upon plugging it in, however, the next day when I tried to start it, it was dead. I called the number provided to me by the friendly retail store and after many prompts and much hold time was connected with a customer service agent. She determined that I needed to ship the surface back (my new surface was hot to the touch and would not turn on). The CSA suggested the advanced return, where I had to charge the broken product to my credit card, they would send me a "new and working" surface, I would ship the broken one back and upon receipt of the broken product they would refund my credit card). I told the CSA that I saw all sorts of problems with this scenario, but nonetheless, I gave the agent approval to use the credit card on my account to expedite the process.

In about 5 days, I received a new surface. Thinking that this one would work I plugged it in to charge it and it did not recognize my charger. Once more called the customer service number and after holding for 20 minutes, was disconnect by Hal. I called in once more, was on hold for another 20 minutes, and was connected with a much friendlier agent who walked me through several diagnostic test and after about 90 minutes she determined that I would also have to send back this new Surface and they would send me another.

The problem is that they could not do that because I still had the first replacement in my possession and their protocol does not allow you to ship 2 back at the same time. I have to ship the first broken replacement back, wait for them to receive that and then I can start the new process of shipping the 2nd broken one back. I am sure I will have to give them my credit card again so they can charge another 488.00 for the second broken one. So another 2 hours or so wasted on my part. I will never buy another Microsoft product. I have just become an Apple convert or perhaps Android, or Google... anything but Microsoft.

"OK, Keddy (Kelly), I need to ask from you if you are a-bail-e-bull (available) for twenty four by sebin (24/7) for a technical support to contact you at dis number in two hours..." Not only was this woman hard to understand, but her 100 mph broken English wore me OUT! My brain cannot decipher that fast! My head is throbbing, my mood is sour, and I pray that whomever calls me back speaks fluent English...I don't think I can handle any more of that torture today.

An hour later I gave up with phone support and tried the chat tool. They had me restart my computer, then sent me a link to a tool that should have let them remotely access my computer. That didn't work, so he told me to uninstall & reinstall Office, sent me the links to the official Microsoft page on how to do it, then disconnected our chat. Over 2 hours and a lot of frustration later, I am no closer to printing addresses on envelopes and thoroughly dissatisfied with Microsoft Office and their support giving me the runaround. Their company line seems to be "let me check my resources on that". Seemed like they were reading the same instructions from the website I had already tried. The first lady put me on hold for 10 minutes, while she was starting Word, doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

Needless to say, I immediately set up my computer to block ALL incoming updates from Microsoft and not install anything without my permission. People, I honestly believe this is INTENTIONAL on the part of Microsoft, they want you to upgrade (A laughable word!) to Windows 10 and are forcing errors on your expensive computers. I will NEVER purchase a computer with Microsoft on it again in my life. I finally opened my eyes and bought 4 Chromeboxes and a Chromebook over Christmas, keeping 2 Chromeboxes and the Chromebook for myself and giving the other 2 Chromeboxes to my grandsons.

All of the computers running on Chrome Operating System only are top of the line, they boot up immediately, you never have a problem with them, they never bother you with worthless updates and lost time, and you will never buy anything else after trying one. I should mention both of my daughters are teachers in local school systems, and both of their school systems have gone the same route. Microsoft installed in computers leaves them vulnerable to virus, botched updates, and loss of valuable user time. Quit wasting your money with Bill Gates and his garbage, go to Google or Apple and let their Clouds handle the software and storage for you!

So tomorrow, I'm call every single executive board member, the corporate staff until somebody either refund my $200 paid for the software or Microsoft remove the blocks from my installation. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY UNTHINKABLE TO BE RIPPED off like the likes of Microsoft and their unfriendly customer management. We need office support software from other companies that need this beast, Microsoft Office. Microsoft is a ripoff for American consumers and they treat you with disrespect because they dominate the consumer market.

Repeated follow-up calls have been futile; when I am NOT cut off (and no one ever calls me back despite the fact that I always give my phone number and ask to be called back if we get disconnected), all they offer is to uninstall 2016 and give me a refund. Except that would leave me with no word-processing software at all, since the tech uninstalled 2011 as part of installing 2016. Well, I guess that apart from companies that are too big to fail, there are also companies that are too big to care about customers.

I wanted to make sure I did the right thing, as these were Christmas presents for my daughters, who wanted full hd screens to watch movies etc on new laptops. After reading several reviews, I noticed a theme of everyone questioning the fact that these laptops actually were full hd. So again I called, a bit after the fact, but told the sales representative that I read several reviews and in the reviews it stayed this model number from Acer is not full hd as advertised. He assured me that this was a signature laptop from Microsoft and the specs advertised on the site were correct. I did look at Acer website while speaking to him and he said most likely these computers were specially made for Microsoft so the specs were different although the model numbers are the same. I had no choice but to believe him.

It was bothering me so I went back on Microsoft 30 minutes later and noticed the banner on home page advertising the laptops I purchased said sold out, I then clicked on the item and there it was, the specs had changed as well reflecting what everyone was questioning and what I had inquired about, these were not full hd laptops! After 3 calls being assured of the specs, cancelling my custom hp order and now I have ordered 2 laptops that are far superior to the custom ones I had cancelled! I was more than upset.

So I call Microsoft immediately, took little mention and the rep who stated she was a supervisor knew exactly why I called.. She said I was not able to cancel the order, I had to receive it then ship it back for return, which I already had 900 on hold for weeks at hp, and having another 750 plus in addition to that on hold for weeks was not an option 2 weeks from Christmas and faced with buying another 2 laptops, or not having the gifts for my daughters on Christmas, I did try to fix the hp order, but the sale I had gotten had ended and they had nothing comparable and wanted full price to replace the order.

So the supervisor with Microsoft offered me 50 per laptop online credit off my next purchase. Very frustrated I accepted and asked for additional contact info for corporate office to basically make them aware and call them out. She gave me a reference number in case of any problems but said when I logged into my Microsoft account it would reflect the credit of 100 dollars. After hours of dealing with these people I did nothing further that day, but a few days later I logged in and there was no credit on my account, so I got my reference number and called in, he informed me that the reference number had been created but was blank, and that the company has authorized them to offer 25 credit or 15 refund for each laptop due to the amount of complaints. That was all he could do, so again I asked how to contact corporate, was given same email.

At this point I'm not happy, but since have gotten no email response at all, and after several calls and many hours they now tell me they can do nothing at all. They ran the advertising on the website until the item sold out, then immediately changed the specs.. Without the full hd this was a very average deal that was only sold out by the false advertisement.. Due to the fact I couldn't purchase a third set of laptops I was forced to give these as the gifts, and once the girls got them they don't want to give them up, although I've tried to convince them to let me return them. Microsoft should have done something to fix and make right the situation to every customer that was swindled into purchasing these laptops. But they will not respond. I will never buy another product from Microsoft again, ever!

The re-installed Windows 7 Home Premium x 64 bit continued to have blue screens, slow start ups, and black outs, as if an embedded error was never resolved. Three different Level 2 India Techs (from Microsoft) worked on it for nearly two days recently, only leave it in worse shape. I had purchased an external hard drive, so I took a chance and re-loaded everything. It works quite well except, that it no longer provides Defragmentation of the hard drive, because Ravi ** (Microsoft India Rep) insisted it should not be operated by a non-professional types like myself. Which begs the question, why does Microsoft provide it with all their software, if it should not be used?

Anyway, it has been removed or at least disabled and so far un-recovered. I want the $149.99 paid for the "precious" Microsoft Assure Program, which only seems to "assure" further headaches. Bill Gates has "outsourced" American jobs and left us without recourse. If Bill Gates had to wait an hour for a Level 1 tech to fumble around and finally pass you off to a Level 2, only to have your machine messed up more, I'm sure the system would change rather quickly. Send refund to Richard **; Case Number ** (Last of Many Case Numbers).

The Microsoft rep's attitude was pretty much "oh well your card was cancelled, deal with it." Microsoft customer service is the absolute WORST I have ever dealt with! In addition, the service received from the Assure plan was mediocre and not worth the time or money. I pretty much was told to buy a new computer. I had my computer worked on by another source and it turned out to be fine, so BUYER BEWARE!!!

That being said, when I actually wanted to use it, I know for a fact I had charged it fully. It was dead, so I thought maybe I just put it to sleep or something. Long story short, I did this 3 times to make sure it was not me. When I realized there was a battery issue I called Best Buy. They stated I did not have geek squad and that I would have to contact Microsoft. They also told me that there had been a batch of Microsoft Surface Pro 3 that have had battery issues and perhaps mine was one of them. This was not his first time hearing this, but that I had a warranty with you.

First time I called I was on the phone for an hour troubleshooting.. Here is the info from that case, reported on Tue 11/3/2015 3:17 PM. I fully charged the Surface Pro and the next morning it was clear that it did not work. The battery was dying, still, even when completely turned off. So the next person I talked to sent me a label to my email and told me to print it out. I printed it out, took it to the UPS store and had them professionally pack it. I added your label and scheduled a home pick up for the next morning. Here is the label info for the first shipment of my NEW Surface Pro 3 back to your company. Here is that information Service Request number **, Original Serial of the Surface Pro I purchased **, shipped out 11/4/2015.

7 days later when I got it back, I had no paperwork in the box letting me know what was wrong with my item to begin with! I was not notified that it had even been replaced. I turned the Pro over for some reason and noticed it was scratched. All over I knew it was used and not mine. When I logged onto my Microsoft, I was asked to register it when I knew I had already registered mine. So I looked under, and further, and noticed the serial was different confirming my suspicions -- I had been sent back an item that was refurbished. I called Customer Service and told them the item that I sent them was BRAND NEW, with not one scratch on it. At that point, I was put on the phone with a manager. He assured me he would take care of the problem. I would be sent a new tablet. He expressed to me his concern for me being upset about the situation and assured me it would be taken care of .

This manager sent me a label and I started the process again spending another 30 min on the phone. Here is that info, this all happened when I got it back of course on 11/12/2015. Service Request Number ** Serial ** for the item I received that was Refurbished, Damaged and NOT NEW. Shipped it out the next day Friday 11/13/2015.

I waited for another 7 days. Today I got it back, AGAIN A REFURBISHED USED TABLET that is scratched, was someone else tablet at one point, not brand new!! I am really upset that I spend 1200.00 on this supposedly amazing, hardware that is suppose to replace my laptop!! Bought flat out, no payment plan, payed the 1200.00 and walked out the Best Buy door with a new Surface Pro. Now.. with my warranty through your company, I keep getting used items back. I was the only person in the world who had used my surface pro 3. Sending me basically a used pair of shoes when I payed for a new pair -- does not work for me .

