AfterDawn: News

Microsoft sued over Surface tablet internal storage claims

A Los Angeles man has sued Microsoft this week, claiming the new Surface tablet doesn't have all the internal storage it is supposed to have.

The irate customer, Andrew Sokolowski, does have a point.



For a 32GB tablet, there is only 17GB of free space, since Windows RT and pre-loaded apps take up the rest. For a 64GB model, there is just 46GB of free space at initial boot.

Microsoft has posted the free-space capacity on its Surface website, and has also acknowledged the capacity to major media outlets.

Regardless, Sokolowski filed the suit, and is seeking class-action status: "Mr. Sokolowski's lawsuit is about protecting consumers as we head into the holiday shopping season," Rhett Francisco, an attorney representing Sokolowski, added. "Microsoft is misrepresenting the storage capacity and capabilities of the Surface tablet, and consumers should know about it."

Microsoft was quick to respond: "Customers understand the operating system and pre-installed applications reside on the device's internal storage thereby reducing the total free space. Surface with Windows RT customers benefit from the ability to attach additional storage via the integrated microSD slot or full-size USB port."

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Nov 2012 1:30

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• 21 comments

• thebox

  Customers are not aware of this Microsoft
  You may think we are but we are not
  You need to either a) address this issue with the companies/manufacturers and have everything printed in black & white on the box, b) have 2 separate storage drives one for the os and crapware and one for the storage claimed and or c) remove the crapware that nobody cares about
  This all might gain back some trust in your company by the consumer

  15.11.2012 06:47 #1

• megadunderhead

  Actually what is funny is the ipad that has 16 gig of storage actually has 16 gig's of storage because apple was smart enough to put 20 gig's of storage on the device for the os and the apps people want to install i guess microsoft hasn't learned that yet
  

  15.11.2012 07:18 #2

• Mysttic

  It all comes down to a simple line on claiming how much space used for OS. Should the manufacturer of the device fail to have that line anywhere, be it packaging, manual, TOS, etc. Than I believe there should be merit to let this case go forward. I haven't examined any RT or Win 8 device so I can't honestly say for sure whether or not this man has a case, but this has been going on since computers were first built. When I did tech support for various companies, #1 repetitive question was why am I missing space? Usually cause HP and Dell in this case reserved space for system recovery, but the OS still took up room too.
  
  There's more to losing space than that, but it'll be up to the accuser to lay proof.

  15.11.2012 08:54 #3

• SmaryJerry (unverified)

  What an idiot. How does he fail to realize they are describing the hardware, not the free space after OS/apps are installed? If you bought a car and the gas tank was half full you wouldn't want to know how much to fill it up, you want the actual specs. Your free to delete the OS and install another if he wants to.

  15.11.2012 12:42 #4

• thescientist (unverified)

  Before anyone jumps on the Microsoft is to blame band wagon you should really know what you’re talking about. For instance apple fan “megadunderhead” your IPAD has more than 16 gig’s( in actually it is more due to the fact ALL OPERATING SYSTEMS TAKE UP DISK SPACE.) of “internal memory” it and will never be any more than that. The Surface uses a different system of memory management ie…removable SD card, so if later on you decide the storage capacity isn’t enough for you, you could buy a larger card. Unlike an IPAD which requires you to by a whole new device. Microsoft 60 dollar upgrade vs a IPAD 600 dollar upgrade…it’s a no brainer. Now it’s no secret that Microsoft’s OS takes up more space than its competitors such as Google Android or Apple IOS 6, but you can do everything a conventional can do thanks to Windows 8 and enjoy the benefit of full integration with other computers with windows operating systems. The best feature of all will be arriving soon, a 64bit processor which no other competing tablet manufacturer to date has or even mentioned the prospect of getting. It’s like that old saying goes “there's an Apple lover born every minute.”. I just wish people would try understanding how computers (or in this case tablets.) function before they do something silly like suing or posting Apple propaganda on a web page.

