At Xbox, we're continuing to improve how we design, build, distribute, and use our products to reduce our environmental impact and help us reach Microsoft's goal of being a zero waste, carbon negative, and water positive company by 2030. Finding ways to reduce the environmental footprint of gaming not only helps the environment but also creates benefits for our collective community of players.

We've heard from players that they want more options for support when their Xbox consoles need repair. Today, we're expanding our repairability program, giving players even more options to get their Xbox Series X|S console options—the Xbox Series S—1 TB in Robot White, Xbox Series X—1 TB Digital Edition in Robot White, and Xbox Series X—2 TB Galaxy Black Special Edition—fixed should they ever need to, while also reducing and preventing waste.

EK, the renowned premium liquid cooling gear manufacturer, is proud to unveil its latest accessory that promises to streamline the assembly process for enthusiasts and professionals alike: the EK-Loop Stainless Steel Gauge Card. Crafted from durable stainless steel and designed for simplicity, this handy tool is an essential accessory for anyone involved in water cooling. Its primary function serves to drastically simplify the search for the correct assembly parts, ensuring that users can effortlessly find compatible components. Multifunctional by design yet primarily aimed at enhancing the water cooling experience, the EK-Loop Gauge Card is the accessory you didn't know you needed—until now.

Preventing Assembly Errors Before They Happen
With the Gauge Card, measuring and matching bolt and nut sizes becomes effortless. It accurately determines the bolt size and length for any component, including nut size measurements for M2.5, M3, and M4 nuts. This guarantees compatibility and ease of assembly across a wide range of components. The card also allows for the identification of different screw diameters (M4, M3.5, M3, M2.5, M2) and screw dimensions effortlessly, making it more straightforward to select the right parts for your build. Screw length identification up to 30 mm further ensures precise fitting and optimal security of components, while the tool aids in avoiding the insertion of the wrong bolts in the wrong places - thus preventing potential damage to sensitive PCBs. Moreover, the EK-Loop Gauge Card aids in the determination of Allen key sizes (2, 2.5, 6, 8, 9), simplifying the search for the right tool for the job.

Microsoft has started to sell a limited selection of replacement parts for Surface devices in the United States, Canada, and France—more regions will be added in the future. The company's online store now presents listings for replacement displays, batteries, SSDs and several other internal pieces. Brave customers can now perform repairs on their out-of-warranty Surface models, which saves on a trip to local shop or a costly return back to base. Tim McGuiggan, Microsoft's vice president of device services and product engineering stated: "We are excited to offer replacement components to technically inclined consumers for out-of-warranty self repair. When purchasing a replacement component, you will receive the part and relevant collateral components (such as screws if applicable)."

The various offerings of spare parts for Surface tablets, laptops, and all-in-one systems heavily favors Microsoft's fairly new 9-series. For example, the Surface Pro 9 is well catered for with an impressive selection of kickstands, displays, batteries, ports, protective covers, speakers, networking components, and cameras. Owners of the older Surface Pro 7 (2019) are limited to a single kickstand. A continued partnership with iFixit also provides a means to sell official tools for repair purposes and installation of replacement parts. It should be noted that some of the items listed on the Microsoft Store are very expensive—a Surface Studio 2 Plus replacement screen will knock you back $1749.99. The fanciest Surface Pro 9 screen is $362.99, while its spare batteries are $237.99 for an Intel variant, and $249.99 for Arm models.