This has taken hours and hours to fix. Now 14 days in customer service, even management is incompetent. So that's why I am contacting you. Everyone tells me they are going to help me and are happy to help me. But no results, nothing. I keep getting back items that have scratches on them #USEDBYSOMEONEELSE. Maybe scratches are minor to a company, making billions. I have to work 3 jobs, just to buy the things I want. With my purchase, I was told from your corporate I had a money back guarantee. I would really like my 1200.00 back or a new Item or an upgraded item at this point. I really feel like I am due a Convince for all the inconvenience I have had to deal with. Or just a NEW FREAKING TABLET to replace THE NEW ONE I sent in originally. I really hope whoever reads this has the patience, understands my frustrations, and does something to actually help me because this is so so wrong. This is not right .

I have not even turned on the second replacement item I received. I do not want it, it is not brand new. According to my standard and how I take care of assets in life I provide myself with, THIS IS DAMAGED! So yesterday I was told by Microsoft Corporate they were not going to send me a new tablet. They told me if I wanted to trade it in they would give me 500.00 towards an upgrade if I buy the 4. No way Jose!!! They offered me money on the xbox store to extend my Flimsy Warranty through them. So all in all, problem not solved. Again now they want me to ship it back in so they can send me yet another used one, corporate stated it would not be new. I just bought it 6 freaking months ago brand new with pre existing issues according to where I bought it from.

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Great deal and fast delivery, but... I received mine in about 4-5 days after purchase. Got the $299 deal for Black Friday instead of taking my chances with limited quantities etc. Easy to setup, and I was up and playing Unity within about an hour or so of unboxing it. The main drawback is to use the $60 in Microsoft points card that came with my bundle, you have to wait until you already have the xbox set up, then get an online code, then go back to the microsoft store and shop and wait on the game/accessory you purchased to ship all over again. I really don't understand why it wouldn't be available immediately with purchase, or able to be used directly on the console instead of waiting yet another week to ship something all over again.

I did not like the "internet based entrance" system.. aka new Login. I hate that "assistant", which slows down whole system, but the worthiest thing - it records & transmits ANY of your step inside Windows.. that really stinks. And the last thing.. so, actually as far as I can see - this assistant & our personal data is being stolen and that's the real "free" price of Microsoft Windows 10.

After three hours on the phone, I am still being told that even though they are going to "escalate this to our Care Team" that I might be contacted by phone or email with the "good or bad news" but there is no guarantee that this will replace my computer. I keep getting reminded that I did not purchase the Complete plan (nowhere was it offered to me, nor did I ever hear about it.). Well, if there was a device specific plan, Best Buy should be offering it instead of its own inflated replacement plan that costs double. At least let consumers know it exists. Shame on Microsoft for not sending the eight million emails telling me to buy the plan like Apple or HP. Somehow Apple has mastered the art of customer service and makes sure that we have multiple options for repairs...and they offer retro-purchase if you haven't been covered.

I really try to shy away from companies that don't have a lot of experience with devices, but I am an early adopter. This is one purchase I will regret for a long time to come. Microsoft has lost my loyalty and unless they show that they are going to stand behind their devices and the accessories that they make for the device, I will never buy from them again. I say all the time...known issues aren't known issues until you have a certain threshold of calls. Don't make cheap 100 dollar devices and charge 1,500 for them.

I sat on the phone for 45 minutes going around in circles trying to find a resolution to an issue with Windows 10 (there's no easy way to remove a bridge status from your internet connections) because the individual who took my call had a hard time even understanding what the issue is. "I cannot gain access to the internet because I cannot remove a bridge status from my ethernet and wifi port." "Sir, do you want me to remote in and take a look at your PC?" "I would, but I cannot access the internet. How do I remove the bridge status from my internet ports?" "Sir, you said, ethernet. Could you spell that for me please? Sir, if you would just connect wirelessly to the internet, I could help you." "I do not have a wireless router, and even if I did I can't connect because of the bridge status. I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with the GUI because there's no easy way to go to bridge settings, like there was in 8.1" "Sir that may be true. Anyways sir, I'm going to send you a link that may help you with your issue. What's your email address?" ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Deflecting? What is wrong with you?

So what they do is start everything over and just waste the time and again when they got an "error" they simply disconnect and nothing solved. Last time when I called the girl just told me "go and buy a windows 10" and I said "why I have to buy it when I can have free upgrade" and she just disconnect. They follow the nasty strategy and it is when you call back you can't even complain because they just say "We do not know how was the last time connected to your pc or help you. There is 100 people sitting here." Really?!

I am sorry that I am used with Microsoft products so much and for so long that I can't change to Apple. Customer service is horrible, no communication between them and I had to explain the story six times to different people. No one cares, no one admits that the people working there, are not knowledgeable enough to fix the problems fast. Why every software repair must be paid? Why I, with my miserable disability pension should pay so high prices to have my computer functional at any time and make that way, a billionaire more billionaire? How many billions somebody can spend in his lifetime? And if Microsoft is so greedy and wants to be paid for the air that we breathe around his computers, at least assure perfect customer service.

I felt horrible, humiliated, forced to stay paralyzed on the computer for 11 hours! Nobody sympathized or offered a compensation for my sufferings. How much my health costs? Who would pay for my medications and treatment after such a day? I am extremely shocked of how greedy and non-caring the big corporations are. How much they made us dependable on them. All complaints are useless anyway because no one in Microsoft cares and won't pay attention.

This was another person who could not enunciate the English language and the call was cut off for some reason after a couple minutes. All this aggravation wasted 30 minutes of my time. Why is it so hard to register something you paid for? Why is the information on their technical support blogs, which I spent another 2 hours searching and reading for a solution before I called, so poor? They put out a product that we purchased, and don't support it. They want to charge us support money to fix faulty software. To add insult to injury, they subject their U.S. customers to technicians who cannot enunciate English, and to add insult to injury, they take away US jobs to do it while we have 94 million people out of work. They "trick" or almost force people to beta test their software for free (Windows 10 being the latest).

Registering software should be a breeze. I shouldn't have to know if I installed the right ISO to get it to work if I have paid for it. I should not have to spend hours to do something so simple. Their support line should be more responsive for these types of simple needs. Horrible, horrible, horrible experience. Would you put up with this treatment with any other product?

I hate to even say this but she didn't understand english and it was so frustrating. I ask for a manager and sit on hold for 35 minutes before she hung up on me! Microsoft help is a joke. I don't understand why they can't get staff members who know anything about the programs they are using. I wasn't rude, they just hung up instead of saying they didn't know how to fix it. They must be taught to never say I don't know, rather just hang up on the person.

Free access to Answer Desk was bundled w/ the Windows 10 download. May go back to Windows 7. At least it's been around long enough to work even Microsoft's kinks. In truth I run Windows in a Parallel's virtual machine on my Apple MacBook Pro. At least Apple's products seem to me to be much closer to end-user ready at roll out.

It's easy to ask why I bothered, as I should have known within 10 minutes that this was futile, but my experience was so unbelievable I just had to stay on the line, like watching a train crash. I've been sick, so I've had a lot of time on my hands which allowed for this ridiculous experience. THE PROBLEM is very simple: I have Windows 8.1. In my Start Menu (Start MENU, not Start Screen! Which, on Windows 8.1, looks like a house icon on my taskbar, and on other versions of Windows it looks like a windows icon), there is a search bar which says "Search for apps and files." So, Windows 8.1 is a travesty of an OS in my opinion already, but the problem with this awful start menu is that it is SO SLOW.

As I mentioned, I tried looking online but couldn't find much, and I'm not a total moron so of course I looked in the start menu settings to see if that did anything, but I thought surely there must be a way to do this, and if not tech would be able to tell me pretty quickly. If you speak English, I imagine you probably understand what I'm asking, here, especially since I've typed it over and over (as I had to state it over and over in various ways on the phone)

Now onto the call with the technical support. First of all, if you don't know already and you call them or try to chat online you will find out very quickly that you are not going to speak to someone who has a clear grasp on the English language, which makes communication an absolute nightmare. Their technical support is outsourced to the Philippines (I know because I specifically asked). This is a HUGE No-no in my book, because frankly I've never had a good experience when I've been routed overseas-- it's just a fact. I use Verizon for example and their tech support is in the US.

They aren't always able to solve my problems, but 99% of the time they at least understand what I am asking, seem to care about solving the problem, and I feel that I am talking to a real person. The first woman I talked to fumbled around having me click on this, that, and the other, and about 10 minutes in it was VERY clear to me that she had less of a clue what she was doing than I did. That's right. Microsoft's technical support agent instructed me to basically Google the solution to my problem. WOW. I mean I couldn't believe it.

Eventually the line disconnected or she hung up. It seemed there were connection problems anyway, at least she mentioned there were, which may have been the reason for the giant silences, so I'm not prepared to accuse her of hanging up on me but still. I called back and was on the line with another representative, this one was a man. At this point, I was pretty sure no solution would be found, and was already chatting with a friend of mine on Facebook to see if we could find a solution online on our own. My friend ended up getting me the answer I wanted before this agent, but the second experience I had was NO BETTER than the first, though he didn't ask me to "search for my problem online".

Instead, his solution was to offer me alternatives. He also had NO grasp of what my problem was. When I explained it, he seemed to think I was asking "How do I search my files?" because all of his instructions were things like "Can you go to "my computer"? Okay now you see there is a search at the top right of the screen? Can you type what you are looking for and does it come up?" And I kept explaining I understand how I can search for files, I wanted to know if I could disable app searches on the start menu! He kept asking me "Well what are you searching for?" and I kept having to say "Anything! It doesn't matter. Just, files, in general! That's not the point" and so on.

It was inane, the whole conversation. By this time, my friend had figured out that there really isn't a way to achieve what I wanted to, but he DID figure out a totally acceptable alternative that was much faster than using the start menu anyway. The poor "tech support" representative was only getting more confused, so he finally gave up and said "Ummm okay yes, here I have looked in my files and I am seeing there is no solution to your problem here" which I laughed at, because it took 30 minutes for him to figure that out, and my friend had messaged me about halfway in- I was just so appalled that this guy was arguing over the terminology with me that I stayed on the line. Then he told me I could upgrade to windows 10 and told me he would email me instructions and links to download. I verified my email multiple times, and of course I didn't ever receive an email (not that I truly expected anything at this point).

I'm really just disgusted at Microsoft after this. I was disappointed with Windows 8, but every company has lost or will lose their way at some point. They tried out a new design which was god-awful. However to not provide technical support, or even have a customer service line that is in the United States is appalling to me. It's shady business, and that's something I didn't think I would accuse Microsoft of because I've never had such an experience with them. I do not like Apple products, I don't like Macs, but now I'm absolutely sickened by the idea of Microsoft. This question I had was so minor. If there was a legitimate problem with my computer, there is absolutely no way I would be able to find help from Microsoft. I don't want to tell people not to buy Microsoft products, because I've used them my whole life but after this, I certainly won't try to convince people TO buy them. Absolutely horrible business practices, Microsoft. Shameful.