  15.11.2012 14:41 #5

• KillerBug

  Microsoft isn't used to the mobile market...and consumers are. Buy a 16GB iPhone/iPad and you have 16GB of usable space. Buy a 16GB Android Phone/Tab and you have 16GB of usable space (plus a microSD card in many cases). Buy a Windows 7 laptop with a 250GB hard drive and you DO NOT have 250GB of usable space. Microsoft is still thinking in desktop mode...yet they are treating their products like iDevices when it comes to apps and licensing and such.
  
  If you see the Surface RT as a laptop, then the storage claims are fine and the application support is almost fraud.
  If you see the Surface RT as a tablet with a keyboard then the storage claims are almost fraud.
  
  Microsoft needs to decide what they think the Surface is and stick with it...doing it both ways is underhanded.
  
  Also, they need to clean up their install...15GB for a mobile OS is f**king crazy. They might still be in this issue if they were using 4GB of the 32GB for the OS...but when almost half is used before you install the first useful app, this is a problem. If this is the best they can do, they need to partition the storage, reserve another GB for updates and such, and sell the 32GB models as 16GB models.
  

  
  

  15.11.2012 18:09 #6

• bobiroc

  Originally posted by megadunderhead: Actually what is funny is the ipad that has 16 gig of storage actually has 16 gig's of storage because apple was smart enough to put 20 gig's of storage on the device for the os and the apps people want to install i guess microsoft hasn't learned that yet Really? My 32GB iPhone 4 reports 28GB Capacity total for usable space. And that total space went down after an iOS upgrade so their new OS took more of the usable space away from me. So while it is not as drastic as taking 15GB of space for the OS and preloaded apps it still is not the full advertised capacity. Even though 32 or 64GB is the total capacity I can see how someone would be upset by loosing almost half on a 32GB model.
  
  I guess it is also nice that the Surface easily accepts SDHC and SDXC cards for easy capacity upgrades and swappable storage. Something Apple refuses to do.
  

  AMD Phenom II 965 @ 3.67Ghz, 8GB DDR3, ATI Radeon 5770HD, 256GB OCZ Vertex 4, 2TB Additional HDD, Windows 7 Ultimate.
  
  http://www.facebook.com/BlueLightningTechnicalServices

  15.11.2012 18:12 #7

• xboxdvl2

  Originally posted by SmaryJerry: What an idiot. How does he fail to realize they are describing the hardware, not the free space after OS/apps are installed? If you bought a car and the gas tank was half full you wouldn't want to know how much to fill it up, you want the actual specs. Your free to delete the OS and install another if he wants to. if you brought a car and they said *(in writting) it can go 250kmph and you took it to a private race track and maxed out on a straight and it hit 170kmph and wouldnt go any faster you would be able to sue.
  
  if the surface says on the box contains 32gbs free space then yes he should be entitled to sue.if he removed all data (incuding os)and there wasnt 32gbs free space then yes he should be able to sue.I can see exactly why hes suing he paid for a product with 32gbs free space and only got 17gbs.hes right in principal but might not actually win.companies should be more honest about there products.
  

  i have the big screen tv,a ps3 and im gonna surround sound to go with it soon hopefully.car still runs smooth and computer still works but its a bit outdated.

  16.11.2012 02:03 #8

• bobiroc

  Originally posted by xboxdvl2:
  if the surface says on the box contains 32gbs free space then yes he should be entitled to sue.if he removed all data (incuding os)and there wasnt 32gbs free space then yes he should be able to sue.I can see exactly why hes suing he paid for a product with 32gbs free space and only got 17gbs.hes right in principal but might not actually win.companies should be more honest about there products. It did not say "Free Space" It just said 32GB. It was assumed it was free space albeit a logical assumption
  

  AMD Phenom II 965 @ 3.67Ghz, 8GB DDR3, ATI Radeon 5770HD, 256GB OCZ Vertex 4, 2TB Additional HDD, Windows 7 Ultimate.
  
  http://www.facebook.com/BlueLightningTechnicalServices

  16.11.2012 08:10 #9

• Zoo_Look

  Considering he's a lawyer, edited by ddp him.

