iFixit recently performed a teardown of the recently released Microsoft Surface Dial, which earned a repairability scale of 4/10. This means the Dial is hard to repair.
According to iFixit, the Microsoft Surface Dial has been manufactured by keeping into account the durability. Microsoft has integrated a magnetized rear, battery frame, bearing, midframe, and board into a parfait of surprisingly little silicon.
While conducting the teardown, iFixit found that a BLE SoC is the only chip of note on the motherboard. The rest of the internal components forms part of a refreshed mouse. The Surface Dial comes with a mechanical switch for clicks including an optical emitter/receiver combo to handle spins. The Dial also provides a rubber foot that sticks to displays.
Microsoft Surface Dial runs on two AAA batteries that can be easily accessed. You will not find any glues, screws or clips. However, you will find some magnets, which holds the Dial’s rubber foot to the dial. The Haptic vibration motor is cemented down with some spectacularly tough glue, which is impossible to repair
The Surface Dial bears a beefy bearing, which ensures smooth spin. However, this kind of spinny action does double duty in disassembly. You will find that a a single access hole rotates around to each of the three T6 screws holding the top half of the bearing to the silver cover.
During teardown of Microsoft Surface Dial, iFixit managed to scrape out a pancake vibration motor. It is responsible for the buzzy feedback you get when spinning or clicking the Dial. The bit of the midframe holding the vibrator features a rubber O- ring, presumably for vibration dampening.
iFixit concludes that you should have the courage to drill out the plastic plug guarding the single, well-hidden access point. Based on all the factors, the Microsoft Surface Dial resulted in a repairability scale of 4 out of 10.