I called back to Microsoft level 1 tech and let them spend a little time looking at the problem. I ask to be transferred to level 2, and was told that the policy had changed and that level 2 was only available on a fee basis. I then ask to have Windows 7 re-installed and was informed that the 30 day trial period was over and there was nothing they could do. Now my only solution is to purchase a version of Windows 7 (if I can find one). It seems that Microsoft should be held responsible for the all these problems and provide help to resolve the problems.

I attempted the refresh and the reinstall. Neither fixed the touch on my Surface. The next day, I called MS Surface support and let them know this issue is ongoing and that I need the Surface replaced. I understood that the warranty was out and the rep told me there is one last thing to do before they replace it. She admitted she would replace it even after the warranty was barely out. I attempted the image load from USB per her instructions and found that this did not fix the issue. I called them back and let them know it did not work. I asked to have it replaced and they stated it's not covered and that they would not replace it. I told them the issue has been ongoing since September and that the previous rep said they'd replace it. Surface Tech Support played the game by patching my Surface until the warranty ran out and then won't replace it.

Today, I called Support again to get some details of when I called them in the past. The rep Matt was nice for the most part. The most part being on hold. When I was not on hold, he was making me go over the issues from the start, which after at least six times, I'm a little tired of. I told him I've been calling as the issues continued. After waiting several hours for him to call back, he informed me that he did everything he could to replace the Surface, but alas, no replacement unless I paid $320. Why would I pay that amount for a device that has been obsolete? He admitted they don't make parts for this anymore. He said there were too many long gaps between issues. I told him that wasn't possible and that protocol states they are supposed to record every correspondence. Obviously, previous reps have not been notating the account.

Had they been notating the account, the warranty would've covered the Surface and I would get a replacement. The repeated calls were not on file. Therefore, resulting in my loss of the warranty replacement by the negligent reps. Today, there is no trail of my repeated calls. Due to their incredulous error, I got screwed. I told Matt that he needs to look at all the forums that this is a known issue. He denied knowing this was a known issue. Ignorance!!!

I have been lied to, cheated, swindled, and completely belittled as they told me no. I am tired of these large companies thinking they can pull the wool over our eyes. Microsoft has some serious ethical issues. I will never purchase another Windows machine ever again! They make me sick!!! Thanks to Matt (ticket number **), Kenna, Sloan, Brian, Ashton, and Kay for blowing smoke up my butt. Claim numbers are the only two I wrote down, ** and **. I will never forget this.

Also need to reinstall CD Burning (It was Lenovo power2go) get a portable hard drive (1 or 2TB) to plug in or at least some memory sticks on the meantime. All this could cost up to 500 to achieve! Not funny when no job (Or indeed low pay job which is what I will be likely to get). 1TB TO 150gb Reduction isn't funny. Microsoft ought to offer compensation as it will cost me this to get it back to what it was (and needed also to look for work or to work from home too). Not funny... (too many CDs go cyclic too.)

I've had 2 hours attempt to get through someone for a somewhat simple task. I had to give up due to frustration and honestly I didn't have another phone to replace mine from being thrown against the wall. I must admit, I've had the pleasure speaking with a few incredible talented people at Microsoft over the years. When credit is due, I'd be the first to give. Yet, out of the 20+ techs dealing with lately, only one has impressed me. Good job Microsoft. Hell of a support group you are running.

Here is where the adventure begins. Customer service (6x) has not been able to assist me. They cannot find my order of Visio Pro for Office 365 subscription, stating the Order ID I gave them is invalid and not an order number at all. That number came in my order confirmation email and is on the invoice I received from Microsoft. Also, I told them I have bank records of them removing my year subscription from my account. So they have my money as of September 4th of this year (2015) for the (2) annual subscriptions to Visio Pro for Office 365.

I have provided customer service with all email addresses, phone numbers and anything else short of a DNA test for them to locate my order of Visio Pro. Every time I call to speak to billing, they refuse to connect me and claim they can help me even though after 5 minutes with them they come to the realization they cannot and then forward me on to an account specialist which is what I demanded from the beginning. Then during the transfer I repeatedly get hung up on.

I have spoken to customer service reps, technical service people and billing and get nowhere. I was even told at one point that I would have to pay for the upgrade of Visio because it was version 2013 and it does not work with Office 2016 (which was never indicated anywhere on the product websites what version anything was nor that any upgrades of either subscriptions would causes one to not work with the other). The Microsoft community forums are starting to raise this issue and people are beginning to complain of the same or similar instances since Office 365 automatically became version 2016 recently.

I find this criminal as Microsoft refugees to help me and others, their offshore call centers are useless and need to be shut down, but most importantly, they took my money and have disabled a product that I paid for a year upfront (purchased in late August of this year and as of yesterday I cannot use it anymore). I still have 10 months left on my subscription that I cannot use because they want me to pay them even more money to upgrade the Visio Pro subscription to the 2016 version. I only owned this Visio for 2 months, not 5 years. Give me my money back or give me the product, you cannot keep both. I hope a class action lawsuit gets formed because I am ready to join in.

Overall, I did end up losing over $150.00 in downloaded content (based on purchase value), and I used the default setting to completely wipe the Xbox One clear of the hard drive to sell that unit. I did follow the defaulting protocol to hopefully transfer my data. My advice is if you want to keep the downloads safe, don't attempt to default or sell that Xbox unit. The gamer tag somehow erased between selling that unit and buying a limited edition console. Though Microsoft did not contact me after my original post, I did want to say I am over being upset that I did buy all the downloads from retailers and now they are gone.

However, I did keep my second console purchase and will be repurchasing parts of the lost downloads and hope that I don't have to deal with a problem like this one again. I wish all other luck in unfortunate circumstances like mine. Luckily my loss was only an amount over $150.00.

Original Review: Oct. 22, 2015

Dealt with 6 representatives of Microsoft support. They lost my gamertag in the server and magically don't have any record of it. They have been no help since they couldn't find any record of my account. Also, the DLC associated with this account is also gone. This being said, Microsoft has defrauded me of over $150.00 and I have all the proof for it. I will never deal with these scam artists again. DON'T BUY THIS PRODUCT AS THEY WILL DO WHAT THEY CAN TO SCAM YOU OF YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY.

When referred to the free self-help I was continually met with answers which could not help me. When I challenged the operators on this and asked how else I could resolve the issue without paying, they could not provide any alternatives, and one even hung up. I ended up resolving this issue myself by messing around with more advanced settings, and it seems that somehow one of the "under the hood" settings had changed itself. I am absolutely disgusted and surprised that Microsoft provide such a poor standard or technical support and that they have the nerve to try and charge for it!

When you try to get assistance from their tech support (if you can call it that) there's little to none! What you do get is a lot of placation! They have no intention what so ever of stopping this behavior! Truly over the top! Forcing folks to take what they obviously do not want! As a matter of fact, my current Windows laptop will be my last! Indeed, if I ever get another it will only be because someone gave it to me, period! They should not be allowed to do this!

I called Microsoft to check what is going on and I was told my device didn't pass an inspection.There are no notes why (obviously it wasn't dropped due to the fact there are absolutely no damages to the device - not a single scratch). And they returned the same broken device to me without calling me or notifying me anyhow that it would go under warranty and to give me an option even to pay for the repair due to the fact that it is a Microsoft policy to return the old device with about 5-10 business days shipping (another 2 weeks) and I have to send it back again to out of warranty department- RIDICULOUS. So after half hour arguing how is that possible and to try to make any sense of this. I gave up and decided to wait for my device to come and take it somewhere to get it fixed.

Four days later I got a call from Microsoft customer service to ask me for my experience with my NEW device???!!! At this point I totally lost my patience, I explained my situation and after I was told 10 times "I am so sorry about that." But at the end nothing can be done. I asked to speak with a Supervisor - guess what happened - I was on hold for 42 min and of course I hang up. Next day I called again and same thing - 45 min hold and no Supervisor is available. No surprise - with this kind of poor customer service I am sure all supervisors are quite busy. Just to add up to this, 3 days after I wrote the above impression from Microsoft and its products, I was on the phone for about 4 hours for those 3 days. I spoke with Brian, Jessica and 2 more people which supposedly been a Supervisors, barely speaking English, who were totally not competent and helpful.

So I purchased a device for $700, it got broken by itself, I send it to the manufacturer and almost a month down the road no one is able to tell me where is my device. But I am still getting calls from customer service center to ask me if I am happy with my replacement - I am speechless!!! So this is how Microsoft Customer Service works, how it stands behind its name and products! I will share my experience with everybody I know and I am definitely selling this product - if I ever get it back, and purchasing iPad. I had to bite such an embarrassment purchasing Microsoft product as a gift - would NEVER do same mistake in a lifetime again.

I decided to look up my nearest Microsoft Store to try and get the problem fixed in person so I called that store to make sure they had my model in stock. Good thing I called as the store was out of my model and the employee was unsure when they'd be receiving more. Reluctantly, I called Surface Support back and after waiting 35 minutes, I spoke with an employee named Dexter. I re-told my story and he basically said I would have to pay $300.00 for a replacement device because there was no possible way the device was defective. I then told him an employee the day before said I would have to pay $50 to get the device replaced and he accused me of making this up. After being on the phone for almost an hour, Dexter created a warranty slip for me and I sent the device in the next day so that Surface Support could look at the damage.

After a few days, I received an email from Microsoft Customer Support that contained the following statement, "This message is to inform you that we have received your item. Your item will be reviewed by our exchange center and a replacement will be processed. Your replacement item will ship soon (usually within a few days), subject to inventory availability and shipper delays."

I was thrilled to know my efforts paid off and Customer Support actually looked at my file before accessing blame for the damage. I felt vindicated, not because I didn't have to shell out money for a replacement, but because the company was admitting I was not the reason for the damage to the screen. However, the next day I received a second email from Support that stated "We have shipped your device... Recover your data. If you have shipped in a Surface device you can go to the Surface support site to learn how to set up your Surface after service." Upon reading this email, I called Microsoft to get clarification as to what I should expect in the mail (replacement device vs original device). Another hour of being on the phone passed until I finally got an answer, which was my device was being sent back 'as-is'.

I got the device back today in the mail and am still furious with how this whole situation was handled on Microsoft's end. In the package was an extremely generic letter with no date addressed to 'surface customer' that stated all the reasons a product would not be replaced. Nothing was highlighted, underlined, circled, etc. I feel that my efforts to tell my story to customer support fell on deaf ears and as soon as the service department opened up the box, they saw a cracked screen and passed it along to the 'return to sender' pile without considering anything I had to say.