  16.11.2012 08:43 #10

• xboxdvl2

  Quote:"Customers understand the operating system and pre-installed applications reside on the device's internal storage thereby reducing the total free space ^^^obviously customers dont understand if they buy a product advertised with 32gbs and get one with 17gbs free space and file a lawsuit.
  
  also microsoft shouldnt make claims of what there customers understand unless they have the stats to back up these claims.
  

  i have the big screen tv,a ps3 and im gonna surround sound to go with it soon hopefully.car still runs smooth and computer still works but its a bit outdated.

  16.11.2012 13:29 #11

• dEwMe

  Guess I'm not totaly suprised. I mean how long have we bought pcs with a XXMB/GB hdd? It was always understood the operating system and apps were eating up part of that. Why would this be different?
  
  

  Just my $0.02,
  
  dEwMe

  16.11.2012 14:21 #12

• voyager

  To me all tablets lack of storage., prices are very high i better buy a laptop.

  16.11.2012 14:41 #13

• Zoo_Look

  I like the suggestion I read somewhere, get MS to send out a totally empty device. There's your 32gb device, good luck booting it by the way.
  
  What bothers me, is that the web site is displaying (apparently) very clearly in the technical specs that the pre-installed software takes away storage frim the stated capacity, yet he is still even able to make out MS are swindling consumers. It's like not reading the TandCs of a contract, then complaining when you find a clause that gives you an unfair disadvantage. The info is given to you, its YOUR job to read it. People like him are exactly the reason we get oppressive governments taking control away from our own lives, fear that when we Fuck up, we can sue random people and get paid for drinking battery acid despite it being known it isn't a good thing to do.
  
  Just because it doesn't say its unsafe to do so, I think its accepted that throwing knives is unsafe. But that's not enough for dome people. They want to see if they can catch it after their friends throw it to them, then when they lose an eye and manage to sue the manufacturer for not warning them that throwing kitchen knives is bad, we end up with warnings about throwing knives. It pathetic. Use your brain and read up before spending big bucks on shit, because one day, you won't even be given a choice if you keep bringing frivolous lawsuits.
  

  16.11.2012 14:47 #14

• Zoo_Look

  Need it be said AGAIN that this particular edited by ddp is a lawyer, one of those scum who like to routinely screw people by confusing legalese and barely atomically measurable small print.
  
  So like I said before... him, let him suffer the loss and learn the lesson. The edited by ddp idiot!

  16.11.2012 14:54 #15

• ddp

  Zoo_Look, watch the language, posts edited. next time edit previous message instead of posting again right after posting previous message as per forum rules.
  6. No foul language, insults, personal attacks or otherwise rude messages.
  12. Repeated posts to increase total number of posts is not allowed. Especially if your message is the last in the thread, edit it rather than post a new message.
  http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2487
  

  16.11.2012 22:03 #16

• Zoo_Look

  In fairness, I didn't post an additional message to get my post count up. I posted it because I forgot to add the last bit onto the first post, and editing these things on a mobile phone is a total pain in the ass.
  

  16.11.2012 22:08 #17

• ddp

  i know was not post count pad which is why the section is red is of concern to you. not my problem if your on cell phone when posting but do as the forum rules state.
  

  16.11.2012 22:14 #18

• Zoo_Look

  Sorry edited by ddp

  16.11.2012 23:17 #19

• ddp

  goodbye.
  

  16.11.2012 23:22 #20

• Anna01 (unverified)

  Sheesh! If you don't like the product, return it. Obviously microsoft is doing something right for most of their customers to make billions of sales after all these years. Everyone has their personal opinions and would probably like to make their personal edits to any product. But if you're not the billionaire, stay in your place as a customer. Don't buy the product if ur not satisfied because giving them critiques will only make them become better. All this sueing and media stuff is obviously for scandal and a run for money. When microsoft created their product, I'm sure they didn't intentionally want to trick customers about storage space. This person just expected something else.

  10.12.2012 00:29 #21