I called the support line once more this evening to summarize my experience and let them know how their communication (or lack thereof) misled me from the beginning. The supervisor simply told me nothing would be done and to stop wasting my time calling in as nothing would be done to remedy the situation. I will be advising my employer not to buy any more surface devices now or in the future. Also, any potential surface customer should look elsewhere for their tablet needs (Samsung, Apple) and save themselves a headache like this.

Microsoft customer service explained to me that they didn't actually service the devices, rather, they would just send a replacement device for a fee of $320. When asked if the replacement was brand new, they replied by saying that it is a "new like to like device". Very deceptive language in my opinion. When I asked for an email to be sent to me to confirm, in writing, that my replacement device would be "brand new", the representative - Andrei - became very interested in only discussing this matter via a phone call. I agreed. She called, and I asked her to confirm the device as brand new. This is when it came to light that it would be a refurbished unit. To top it off, I wasn't able to purchase an extended warranty to protect myself. They only offer a 90-day warranty on the replacement. This made an already unpleasant experience that much worse.

I voiced my displeasure and was told that she would reach out to see my alternative options, including a potential upgrade to a new unit. I was placed on a 10-minute hold, and eventually ended up with a completely new representative who knew nothing of my issue! Frustrated already, I didn't want to waste any more time recounting my situation to someone brand new so I asked to be transferred back to "Andrei". This never happened, I was again transferred to someone brand new. This was the end of the line for me on what turned out to be one of the worst customer service experiences I've had. My next step is to look into fixing the device on my own. It's dead already, so I have nothing to lose. If that fails, I will look to a Microsoft competitor to give my business to. I will never purchase a Microsoft Surface again.

I called Microsoft back and explained. The new tech support said he would help me, kept putting me on hold, and the call was disconnected after 40 minutes of waiting. I immediately called again and got a third service agent. His reason for the disconnects? "Perhaps there was an issue with your phone." He couldn't tell me who had been working with me the second time I called and he couldn't let me speak with a supervisor because they were "all in a meeting."

This third tech checked for documentation on my service contract and said it had been canceled. Why was it canceled? "Perhaps the tech last night could not fix the problem." If he couldn't fix the problem, why did he leave me a message saying he had fixed the problem? Silence. He tried three times to enter my credit card information in his system to set up service for me... again. He could never get the number to go through. He did continue to work on my problem and it "appears" to be fixed but what a cluster **! Seriously, what is wrong with this department? Or should I be asking, "What is wrong with this company?" I thought Best Buy's Geek Squad telephone support service was bad but Microsoft beats them, hands down.

I'm not paying money for a software I have already purchased! Why do I have to pay money for a product I have already purchased just because they decided to upgrade? This is insane! I asked to speak to a manager and the woman I was talking to put me on hold for over 45 minutes just to get a manager, then hangs up on me! Never purchase Microsoft product! Customer service sucks and they are just trying to scam you out of paying more money for things you already have once they update!

I was on the phone with tech support for an hour and a half before they finally sent me a new device and keyboard. I understood that I would need to return the old defective devices or my credit card would be charged. I had a warranty, which I also thought it was ridiculous that they needed my credit card information in order for me to get the device faster. (I could not be without a computer for 2 weeks.) I sent back the tablet and Type Cover in one box several days later.

Two weeks later I was back on the phone with Tech Support because my "new tablet" still had the same glitches as the defective one. I wanted a refund and was promised by one person that I would get one until I was transferred to several different people until my call was disconnected. I did not want the Surface Pro anymore, it was unreliable. On October 1st I received a package from FedEx containing a new Type Cover. Confused I contacted Microsoft on October 6th, (the delay was due to extreme flooding in the Columbia, SC region) I saw that $140.00 had been deducted from my banking account from Microsoft. I called back and spoke to 3 different representatives.

After I gave serial numbers for both Type Covers that I now had, it turns out that Microsoft had sent me back my defective Type Cover and charged me $140 stating that they had not received my defective Type Cover. I became extremely upset and a formal investigation had to be launched in order to see if I can even get refunded my money.

I am appalled that Microsoft would send me back the original device that I sent them and then claim that they did not receive my defective device and charge me for it. I will never recommend this company to anyone. If I could get a refund on my tablet I would, considering the second tablet they sent me does not have a good battery life and still has many glitches. I am also very disgusted with the customer service and how the reps constantly transfer you to different departments.

I was really pleased with the outcome as they didn't send me on a wild goose chase taking a million and one steps to check and see whether device was faulty like IT support usually does. The whole chat didn't take more than 15 minutes I think, with most of the time being spent with the CS rep registering my details in the system to provide me with a new type cover and a shipping label for me to return the faulty one. Haven't had IT support like this ever. Microsoft's (Australian) Hardware support is unrivaled in my eyes. Will highly recommend them to anyone. A shout out to Jordan for helping me resolve my issue quickly and effectively. I really appreciate it mate.

Tell me why I would want to repurchase a product from this company if they can't help me so much as reinstall a product I already purchased. If you don't have your product key you are out of luck according to them. I have a receipt with part number, date, amount of payment, and a referral on the receipt to contact Microsoft support for help. I was never given a product key, it was downloaded onto my computer on purchase. Worst customer service and product support I have ever encountered. Don't bother calling customer support unless you have a basic question or extra cash to toss around, they won't help you. I am so disappointed in Microsoft and their support centers.

I called again and was told that a Level 2 tech would contact me between 1p.m. and 3 p.m. on Friday. I waited and again, no call. I again contacted Microsoft Customer Service and I was informed that tech support had called the wrong telephone number even though I gave my correct number on at least 5 occasions and even had the service rep repeat what I had told them. I was told that a tech would contact me on Saturday morning between 10 a.m. and noon. I never received a call but again, received an e-mail informing me that they called several times and could not reach me. Again, my caller I.D. shows no call from Microsoft was ever received.

I called back on Saturday and was promised a tech would contact me at 8 a.m on Sunday morning. I waited until 11 a.m. and still no call and Microsoft sent an e-mail informing me that they tried unsuccessfully to contact me and were closing my complaint file. I re-contacted Microsoft on Sunday afternoon and told customer service that I was very angry and asked what number Tech support was calling? They refused to tell me but did inform me that they still had the wrong phone number on file even though I had given the correct number at least seven times.

I believe that either the customer service reps or tech support deliberately blows off customers with Windows related issues such as mine and hopes that we get fed up and stop calling them for service. The latest in this saga is that a tech is supposed to call me at 8 a.m tomorrow morning to help me resolve this issue. Any takers that I will receive a call from them? If you think they will call, I have a bridge that I want to sell.

Five minutes later I'm talking to someone named Alex in Commercial Support who says it's going to cost me $400+ for him to even consider looking into my problem and that who I should be talking to is someone in level two technical support, but he can't transfer me there, "give me a reference number", so he transfers me back to the Answer Desk.

Now I'm talking to a third guy named Ron and politely tell him of the circumstance and how Level Two Technical support seems to be where I need to go. I tell him the problem I'm facing for the third time, and then he asks me for something but I cannot understand what he is asking for. I ask him to repeat what is saying and he says it the same way, then I ask if doesn't mind repeating the last portion as I apologize for not being able to understand him. So he shouts it instead of just speaking slower and then I ask him to please just say it slower not louder and he hangs up on me.

Calling back again I talk to a very polite man and just ask to speak with his manager and explain why and how it has nothing to do with him. So he transfers me to his manager and I wait for ten minutes. Having talked to my 4th person I'm just tired and want this issue resolved. Then the phone picks up and I hear a 5th person say hello and welcome, and I say "Is this the manager?" and he says "no you've called the Answer Desk." So I explain I was on hold to talk to a manager. He scoffs and says "okay I'll transfer you to my manager who is very very busy".

So I wait on hold for over 30 minutes, someone picks up, I say hello, I hear noises of someone moving around, and then I'm hung up on. It is by far the worst experience I have ever had for so many reasons. They were disrespectful and belittling. I was so frustrated that I've honestly been searching around to find ways around using excel and will do everything in my power to avoid all Microsoft products. Horrible support.

I called Microsoft at 11 this morning for technical support. Each time I explain it to them, they do a few things and then say I am talking to the wrong department. I get transferred. I have talked with 11 technicians, none of whom can fix it and transfer me to someone else. I have even been connected with the commercial section of technical support only to be told they cannot handle my case. I objected to being transferred there the second time, but was transferred there anyway and was immediately told a second time that they cannot help me.

It is now 7 in the evening, 8 hours after this started. I have talked to supervisors and technicians, none of which have done anything except transfer me. I also have two Apple machines and an iPhone. My only method of protest against such a huge company will be to never buy another Microsoft product. Not much against a huge corporation.

When I asked to speak to a supervisor, the tech closed one of two chat windows so I did not even have a chance to record the transcript. I was, however, able to copy and paste the second chat. I am left with my initial issue, unable to access my Quickbooks database and with unwanted software on my PC. I am unable to communicate with anyone at Microsoft who is actually able to speak to my specific concerns.

Now, during my next call, technical support tells me I have to pay $149 subscription to solve my issue! Why would I have to pay to have Microsoft solve their own software problem? I've already wasted about ten hours of my business day trying to get them to fix their problem. I feel like I'm getting blackmailed to get my email back up and running! Neither of the first two technicians told me I had to pay. I'm now waiting for a call from the "manager". However, I have very little hope that Microsoft will resolve this issue unless I pay the fee. Why can't Microsoft just stand by their product and fix it free of additional charges???

I think that if Microsoft is going to sell computers they need better support and stores. Now I have a computer that I can't use. The support for Microsoft is the worse I have ever dealt with. I think something needs to be done with the way they rip people off. They want you to buy their computers, change the Surface every year, stop selling chargers for the older model so they force you to buy a new one. That is not fair to a customer. I hope someone will help the consumer who buys a product and is ripped off. I am sure I am not the only one who has had a problem with Microsoft and I think it is time that Consumer Affairs does something about them.

I wrote this at the start of the chat on 8-16-2015. I tried to load Windows 10 when I received bad configuration error message. I tried recovery and the download quit. I had some of the download, but I did not have all of it. Where may I get a program to try again? Will it work if I reload Windows 10? I wrote this at the end of my wait on 8-17-2015. I waited for a chat for about one hour when someone from the answering desk tried to assist, but determined that I needed technical assistance. I was placed in queue where I waited for almost an hour before I had to leave for work. During the communication I was given a reference number and the ph. # 1-800-642-7676.

I wrote this about my wait on 8-20-2015. I dialed the number that I was given during my previous effort. I was excited when someone answered after about 10 minutes. I gave him my reference number. Everything that happened was exactly as it had happened on 8-16, and 8- 17. It was like the employees were following a script. I called the 1-800-642-7676 from another phone after listening to their recording for about two and a half hours. The connection was terminated before anyone answered. I wanted to find out if they planned to answer, if they did not intend to, I planned to go away. After three hours, I finally hung up, it was obvious no one was going to answer.

I called again (I do not know how many times I have called) and had to participate in the same ritual as before. That is the recording with music, then an answer form the desk that determines I need to speak with a technician. Afterwards, I again listen to music while participating in another wait. Someone answered after about thirty to forty minutes, but was not able to connect to my computer. He supplied a six digit code. He suggested that I carry my computer to a local repair service. I did what was suggested and the repairman determine that I had lost all my files, which I had developed over thirty years (especially my genealogy records), and reloaded Windows 10 with a fee of course.

I call again slipping in through the Microsoft Word help line. The procedure was the same, but the wait was not as long. I was connected with Bryan who was more help than all the rest put together. He found my Microsoft Office from 8.1 and loaded it in 10. That was the most positive event that has happened during my bout with Windows 10. Bryan only allowed me to use the program through September 3, 2015. I do not know the reason for the termination date.

Microsoft states that they have no record of my purchases. How can this be? What do they do with their records? I purchased a computer from them on 12-03-2013 (I have the order and item numbers) and soon thereafter the Microsoft Office program from Sams. I have supplied the correct product key and everything else I can think of several times. A window presently pops up on Word and I cannot seem to be able to solve the correct response riddle.

Today’s date is August 31, 2015, and I have already responded to a cell phone message that directed me to https://account.live.com. I have been no stranger to that site during this ordeal and I now have been redirected to it. I do not know what I am to do there. Yesterday I was told to my change my name on my Microsoft account which I did and something was wrong with that. I was also sent a code and notified that it was in my email. I looked for it most of the day and finally found it on my cell phone after it had expired. I guess this was more helpful than the ones that have direct me to the round robin Q and A sites along with other places, always assuring me that I can definitely find help over there.

I read a statement written by Bryan from Microsoft stating that the programming has a problem with Word. He asked that the users please be patient while the team is trying to fix the problem. My reply to him is that I have been patient with a few outburst for about a month with regards to Windows 10 and now for the Word 2013. My other files have been deleted in the process. I read, since it is very difficult to talk with anyone, that all of the confusion was for security purposes.

Whose security is referenced, I do not think it is mine? I am irritated to learn that the stress that I have been subjected to is part of Microsoft’s research and development insensitivity for their consumers. Evidently they refuse to employ enough resources to develop their product. In summary, as of this date August 31, 2015, after trying a month, I have not accomplished much with Microsoft.

I paid a lot of money for this Surface tablet and do not feel that it is fair for me to return this Surface and only get a 5% worth back in return and have to spend another $700 for the computer I thought I was getting from the beginning. Is there any way I can return this tablet and keyboard in free exchange of another Surface Pro 3 and keyboard? I truly cannot afford to buy what I originally had hoped that I was getting. Please work with me on this serious issue for me. I have not received a response back yet.

I told the customer service and I tell you all that I'm finished with Microsoft. All my electronics now will be Apple, whether it be a tablet, PC, operating system, or software. I know Microsoft has us where they want us (can't function without them at work) but the only way to improve this absolutely unprofessional way to do business is to walk away from their products. I'm frustrated to the points of tears at this moment at a process that should have taken 5 minutes but now has swallowed more than 2 weeks of my life.

I rushed back from New York to take the call only to find a message "because of unusual volume..." they could not call back at the agreed and will call sometime in the next 48 hours. Either Microsoft 10 is junk (like 8) and needs much more service than expected, OR consumers do not matter in Microsoft's business plan. In either case, it has "stolen" my portable and the files on it until...?

My particular issue that got me on this site is I cannot update or install any sort of template for my MS Office Word or Excel. Another thing they might want to do for future versions or updates for Windows and get some feedback. I do not like the new settings or procedures to even find specific setting menus. Also, how the hell do I change the language on this Windows OS? It is currently set in Korean where most of the view is in English but menu items or time is all in Korean. I want everything to show in English only for menus, pop-ups, and overall, my patience has run out. Nothing is very user friendly anymore.

He started the process and said he would call me back in an hour. It took nearly 2 hours to download and 4 hours for the tech to call me back. The tech had to work for a while still to get things right. However, the next day the keyboard problem, numbers not letters, in Windows 10 only started again. After 4 hours of my request for help online, I got a call from Microsoft 1st level tech. He told me I need a Level II tech and he would transfer me to one. But, somehow the phone got disconnected and I never got a call back from Microsoft. By now having spent nearly 20 hours to get Windows 10 upgrade, I was so frustrated that I wanted to go back to Windows 7. And when I tried using recovery to go back to Windows 7, after some time I got the message that I can't go back to Windows 7 because some of the files are deleted.

I tried to download Firefox and AOL Browsers to use the Internet. But I can't do it. What I have now is: Keyboard-typing numbers instead of letters, can't download or use any other browser. I got a call from Microsoft support after 3 hours of my request and I was told again that a level II Tech would call me in an hour. But it has been 10 hours and nobody has called. I can't use my computer. It's so frustrating. My Windows 7 was fine and I didn't have any issues. I got lured into Windows 10 update by Microsoft. Does anybody know what I can do and get out of this mess? Even if it means going back to Windows 7.

I didn't need to spend countless hours for Windows 10, which is not much more than a novelty for me. I have been trying to get another Level II technician to resolve my Windows 10 problems or get me back to Windows 7, because the first Level II Tech, trying to resolve the issues in early August, had deleted several files from my computer and I cannot go back to Windows 7. It says “Files deleted, cannot reverse to Windows 7.” Meanwhile, I cannot download anything. The keyboard number lock kicks in, etc.

I have called Microsoft phone help at least a dozen times to resolve the issue. But every time, I get to talk to someone in Philippines and he or she make an appointment for Level II Technician to call me. But I wait and wait all day for an 8 AM appointment and nobody calls. Next day I call Microsoft help line again and same thing happens. I am so frustrated and don't know what to do? Does anybody know how to reach/complain to Microsoft directly and give them earful? Or where - blog posts, media, internet can I air my grievances and let some of the air out of Microsoft's media binge and testimonials on how great Windows 10 is?

By morning, 5 more charges hit in the amount $5511. Now they are claiming they can only do 1 credit/reversal a year! Amazing, they didn't see the 5 charges pending when they refused to remove my card the night before!! My bank is doing everything they can to get the funds back but of course, can't make any promises. I have informed my son he will never get another game for his Xbox and that he can go back to his PlayStation.

I finally called Dell which is the kind of laptop I have and they walked me through the process of doing a test - it came back with a hard drive error. I found out that somewhere in the process of switching back to 8.1 from 10 my hard drive got fried. I called Microsoft to complain - was told they weren't going to do anything so I asked to talk to a manager. When he got on the phone I told him the problem and in the process of asking what they were going to about it he hung up on me. I am very upset that they will not take any ownership of my issue.

Brought the computer to Geek Squad at Best Buy. This is the third day they are working on it. First attempts failed. They then applied the reported fix being discussed in online PC sites, the links to which I had to provide. That failed. My small business is suffering, as I no longer have access to client data and billing. What a mess. Shame on the global giant (Microsoft) that apparently doesn't care at all about its average customer, and apparently doesn't even put out any kind of bulletin to known national repair/support services trying to fix their problems. No wonder Apple has become the other global giant.

I used my computer at work on Wednesday, 8/12/15, to try and schedule a phone appointment but there are no available appointments for the next week and the option doesn't go out any further than that. So I tried to schedule a call back today and it said the wait was 2.25 hours. I never received a call back. This whole thing is a scam. I can no longer use my home computer and I operate a business from home. There seems to be absolutely no way to get through to a live customer service person. How can a company such as this do this to it's customers? What recourse do I have?

Are they completely stupid at that company? Obviously understaffed and could care less if they help you. I'm so ticked off that my next call will be to cancel. The Office 365 that the salesman told me I could get 'quick support' for. I don't think an hour and 55 minutes of static music is 'quick support'. Another question, if Microsoft is so innovative, why can't they get something that sounds decent. Oh, wait they just answered. OH MY GOSH... SUPER INCOMPETENCE!!! They had me holding for the wrong dept. This is just another reason that Google Drive continues to gain popularity.

I am losing work every day and the MS support team feels it is enough to continually say I will hear back in an hour, guaranteed. Three to four hours later someone calls who is not qualified and the call gets put back in a queue. Today, I log into support hoping to get the tech back that called in the middle of the night. I wait the one to two hours that I was promised and then have to go into a meeting. He phones 20 minutes later, leave NO WAY TO CONTACT HIM so I go back to the support line.

I wait two hours for a response and while I am attempting to pull up any of my documents, he responds, gives me three minutes to respond then disconnects. I am now in a four bloody hour queue!!! Microsoft does not care at all. If I or anyone else ran a business like this they would be bankrupt. What do I do? Teach them a lesson and buy a new PC with Windows already loaded??? Sure, that will teach them. I have been screwed over repeatedly and there is no one to complain to. I am losing hourly.

The call never came. I was kept on hold 45 mins trying to get another Answer Tech on chat to find out what happened, only to be told the case was never escalated. Again, I can expect a call 2 days later at 8am. Again, a call that never came. Their First level technicians seem to have been just pulled off the street and thrown behind a terminal with no training, and the second level Prima Donnas don't have the courtesy to call customers at arranged times, nor at all.

Our AMC contractors say all should have licence. Now it is also learnt that to get handsome commission, AMC contractors and suppliers reach an information of anybody and the series of threats start, and small people get frightened and some are of higher age like senior citizen get affected on their hearts or mental depression and anxiety, or shoot up diabetes. My first appeal to Microsoft is to announce publicly a policy like other companies and Government Departments do. The hard fees levy can be afforded by corporate companies and not small and medium industry. In this case computer for students, institutes, and small businessman gets so expensive that dream of our modern living will be years away.

On one side many corporate companies all over world donate and in India called CSR. The money they donate are earned from consumers by overcharging. This is ridiculous. The cost of a software to be in affordable price rather than exorbitant rates. Remove agents and open online system to reduce costs. I appeal readers also take up and unite to make representations to authorities, company and if required file a PIL.

I then tried to contact the MS Store online again but instead ended up chatting with a tech rep named ** from MS Tech Support (Philippines) and after explaining the above situation, he offered to 'fix' the problem for a $99 fee (for so called Premium Software Support). He also offered to refund the purchase price of Excel 2013 standalone as he said it was not needed for Inquiry. Not too bad so far, right? But here is where the trouble actually began.

While processing my refund for Excel 2013 standalone, ** asked for my CVV code on the back of my credit card. I refused and told him I found this to be highly unusual for someone from tech support to ask for such information. It is further noted that I was logged into my MS account where we were both looking at account info - which showed my credit card info with last 4 (i.e **).

After sending me a link to a MS website where I could make payment, I took care of the transactions myself (refund and payment for tech support). ** then got my permission to remote into my computer, and almost immediately, he went to a 3rd party website (non- Microsoft) and started downloading something called Dashlane Password Manager along with what looked like a an unofficial version of Inquire for Excel. I asked him why he was using 3rd party software on my computer and he assured me that this was trusted software source. I'm thinking to myself, this is Microsoft right?

He then went into my computer registry and other settings and made changes. After an hour or so, he conceding that he could not fix my computer and would have to escalate my issue to Level 2 tech support. After a 45 minute wait, and 3 phone transfers, I finally got speak with a level 2 tech. Well, actually I got to explain my computer issues over and over before the level 2 tech understood what I was talking about. The tech then told me I needed to re-purchase Excel 2013 standalone. Hmmm. After explaining what all I had endured to that point: 3rd party downloads, numerous phone call transfers that lead nowhere, endless waits on hold, and I mentioned that the previous tech told me that I did not need Excel standalone!!!

Frustrated with the whole experience, I asked for a refund for the Premium Software Support. The level 2 tech told me I needed to speak with their billing department and that she could not help me and simply refused to speak anymore. Really!! To date I have had no luck reaching anybody that works for Microsoft Billing or Tech Support in the United States. Try it yourself sometime. Reaching a sales person is a breeze though. I am somewhat surprised that tech support has gotten so bad these days!! Its like MS cares more about their shareholders than customers. After you buy software from them, you are on your own!!!

In meantime after about 1 1/2 hrs on hold I got a tech from my Microsoft call to the worldwide support number. The first tech after about an hour said she'd be right back, and never returned. I was fortunate after about 30 minutes (listening to revolving Microsoft commercial about how wonderful Windows 10 is) got another tech. Explained above problems, and even let her take over my computer.

Long story short, she said after 3 hours, that it appeared that it was the fault of the sound card manufacturer that they didn't have a driver updated to handle Windows 10 and it was my responsibility to contact them to get them to make one (even though the Microsoft verbiage said they designed 10 to even handle generic drivers). She said I needed to contact the company to get my scanner working. I told her "several times" it was "Windows Scan and Fax" that came with my Windows 7, so she said then that it was HP's problem (my printer/scanner) to find a Windows scanner driver that works.

Also said the same for my "problem" with not being able to change printer settings to print in grayscale instead of color all the time. She said my "favorites" (that I have added over the years) were gone, and I should've realized that, and start new with Windows 10 favorites. (She also said my pics may be gone! Thank God they were not). I had asked about a Microsoft Tutorial, and she said she didn't know of one, since Windows has only been released 6 days ago. There were other questions I won't bother you with, but needless to say nothing was resolved. Oh BTW, when I let her "take over my computer, she had to have me move the mouse to click the locations, because there was a 10+ sec delay and her screen was locking up (she was using Windows 10).

The way we left it, she said (after hours) that she was sorry, and hoped I could get a hold of someone to get me the drivers I needed, and also said they are having a lot of problems with the launch with overwhelming call-ins, because people aren't understanding 10, and weren't prepared for it. I told her I am just a marketing consultant, but it is basic marketing, that they screwed up and jumped the gun, AND it is arrogant of them to say it is everyone else's fault that the drivers and software weren't created to handle Windows 10.

To finish - this morning, I called the Microsoft Store on Camelback, to verify my appt. before driving there from Scottsdale. After 8 rings, a lady answered, I told her I was leaving for my appt., and wanted to verify everything was set. After first taking my email, then my name and number, she said I didn't exist and had no appt. for this AM and no one could see me today. I told her that she confirmed what I was thinking about Microsoft and Windows 10. I hung up, uninstalled Windows 10 (Note: you only have 30 days from date of install), and proceeded to write my first review. Windows 10 may work on new computers, but it is not ready for updates (at least on my Windows 7). Nuff said... Good luck.

I then went through the Microsoft Answer Desk to speak or chat with a Microsoft Technical Support rep. I had to wait an hour and a half before obtaining a rep. I explained the situation. He was very helpful and looked into my laptop remotely for about an hour approximately. He was unable to fix or locate the problem and stated that he would elevate the issue to a Level 2 and referred me to another rep. That new rep then made a phone contact appt for August 5, 2015 between the hours of 8:00 am and 10:00 am. Fast forward to August 5, 2015.

I had given them my cell phone and my landline phone to contact me. My cell phone and land line was silent the entire morning. I waited until 11:00 am and then went online through the website to the Answer Desk at Microsoft. I again waited for approximately an hour until a chat rep was able to contact me through the website. I explained my situation, gave her my case# and that I had not received the call. She stated that she would take a look at my case and then a few minutes later apologized for the inconvenience and that she transferred my case to a tech rep and that the tech dept would contact me by phone in two hours.

Fast forward to two hours waiting and wasting time by the phone for a phone call that never happened. My cell phone or landline again, was silent. Finally, at 4:00 pm, I went and took a nap since I had been up all night and the morning to noon. At 10:30 pm, I again, went to the Microsoft website Answer Desk and waited for an hour and a half. I know it was an hour and half because I was able to watch an entire episode of Castle and then a half hour of another Castle before I was able to chat with a Tech Rep at the Answer Desk.

He introduced himself as Kristin **. I advised him of the situation so far and gave him two case numbers. He said that he would look up the case numbers. He then got back to me and asked for my phone numbers and email along with my name. I had enough time to type in my name and email and was about to type my phone numbers but was then disconnected with a pop up window appearing in regards to a survey of my satisfaction with the service I had received during the chat!! I just couldn't believe it! The fact that in order to reconnect with someone to help me I would have to wait another half hour to hour or so and then perhaps receive the same quality of assistance that I have received so far!

I checked my email after this latest attempt to resolve this install issue and they had the gall to send me two emails that stated that they had attempted to contact me this morning and this afternoon and were not able to connect with me. I don't know what else I could have done. I never even left the chair except to eat breakfast and lunch which was three steps away from the table in my kitchen. Well, perhaps I made more steps than that. I did have to open the fridge which was about another two more steps I had to make. I inject humor into an otherwise unproductive day. I really don't know what else to do but purchase another computer, which means probably a Mac at this point.

The abysmal level of support that I have received so far is simply outrageous for a company of this magnitude. Perhaps that is what it comes down to... a company that large and bragging that so far tens of thousands have acquired and installed their latest attempt at ingenuity that they could care less about the small percentage of those where the install failed.

I also was experiencing problems in getting many "recover web page" errors and also would like help for this problem. I would told that the tech was unable to help me at this time but would call me back the next day at the same time frame. The next day they again missed the callback time. When they finally called it was only to tell me that they were AGAIN only calling to set up a recall time for later. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was told that one would call me in 30 minutes. Several hours later at 9:00 in the evening the supervisor called to say that he would have to recall me later.

We are not talking about Microsoft being asked to provide free services. I have a paid contract with them that they are refusing to honor. I tried to get help through Microsoft chat window but was told that this was a Level 2 (whatever that is) problem and that they could not help me because of company policy and that I would have to have the Level 2 people call me. This is suppose to happen tomorrow 08/06/15 between 5:00 to 7:00 in the evening. If you want to bet that they will call during that time I will happy take you bets - at least that might help to reduce the frustration I am experiencing. If anyone has any suggestions on how to handle this problem I would appreciate any suggestion.

Microsoft is notorious for releasing bad operating systems (remember Windows 2000, Windows ME, and Windows 8 and they could care less because they still make money and they feel that no one has any options so why bother making the software actually work. I lost everything that was embedded in the operating system which is very difficult to back up especially when Windows 10 changes or hides all of your security codes and passwords. Also, if the Windows update has not crashed yet, just a few days, with the first thing to go is Outlook before it completely crashes. This software never even finished beta testing because Microsoft could address all of the problems by the mandatory release date, so as usual you are taking a MAJOR risk installing any new operating system from Microsoft.

I broke my cardinal rule of never upgrading for at least a year, but Windows 8.1 is so bad, that I thought I wouldn't have anything to lose. I was wrong, because Windows 10 is just as bad if not worse than 8.1. I cannot even repair Windows 8.1 because Microsoft forces you to download the software rather than providing a DVD or thumb drive where you can attempt repairs. There is no option for repairing Windows 8.1 online, especially because Microsoft removed it to force people to upgrade to Windows 10 even when 8.1 is damaged and needs to be repaired. This means the platform is as unstable as the Windows 8 it upgraded.

Tell Microsoft what you think but in the meantime, I'm switching to Apple and Unix-based software and will NEVER use any Microsoft products again. That works better than Microsoft Office and if you still like MS Office you can run it on the stable Apple platform. Get rid of settling for inferior software that Microsoft knows is riddled with bugs and unfixed problems from beta testing and get a computer that is more powerful, more stable, and less prone to viruses and malware and do yourself a favor by never using Microsoft product again.

My previous phone died and I couldn't even turn it on so I just figured I'd be able to get to it on this phone. There was important stuff on it which now I'll have to find that phone somewhere so I can get it off. The ability to watch TV or HBO etc... May not be important to some, but not being able to use the internet to the fullest is. This was never mention in any reviews, so if you're going to buy this phone beware of what you need it for. Unfortunately I'm unable to return this phone so I'm stuck with it. On the brighter side, the big screen is nice. Tried to sum it a receipt or a pic but this phone won't let me access it.

June 7 called again. Internet explorer not working. This time "Luis" also impatient, answered the phone. Insisted repeatedly that I buy a $99.00 plan for 30 days or $145.00 plan for 12 months support help. I persisted that I did not cause this problem. He told me I need a new internet browser and ask my permission to download google chrome to my laptop computer. I continue to have problems, but I do not call. My new computer just sits there. Left laptop computer on and went to work, when I came home: Icons moved around, some tiles not live anymore, VLC not working, Kaspersky antivirus disabled, wi-if network not working. Windows button not responding, mouse pointer not responding, video screens are solid green again, and unable to access Update & Recovery or PC Settings.

July 15, call Microsoft Support, gave my name, case number, list of problems .You will never guess what happened? Technician told me "let me talk to my manager" and everything on my computer started working. I mean everything. He asked me to buy the $99 or &145 plan. I declined. SAME DAY later that night, I called back to ask "What did you all do to my computer? I think somebody is messing with my computer cause I keep refusing to buy your repair plans. Everything that was mysteriously fixed earlier, today is now broken again!!!"

I asked "Do you all keep a trace on folks computer, break it, force them to call support, then push selling those repair plans?" I refuse to let him do anything to laptop and NO I didn't buy their plan. Hung up, shut off wi fi and just cried. WHAT DO I DO? Try and fight with Best Buy, or try Geek Squad. I Don't Trust the Windows 10 will work, even if free. For a company knowingly, to continue selling a faulty product to the public is not right. What recourse do I have?

Part 2: After 1 week, the same laptop price has been reduced further from $349 to $327 and on the page, it shows 10% student discount is available on this product. I have opened chat with the agent and asked her to refund the extra money including student discount. She said discount only applicable for purchasing products. I argued with her stating if the price of the product I bought is reduced and further discount applied then I am also eligible to get the refund of the discount. She asked my school details and after 5-10 min said student discount is not applicable on this product (even for purchasing) as it has already been given promotional discount.

I told her "you are contradicting your promotional pricing policy." - As per promotional pricing - "EDUCATIONAL DISCOUNT IS NOT COMBINABLE WITH OTHER PROMOTIONAL PRICING" BUT on the Dell Inspiron Page I can clearly see "THIS PRODUCT IS ELIGIBLE FOR DISCOUNT IF YOU ARE A STUDENT" even after promotional discount applied. She said she will contact her management regarding this and I told her they are misleading thousands of students by advertising these discounts on the products but in fact not providing them and took the transcript of the chat session and images.

The guy says the Apple limits the features that MS office for Mac can use. Thus, I have to now purchase Windows program or Windows operating system for the MAC. I should have stayed with PC. I need to use these forms and be able to function in my work. I didn't find Microsoft to be helpful and we had all the phone technical glitches. I cannot stand incompetent customer support. And I tried to make complaint directly to Microsoft but the form I filled out for them online wouldn't process. So now I write to you.

We made arrangements for MS to call at 11 am this morning, they called at 10:30 and I missed the call as I was doing something else. I couldn't get back on the phone until 2 in the afternoon and called MS support back. I called or chatted on line approximately 8 times through the day. Each time I contacted them, they assured me a Level 2 tech would call me back in 15 to 30 to 40 minutes.

The last call, they promised they would call me back before midnight. That didn't happen. I contacted tech support via chat and they told me they were closed and they wouldn't be able to call until tomorrow and that they would confirm via email the 11 AM scheduled appointment. One half hour later - still no confirmation email. Microsoft makes billions, surely they can afford to hire more tech 2's and surely they can come up with a reliable customer service system. Worst experience ever with a tech company.

I have no words for the unprofessional way Microsoft conducts it business. Well guess what I never received a call, silly me I called again. Was told that the matter was never escalated so he will escalate it to the highest level. I asked to speak with the manager and.... of course no manager was able to speak with me. I will not even take a free gift of Microsoft company from here on forward with the run around they gave me when I was willing to spend more than a grand.

So I told the girl speaking broken English "DO OPTION 1" (I was kind the entire time). At which point she back-tracks and tells me she can't do Option 1 even though she just told me that I could... SO OK I can't do option 1 and Option 2 pretty much equates to Microsoft forcing me to buy things I don't need and return them. At which point I will admit I was getting angry, but I stayed calm.

So here we are. In 5-7 business days I will receive two of a product, that I only want one of (which I no longer want at all due to the experience with Microsoft). So now in a week or so, I will have to refund a 300$ order. And I will order from a different vendor out of spite. Every other vendor on the planet has a "cancel order button" on their store. But Microsoft? NO. YOU WILL BE FORCED TO BUY ALL THE THINGS. DO NOT BUY STUFF FROM MICRO$OFT. JEEZZ I have never been so P'OD. I just wanted to buy one tablet for work, just one simple little thing to save some daily reports to on the job-site, and the experience became a stress induced chaotic fit of me wanting to throw the phone at the wall... Really disgusting...

This went around every hour until 7 pm Sunday. Nobody called. I asked for supervisor, put on hold 1/2 hour.. comes back and can't find one??? None of the people I talked to could tell me: A. is anyone really working on the case #? B. The name and # of supervisor. This kept on going like those revolving door! They told me some would call Monday morning, no call.. So again, I call, get put on hold, for half hour, then they say someone will call right back. Nope... no calls.. not only that, I was charged $99 for the nonexistent service. I asked each tech why is a laptop needed? Could not answer. At this point, I am livid. Hours spent, waiting for calls and on hold and charges 199.98!! The charge was only supposed to be $99.

So, this went on Tuesday, and talked to sometime to give one more chance. He said someone would call in half hour, nope.. then by noon Wednesday.. nope. So, I called Billing.. believe this.. Billing said they could not refund the charges, tech support had to. I stopped her there. I told her tech support told me to call, and she could not do anything. I don't think tech support actually exists.. five days after paying, and no one called back Sunday, when appt made. Hardly anyone can speak English, and when they speak connection bad, so you have no idea what they are saying, so you have to keep asking to repeat. So, Wednesday, after spending from Saturday till to today, from 4 to 5 pm when told by billing to call! l tech support, because billing can't take charges off. So, I asked her if I was on some sort of Candid Telephone show! The service was so unbelievable.

I should be reimbursed for 30 hours of on hold, and waiting for a tech to call back. No such thing as management. They pretend to try to find one, go for coffee, come back saying not available. I am contacting the bank to reverse charges, fraudulent service. One guy even wanted my password, which I knew was wrong and would not give it to him. I can't believe Microsoft gives -star service. They should not only refund my money, they should give me a new surface tablet, for the 30 hours of my time and headache. What gives? I plan on trying to find a Microsoft manager in the US, but I doubt I can found a name or number.. All I can say, is Beware.. Do not order from them or pay for help.. You will not be helped, and would will be charged twice. And, will not refund.

For having employees like this, their software and tablets should be sold cheap. Going back to Apple. I am now going to contact bank to reverse charges, fraudulent, but I don't think the other end will cooperate. The bank will be told to call tech, then on hold, and so it goes! I deserve to get a new Surface Tablet, fully loaded, and refunds given! Unacceptable, but I guess this is how business is done in India.

The calls are not real. They want you to let them take control of your computer. They will walk you thru each step and then hang up without explaining what they are doing or why. They just tell you this is what you need to do to fix the computer problems. There must be many people getting these calls. I can't believe I am the only one they are targeting. The bigger issue is how they have become more ignorant and challenging. I would love to put a stop to these calls.

Yesterday on May 18, 2015 13 days after the warranty expired, During the same month of her purchase the touch screen stopped working completely. So after going to the Best Buy and being told to would cost 120.00 to have their tech look at her surface we decided to go through the checklist of troubleshooting with Microsoft online help.

After 3 hours of attempts to reestablish the touch screen feature we were referred to Microsoft for a call to a Tech support person. Another hour on the phone with her trying to get it to work while she kept reassuring us that if this didn't work they would replace the unit. After exhausting all options she then asked for shipping information. After a short pause she said, "oh your warranty expired so we can't replace your unit. But if you want to pay 325.00 we'll send you a refurbished one." Really? Because of 13 days? She said she was very sorry and that when she read the original ticket she thought it was still covered. She then went and asked if there was anything they could do and got a negative response. I was shocked that Microsoft would respond this way and will refrain from purchasing any of their products in the future. I had a Samsung phone that was 2 months past the warranty and they fully covered it. Guess it doesn't pay to buy from Microsoft.

I called the Microsoft 800 number and the person told me that my order had been automatically cancelled, but could not tell me why. I placed another order online and then immediately called Chase to confirm. They showed the charge and confirmed it was good. So I called Microsoft and got another clerk who didn't know what was happening and just gave me the usual, "I understand, Sir." I asked for her supervisor and got **. He said that Microsoft had to check to make sure the account was not hacked and that their order processing department would keep checking. I told him I had the confirmation email that had the correct information, I had checked with Chase, who confirmed the purchase, and asked why Microsoft, who creates the software we all use why it would take them 4 hours to do what Amazon and every other on line retailer does in milliseconds. Got "I understand, Sir" about 50 times.

I told ** that Microsoft has given me the worst customer service I have ever had for an online order. I have never been so frustrated with an organization in my life. I asked ** how they could do the millions of transactions they do a day if they couldn't confirm a simple order from a repeat customer. "I understand, Sir." If I never had to deal with Microsoft again in my life, I would be thrilled. These people are awful.

The Indian lady I spoke to was barely legible and kept repeating, 'It cannot be a problem with our software.' Clearly this was a standard answer as it was repeated several times over. Finally, frustrated and angry, I asked to speak to a supervisor. I was cut off. Really annoyed now - I emailed their support line. Two days later I have still not heard a word back from them. Gee Microsoft, I bet you're a whole lot nicer to your shareholders - huh? You just go on making your millions and ignoring your customers. Let's see how that goes...

I will not be renewing my subscription with Microsoft. I will use Apple's 'Pages' instead, which has the added bonus of being free. My advice for anyone trying to get support from Microsoft? Save yourself the cost of a telephone call. They are horrifyingly useless.

Here is the review I posted on the Microsoft Service Review site: Assure Support Plan = nicer lipstick. Period. The assistant was anxious to help me solve my problem finding the correct driver. He said he'd even help downloading and installing it. THEN he learned I'd ALREADY purchased my protection plan. At that point it became MY problem, and no, he couldn't help. Good-bye. Really, the year-long Assure Plan is no more than One-Time Assistance, only with nicer lipstick. Consequently, Microsoft, please refund me the difference between these two plans. THANKS!

Surprise, surprise, Microsoft kindly informed me they won't be posting it on their site, although they never said why. I can only assume they're not going to be refunding that difference in price either.

I asked why he kept placing me on hold and not working remotely. He stated MS has them "multi task, taking care of 3 and sometime 4 people at a time". He knows this is frustrating to me (and others) but this is how they do it. MS they are in India- you ARE NOT paying top dollar for the IT help, can you treat your customers just a little better??!

I finally got a hold of one supervisor late last night who said - "even though it really isn't something we are supposed to help you with I will have one of my engineers help you." Eureka! I was like "FINALLY!" Well, he started helping just enough to create a mess because in the middle of troubleshooting and changing some things it was obviously closing time. Next thing I know the call dropped, the remote session quit, and I called back and got the message "we are closed."

So again this morning hours of being shuffled back and forth and these people just really do not seem to care or to listen. You can say something and they seem to be almost robotic in how they respond. Regardless of what you say, they exhibit no concern whatsoever. All total yesterday I was on the phone over 8 hours and another 4 this morning. Still no resolution.

On March 5, 2015, after having trouble upgrading the system, I contacted Microsoft support, because I have purchased their full service support program and the unit is under warranty. The woman tried to resolve the issues, but the after getting some warning codes; she told me that the unit would need to be replaced as it had a defective operating system. She said I would get either a new surface pro 2 or a new surface pro 3 as a replacement because my unit was no longer being made, however was still brand new. I had not had this unit even 30 days before discovering it was defective, so I followed her instructions and returned the unit to Microsoft on March 4, 2015. This conversation is reference #**.

I was happy however, the next day called to see if instead of sending me a i5 processor with 128 gb, if I could upgrade to a i5 processor with 256 gb unit, and I would pay the difference. The person I spoke with said I could not and informed me that I would be getting a rebuilt unit back, not a new unit as promised. I explained that I had not bought a refurbished unit; I had bought a brand new, never used unit, with a Microsoft warranty. I had not even had the unit 30 days and never got to use it because I had to order a keyboard. He would not discuss the issue, and insisted I would be receiving a rebuilt unit, but said they would buy back the replacement unit they send me for $200, or something like that, credited to a new unit.

I explained how insulting that was because I had just purchased the unit new and paid 3 times that and never even used it, but now it was only worth pennies. I asked to speak to a supervisor and he hung up on me. This happened on 2/5/15 at 1022 reference code **. I called back but was told to call back in the morning. On 3/6/15 I again spoke with the surface return department and was again told that I would get a refurbished unit. I asked the representative why would I buy a new device and then accept a rebuilt one when I had not even used the computer I bought, and he said in a condescending tone, why would you is right. He continued telling me how great the rebuilt units were but refused to listen that my unit was less than 30 days old when it was returned it, at the instructions of Microsoft agent. I spoke with a supervisor who said he was the head boss of Microsoft returns (no one had more authority than he had, and he had no supervisor) and said that I would get a rebuilt unit, and that was all he could tell me.

I am very unhappy with the customer service I am receiving. I want to reiterate the fact that I cannot have a remanufactured unit, for several reasons, one being that I bought a brand new one and paid good money for it and had it less than 30 days before discovering it was defective, and was told to return in to Microsoft. Additionally, because the Microsoft representative said to send it back to them, the time past to return it to the company I purchased it from. Other reasons that prevent me from purchasing a remanufactured unit is personal, however these reasons are equally important to me. Microsoft records calls so the first call was recorded. She promised a new unit and I would have not sent it to Microsoft if she had said I would receive a remanufactured unit, and would have instead returned it to the company where I purchased it.

Two days later, I receive a brand new pen. The pen is totally useless. Just hovering it over the screen, the pen does whatever it wants to do. It opens applications, closes, moves them, deletes documents... You name it. I called to just get my money back. I was told that I couldn't do so. I've spoken with countless reps on the phone. They are ALL very polite (which is the only thing they've got going), but not very helpful when it comes to solving problems. Everything needs to be "escalated" to someone who can make a decision.

I will NEVER again call customer service (or chat with them). Yes, there are plenty of them to answer lines, but nobody will help you, and "sorry" seems to be the best they can tell you. It's a shame because the tablet is great, and I've recommended it to several people. You're on your own if something happens to your device though. The product is nice and convenient for students, but... if you have other options, choose IT.

When I woke up this morning, I looked at my email and still no email, so I decided to log on to my Microsoft account and check it that way, when I logged on and looked under the my order section, it told me that I had not ordered anything yet. Finding this a little weird I decided to call Microsoft and see what was up. When I called the first time, I gave the person that I was talking to my order number and everything that they needed to get into my Microsoft account. She then looked it up and started telling me that there was something had gone wrong with the processing and that an error had occurred and that it might take 24 to 48 hours for them to figure out the error and get things figured out, and that even by then they might have cancelled my order all together.

I told her that I was going to go look at my bank to see if it had processed. After I told her that she then asked me in kind of an unpleasant tone if it was like I really needed Microsoft Word right now? I mean do you really have a deadline or something? So after that I told her yes I did because of school. Then she tried to sell me another product over the phone. I told her no thank you and that I was going to go and check my bank. So I headed to my bank and they told me that it had processed and had me call Microsoft again and tell them I wanted a refund.

So when I called them again, the guy that I talked to told me that they did charge my account but that they had cancelled my order because there was an error. After telling me that, he then asked, "Oh so you do want your refund?" and after I said yes, he then said, "okay, so you do want your refund." And then when I told him yes again, he said that he would give me the refund and when he started the process, he kind of acted like it was a chore. Then when he was done, he told me that it would take a couple of hours, at most up to 24 for my refund to be back into my account. This was my first time purchasing anything from the Microsoft store online and by the way everything had happened, and how I was treated on the phone, I would have to say that they have just lost a customer.

Now, Microsoft forced me to update to Windows 8.1 which caused my computer to crash. I took my computer in for repair and in the process I now need to reinstall Microsoft office 2013 and cannot. Even though I have my activation code and receipt, since it is not linked to my "Microsoft account" I cannot install it. I have been on the phone with the call center for several hours. I have been disconnected 4 times and transferred endlessly with no resolution. As a consumer I strongly believe that if I purchase a product I should be able to use it without giving my identity to Microsoft. Why is it so difficult to use a product I purchased with my hard earned money. I will never purchase anything Microsoft related again.

If I have Windows XP, I should still be able to use it. I acknowledge that Windows XP is no longer supported, but I have several developer applications and office related products, and still use it. I have applications that I created that still use Windows XP. The development tools will also need to be upgrade and I will not be able to afford it. Will Microsoft foot the cost of replacing all my hardware and software? They basically told me it's my problem. I have a computer that worked perfectly fine until December 2014, and Microsoft did something to it and says that the Windows Live Mail issue is my problem. I am an independent application developer. I do not have the resources that a big company has. I am on my own. Microsoft basically screwed me.

At 9 am still didn't hear from him. So I put in the info that was asking on the screen. Nothing happened. I keep calling and no one could help me I had to wait for someone to call me. Talked a girl and said, "We will call you in 1 to 2 hrs." I called them at 12:45 pm they needed to get level 2 tech to take care of problem and will call back and non available. I called back and that person told me to hold and disconnected me.

Long story short. I have talked to 20 people as of today at 3:30 pm said they will call me in half hour. It's two hrs later and no phone call back. I have talked to two or maybe 3 supervisors. I want my money ($149) back and I will go some place else. They told me they had a new tech to help me and will call me back in 10 mins. The level 2 tech was to call me yesterday between 1-2. I requested cause the baby would be sleeping and I could talk. He never called. When I told the person on the phone they said, "He called you." No he did not. "Oh he was off yesterday."

They all have been trained to lie, can't speak well enough to understand. He had taken out two of my programs and now they won't even work. Been trying to get support from those companies but hasn't happened yet. I have never in life dealt with a company as bad as this. I have head office phone number and will and get some thing settled with them, I want my money back so I can go some place else. In the jobs I have had if I treated a customer that badly I would have been fired. But I guess this is how they were taught. They all say they are so sorry for I am going thru.

The store informed me that since I was looking for a basic tablet and not a replacement for my laptop, I could get all these functions with the Surface 2 and in fact, was even told that SKYPE was now owned by Microsoft and it is already uploaded on the Surface 2. I was also shown in the settings how it had Bluetooth capability, and was told they could work together with the internet without a problem. Was also told all Google search engines were available from the Surface store apps and was standard on pretty much any tablet. The selling point for me was when they told me that it came with Microsoft office installed at no extra price.

Debating between a Samsung Tablet and the Surface 2, I ended up ordering the Surface 2 from the online store August 2014 since I was told it could perform all the functions I needed, had office and in the past had always been a fan of Microsoft products. Upon receiving my Tablet via mail, I made sure it worked but didn't use it right away since I was in the process of a move to Germany.

After my move overseas, I started setting things up a couple weeks after my purchase and realized the following: 1) Was not receiving any voicemails from SKYPE. Would get email notifications but no way to retrieve my voicemail on the Surface 2. Called Customer Support ,who told me that I should have voicemail and that I just didn't understand how to use the tablet. They had me send pictures of the screen without voicemail notification, and then after many calls, transferred me to SKYPE support who also told me I should have voicemail and this "was the first time they had ever heard of this situation".

Later, from my own research online, I discovered that unlike everything I was told by Microsoft, the Surface 2 does not have voicemail capability; 2) Tried to install Google Chrome, only to find out that there isn't an app for that and it is not supported by Surface. Furthermore, many of my programs tell me that the Internet Explorer on the Surface 2 is out of date and I need to switch to Google Chrome or Firefox for the programs to work. However, the Surface 2 doesn't support Chrome or Firefox; 3) Bluetooth and Internet do not work together on the Surface 2, despite what I was told.

Final Straw, on January 16th, my Surface 2 would not start at all. Once again, I called customer support (this time in Germany) who gave me all the reset information. However, it still would not start and was told to contact USA support, so I could talk to an English speaking agent to better assist me since my Surface 2 was inoperable. January 17, 2015, after approximately 4 hours with customer support (online chat with 2 agents, phone calls with 2 agents and a call from a supervisor), I was told my Surface needs to be replaced and after they looked at the previous chats, understood that I was sold the wrong product and promised me the following: 1) A return label to be sent via email, so I could return my Surface 2; 2) A call from the Microsoft Online Store, who would be informed of the situation prior to the call, in an attempt to make the situation right by providing me with an upgrade, since this was an error on Microsoft's end.

The call was suppose to happen January 18th at 3:00 PM EST. Neither the email or phone call happened. On January 18th, after not receiving the email or phone call, I did an online chat once again with support who told me they had no record of any of these events. Just a note that I can exchange my defective Surface 2 for the same model, which is not what I was told the previous day. Approximately 3 hours later, and a horrible customer service experience with April, and repetitive requests to have a supervisor contact me, she finally agreed to have a Supervisor call - Jeff ** from the Global Office in Santa Monica, CA.

I tried to explain my situation but it appeared he was not listening or even trying to look at the chat history to find out what was going on, and told me unfortunately, I needed to work with support and the online store together. But they are two different departments and that was not possible since they are completely separate, which also was not what I was told the previous day. He said he would try to find the online chat history, only to hang up on me. Very frustrated with my Microsoft experience and hope this information will help anyone who is considering buying one of their products. My product is still under warranty, broken and does not perform the functions I need or was sold. Unfortunately, no one in customer support is willing to help me with this problem.

Okay, thought I would post an update: Since this original post, I have spent countless hours on the phone and online chat with customer service, only to be offered promises that were never honored. I was finally told once again that I should be upgraded to a Surface Pro 2 or 3, since this was in fact, Microsoft's error and I would be called within 24-48 hours for arrangements to me made, which never happened. Called many times after the 48 hour period, only to be passed from person to person, disconnected many times. And finally on 1/27/15, was told by Ann at the Post Sales Online Store that even though I contacted support 2 weeks after my purchase to report that my Surface 2 does not do what I was sold, in good faith, Microsoft would only offer me a $20 credit for a future Microsoft purchase, despite the fact that I have a broken tablet that does not perform the features I was told it would do when I bought it.

Never, Never, Never would I purchase another Microsoft product again, knowing that they do not stand behind their products and provide the worst customer service ever. It is my opinion that their goal is just to pass you from person to person and waste hours and days of your time until you finally give up. If this is a help to anyone reading this, Never buy a Microsoft product.